Editing Anti-ballistic missile (section)

===SDI experiments in the 1980s===
{{main|Strategic Defense Initiative}}
The [[Ronald Reagan|Reagan]]-era [[Strategic Defense Initiative]] (often referred to as "Star Wars"), along with research into various energy-beam weaponry, brought new interest in the area of ABM technologies.

SDI was an extremely ambitious program to provide a total shield against a massive Soviet ICBM attack. The initial concept envisioned large sophisticated orbiting laser battle stations, space-based relay mirrors, and nuclear-pumped X-ray laser satellites. Later research indicated that some planned technologies such as X-ray [[laser]]s were not feasible with then-current technology. As research continued, SDI evolved through various concepts as designers struggled with the difficulty of such a large complex defense system. SDI remained a research program and was never deployed. Several post-SDI technologies are used by the present [[Missile Defense Agency]] (MDA).

Lasers originally developed for the SDI plan are in use for astronomical observations. Used to ionize gas in the upper atmosphere, they provide telescope operators with a target to calibrate their instruments.<ref>{{cite journal|title=Military Magic Boosts Astronomy : Declassified technology enhances celestial knowledge|journal=Astronomy|date=January 2001|volume=29|issue=1|page=48|url=https://eds.b.ebscohost.com/eds/detail/detail?vid=6&sid=d2b37e4a-4a62-4a05-8cc7-7521f023995e%40sessionmgr101&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWRzLWxpdmU%3d#AN=edsgcl.75029301&db=edsgbc|access-date=26 January 2018}}{{Dead link|date=August 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>