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"By the time I can take people out to where Hubble is looking, they won't be human anymore, by a long way."
- Larry Niven

Beta Beam Satellite  
   

The Beta Beam satellite had never been used in war; but when I was seven years old, the Pentagon had arranged a demonstration. They'd turned it loose on a Perseid meteor shower. Lines of light had filled the sky one summer night, a glorious display, the first time I'd ever been allowed up past midnight. The Beta Beam had shot down over a thousand rocks.
From Limits, by Larry Niven.
Published by Del Rey in 1985
Additional resources -

This is from the short story Folk Tale - one of the Draco Tavern stories by Niven.

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  More Ideas and Technology from Limits
  More Ideas and Technology by Larry Niven
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