Space Wars Will Look Nothing Like Star Wars

(Credit: Adam Hartman/U.S. Navy) Darting spaceships. Dazzling lasers. Fiery explosions. All of these are things that a war in space would almost certainly not involve. Ever since Star Wars, the public has been fascinated by the visuals of space conflict — it's futuristic, thrilling, and cosmic battles are bereft of the gore that so often accompanies terrestrial conflict. And ever since Sputnik, humans have been putting things into space, pieces of technology that are now vital cogs in the machinery of society. We rely on satellites for everything from credit card transactions to mapping apps. The military needs satellites for communication, as well as for the imaging that lets them keep an eye on friend and foe alike. Therefore, forget about the Death Star, this amalgamation of blinking hardware floating in Earth's orbit would be target numero uno. But would it be wise to pull the trigger?