Hello,
As I was searching around the www looking for information on the types of shielding involved with the new Air Lock ( to be launched tomorrow ) I stumbled upon a few articles from August 17th 2000 (spacedaily, new scientist, abc news, bbc news ) that concerned "Project Orion". Apparently it is a joint project between NASA and the Air Force that is characterized as a "laser broom" which will effectively divert or destroy various forms of space debris away from the ISS. What I could find was that it is scheduled to be tested in 2003, will use a laser pulse to lock onto pieces of debris ranging in size from .4 to 4 inches in diameter, and will initially be ground based.
The mystery comes in: I was unable to find any articles relating to Project Orion on the NASA site, the Air Force site, or with any other search engine beyond when the story broke August 17th 2000.
Does anyone remember this story, or know if the project has been canned, or have any information regarding "Project Orion".
Thanks - see ya, VINCE