Lasers are now being used in Navy weapons tests being fired from ships, and with a distance of more than a mile away. Just imagine if they install one on the "real" U.S.S. Enterprise. Gives real meaning to the saying "fire phasers"!
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and to read up more about this type of technology, here is an interesting wiki page on it:
Looks like the future is really getting here fast. I recall reading recently that there is a private company rocket being readied that will have more potential than the Nasa space shuttles, and put more people into space.