Soviet progress reported on satellite killer devices

The Soviet Union is building a particle-beam device that could be used to destroy US satellites in space and may already have a powerful laser that could damage US spacecraft, says Aviation Week & Space Technology. The Soviets may have "an operational, high-energy laser . . . that could be used to damage US spacecraft in low earth orbit" and are developing a 12-man space station from which directed-energy weapons could be placed in orbit, the magazine says.

The United States will not have the capability to place laser battle stations in space until the mid-1990s.