‘Star Wars’ Laser ‘Hits’ Space Shuttle

A bluish-green laser beam flashing through the darkness from a wind-whipped mountain peak in Hawaii successfully tracked orbiting Discovery today in the first space shuttle test of President Reagan’s “Star Wars” plan to build a defensive shield against nuclear missiles.

The low-power, four-watt laser was triggered by the Air Force as the shuttle and its seven-person crew streaked 220 miles overhead at 17,400 m.p.h., a few hundred miles faster than a missile warhead.

The test, the first of scores of Star Wars experiments planned for the shuttle, could help determine how well a more powerful laser can track a fast-moving warhead. For a laser to destroy or disable a nuclear weapon, it must focus on it long enough to heat its interior elements.

Successful Test

“It was a very successful experiment,” said Air Force Lt. Col. Tom Meyer, project manager for the test. “It showed we can actually acquire and track a fast-moving object.”

He said the laser tracked the shuttle for at least 2 1/2 minutes. But he emphasized that several years of research remain before an operational laser-based missile killer could become operational. He said the next step, later this year, will be to test the same laser against rockets fired to an altitude of about 350 miles.

“We have the target in sight,” astronaut John Fabian reported as he sighted the darting laser. “It’s bluish-green. . . . It pulsed for a while and locked on steady for short periods.”

Sound and Light Show

The astronauts later relayed a dramatic recorded television picture of the laser as it pulsed and flashed vigorously in the atmosphere, accompanying it with the music of “The 1812 Overture.”

“We’re fascinated with your light show,” the control center said.

It was a second try for the test. The first failed on Wednesday because ground controllers goofed by sending Discovery’s computer instructions in feet instead of in nautical miles. Discovery, instead of pointing the mirror at Hawaii, aimed it in just the opposite direction as it searched for a non-existent mountain 9,954 miles out in space.

Discovery is to end its weeklong flight Monday at Edwards Air Force Base.