PV Gap

Katherine Said:

Is it technologically possible by now to deploy a solar power,space based energy weapon(say lasers).?

We Answered:

It would be awfully expensive and probably highly illegal, but yeah, there's no good reason you couldn't build such a device. The closest thing we have right now is a laser cannon mounted on a modified Boeing 747 airliner, designed to shoot down ballistic missiles over ranges of a few hundred kilometers (and it has been tested successfully):
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boeing_YAL-…
Unfortunately, the YAL-1 laser itself is powered by chemical fuel, and the airplane only carries enough 'ammunition' for a few dozen laser shots. However, with some engineering tweaks you could probably build a gas laser powered by sunlight that could achieve power equal to or better than the YAL-1 without having to use chemical fuel. Like I say, it would be incredibly expensive to design, build and launch. But there's no reason it couldn't be done in principle and with more or less current technology.