My apologies, I was utterly confused there. I thought you were talking about putting this cannon on the end of a tether, thereby making it orbit to surface. I know realise that you were probably refering to the implications of the lasers, and not the tethering part, and that I am an idiot.

Surely you mean orbit-to-surface ?

Kool idea but I would imagine that unless those solar panels could travel down the tether they would be rather expensive to repair and maintain. Being attached to the climber they could easily be maintained when it returns to Earth.

How would that be more fun than powerful laser beams ? Go USST !!!

Well, unlike most regular books that are uploaded, having this one accessible on the net 'creates opportunities for collaborative research that would not have been possible just a few years ago.'

The application number is 20090158220, not sure if that is what you mean or if it helps.

I hail from Saskatchewan, Canada. The general public here (farmers) could be gullible enough to believe that those newfangled bit-torrent do-hickeys are contributing to the trucking industry's troubles.