Ask Slashdot: What Would Real Space Combat Look Like?

c0mpliant writes "Two friends and I were up until the wee hours of the morning over the weekend debating what real space combat would look like. I've spent some time looking it up online, and there doesn't seem to be any general consensus. So, I thought I'd ask a community of peers what they think. Given our current technology and potential near-future technology, what would a future space battlefield look like? Would capital ships rule the day? Would there be equivalents of cruisers, fighters and bombers, or would it be a mix of them all?"

noise

[Anonymous Coward]

It would be a lot louder than what you see on TV

Re:some sort of guided explosive device

[Bill Hayden]

And what would these missals [wikipedia.org] contain? A harshly worded message from the Pope? I will grant you, though, that a missal travelling at some fraction of the speed of light would still do quite a bit of damage.

Re:Laser Beams

[zugmeister]

But... But... Where do you put the sharks?

Had to say it.

Gunbusta!

[Malenx]

If I've learned anything from anime, it's that space battles will consist of giant armadas of robots piloted by people who all get slaughtered until a random girl in a giant robot suit with infinite capabilities eventually achieves the self esteem she needs to take the fight straight to the bad guys and wipe them out, escaping at the last possible second.

Re:some sort of guided explosive device

[NoNonAlphaCharsHere]

I'm pretty sure missals make a "pew pew pew" sound.

Re:Laser Beams

[durrr]

Clearly, air combat will be fought with swords attached to the wingtips of your ornitopther because not only are reloading unfeasible mid flight, guns are also too heavy and unfit to hit agile targets such as winged men.

Not possible!

[raehl]

Laser Beams.

Won't work; the sharks can't survive in space.

Re:Laser Beams

[hawguy]

Laser Beams.

That's all.

my mirror shields will take the day

Laser shots would be preceded by a barrage of Gummi Bears to stick to your shields and absorb the laser energy. Haribo's stock will soar due to military Gummi Bear purchases and they will become the largest and most wealthy company in the universe. Even larger than MicrAppleSoft who supplies the PADD handhelds for the fleet.

Re:In Space no can hear you scream

[infolation]

What does 'whoosh' sound like in space?

There won't be any space warfare

[NotQuiteReal]

The TSA will take away your guns when you board.

Re:Humans or no?

[Samantha Wright]

In the early sixties. It stopped in the early eighties and has been sort of loafing about the place ever since, spending more time reminiscing about "the good old days" than anything else, and barely paying the rent. (I've been keeping score.) Nevertheless there are some signs it may actually be proceeding at a breakneck pace while we're not looking... [ibm.com]

The truth is that by the year 2100, speculative theories will be so advanced and so reliably misguided that we'll be able to calculate anything and solve any social problem simply by asking futurists a question and assuming the opposite.

Re:Laser Beams

[LeadSongDog]

"Caution, lasers in mirror are closer than they appear."

Re:Are we talking human on human battles?

[ultranova]

Passive radar using solar radiation?

Fancy name for a camera you have there.

Re:Laser Beams

[DamnStupidElf]

Ahh!!! I've been hit by a neutrino beam! I might get my yearly radiation dose in... 4 months!