| 1 | [[quoteright:350:[[VideoGame/CommandAndConquerTiberianDawn https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/ioncannonzl5.jpg]]]] |
| 2 | [[caption-width-right:350:Exhibit A: The GDI Ion Cannon Satellite. Exhibit B: [[ThereIsNoKillLikeOverkill Something that has stopped being architecture]] and [[Blog/WhatIf started being physics]][[labelnote:*]]Link to the source [[https://what-if.xkcd.com/141/ here]][[/labelnote]].]] |
| 3 | |
| 4 | ->''"In war, one should seek to take and hold the high ground. From there, the enemy's movements are clearly visible, and he will struggle just to reach you, let alone fight you. High orbit is the highest ground there is."'' |
| 5 | -->-- '''[[BigBookOfWar The Codex Astartes]]''', ''TabletopGame/Warhammer40000'' |
| 6 | |
| 7 | When it [[Film/JackieBrown absolutely, positively]] has to be destroyed on time, nothing beats your own remote-controlled, satellite-mounted laser cannon. |
| 8 | |
| 9 | A variation of the WaveMotionGun, Kill Sats have the added advantage that you don't need to be anywhere near either the weapon or the target. Instead, you can fire it from the safety of your headquarters: your satellite will move into position and unleash a shiny descending PillarOfLight (or, less often, [[KineticWeaponsAreJustBetter a good ol']] [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kinetic_bombardment kinetic projectile]]) on your unsuspecting target. Power/accuracy on Kill Sats vary, ranging from "lone vehicle" to "entire building" to (rarely) "town or small city." [[EarthShatteringKaboom Planet busters]] are another category entirely, as firing them remotely from ''anywhere'' on the surface is inadvisable. |
| 10 | |
| 11 | Since it's considered poor form to snipe your opponent from such a risk-free distance, Kill Sats are generally the realm of villains. So-called good guys who [[NukeEm resort to these]] will, at best, [[TheWorfBarrage fail miserably]]. If EverythingIsOnline in their world (and you know it is), there is always the risk of control falling into the wrong hands. |
| 12 | |
| 13 | In video games, Kill Sats are frequently used by the good guys (ie the player) but usually requiring some sort of targeting system on the ground in the vicinity of the target (distance varies from a few meters to a few miles). If the good guys ''do'' have one, its precision and accuracy are emphasized, often by providing the bad guys with a less precise weapon of equivalent power (such as a nuclear missile). |
| 14 | |
| 15 | Of course, in the hands of either side, it would end the story in a hurry if these could be used repeatedly: none of the opposing side could poke their nose into the open without risking vaporization. Therefore: |
| 16 | * [[AwesomeButImpractical It's prohibitively expensive, time-intensive, and/or just plain difficult to get it moved over the target and charged, making it something that can't be used regularly or that can be avoided]]. |
| 17 | * ItOnlyWorksOnce, because there was only enough power/ammo to fire it the one time, or because the heroes sabotage it or its control system before the villains can shoot again. |
| 18 | * Some combination of the above two, the former giving the opportunity for the heroes to do the latter. |
| 19 | * The area of effect for its firepower is too limited: you can pick off soldiers or armored vehicles one at a time, but the amount of time this takes makes it unable to turn back a mass invasion. Thus, usage is reserved for important high-value targets. Or the exact opposite, it's a WeaponOfMassDestruction that can't even be considered until the GodzillaThreshold is reached. |
| 20 | * The weapon, if fired, [[GlassCannon risks being discovered and shot down]], hence it is reserved for only super high value targets. |
| 21 | |
| 22 | Alternatively, it's not active at all yet, in which case the story centers around making sure it never gets off its first shot. In these cases it generally leans toward [[WeaponOfMassDestruction the powerful end of the scale]]. |
| 23 | |
| 24 | Kill Sats sometimes display the orbital properties of their more benign counterparts, the SpySatellites, able to move themselves over any target in record time and then park themselves there to get off as many shots as they please. More often, thankfully, the writers actually pay attention to how satellites work and incorporate that into the plot ("we've got two hours to destroy the control center before the satellite is in position over our headquarters!") |
| 25 | |
| 26 | Any villain seeking to get their private space program off the ground (pun most definitely intended) is probably doing so to put one of these bad boys in orbit ([[http://www.adventurers-comic.com/d/20030430.html never mind what it actually gets used for]]). Spy villains love these things. The AncientConspiracy may already have a full network of DeathRay Sats secretly in orbit, but they're careful about using it regularly, lest someone catch on. |
| 27 | |
| 28 | The StandardSciFiFleet can and will take this up a notch, with the heavier ships turning their guns on a helpless planet below. |
| 29 | |
| 30 | An early test fire of these may create the DoomedHometown. |
| 31 | |
| 32 | The trope name is a parody of "[=TelSat=]", the TV satellite system. |
| 33 | |
| 34 | A popular way to rain DeathFromAbove, and a subtrope of OrbitalBombardment. Compare WaveMotionGun, {{BFG}}, BigBulkyBomb, DoomsdayDevice, and ThereIsNoKillLikeOverkill. Very often considered a {{Superweapon}} by the forces on the ground with no way of knowing when and where it will strike. Contrast SaveSat, when a satellite crashing down has a beneficial/defensive effect. |
| 35 | |
| 36 | ''[[TropeCo/KillSat This item]] is available in the TropeCo/TropeCo Catalog.'' |
| 37 | |
| 38 | ---- |
| 39 | !!Examples: |
| 40 | |
| 41 | [[foldercontrol]] |
| 42 | |
| 43 | [[folder:Anime & Manga]] |
| 44 | * ''Manga/{{Akira}}'': |
| 45 | ** SOL is used to sucker punch a rampaging [[WithGreatPowerComesGreatInsanity Tetsuo]], [[AnArmAndALeg incinerating his right arm in one shot]]. The reason why it doesn't get a second chance varies: in the anime, Tetsuo flies up and crushes it while the military is still recalibrating; in the manga, [[VillainExitStageLeft he just runs away and goes into hiding]], [[spoiler:leaving the satellite available for the Colonel to use against him in the final battle]]. |
| 46 | ** As nice as SOL is, it's hard to argue against "Floyd", the Kill Sat used by the US Military near the end of the manga, having it beaten hands-down -- able to fire multiple beams at once, move the beam ''while'' firing, widen the beam... [[GeneralRipper The American commander]] actually orders ''[[ThereIsNoKillLikeOverkill the entirety of Japan]]'' to be targeted at one point! [[spoiler:Not that any of these features kept Tetsuo from [[DeathFromAbove boarding the thing and crashing it on top of the US command carrier]]...]] Although only Floyd makes an actual appearance, it is perhaps worth noting that it was introduced as "the only one currently in range of Neo-Tokyo"... [[FridgeHorror so, just how many ARE there...?]] |
| 47 | * A pin-point precise version of this goes haywire in the ''Anime/AllPurposeCulturalCatGirlNukuNuku'' [=OAV=]. |
| 48 | * In ''Manga/AssassinationClassroom'', the government builds an orbital satellite, armed with a laser, specifically designed to kill Koro-Sensei. [[spoiler:And when he manages to escape that, they trap him in a forcefield, so the next one would kill him for sure, and temporarily confine his students, just in case they decide to sabotage something in order to break him out.]] |
| 49 | * ''Anime/{{Bakugan}}'': Hyper Pulsor, Bolcanon's [[MechaExpansionPack BakuNano]], transforms into small satellite that can fire energy blasts. While it's attacks are powerful, it can leave it’s user defenseless against close-range attacks. |
| 50 | * ''Anime/BattleProgrammerShirase'' has a technique called "Three Sisters Deathblow", where three scrapped Cosmos satellites are programmed for re-entry. The first two serve to shield the third from atmospheric heat, so that it can enter the atmosphere intact and precisely hit a target on the ground (or sea). |
| 51 | * One of the major subplots in the original ''Anime/BubblegumCrisis'' revolved around a MacGuffin which would allow a [[ArtificialHuman Boomer]] to gain control of the military's network of Kill Sats. |
| 52 | * The first anime Kill Sat was in ''Manga/CatsEye'', but they got the idea from ''Film/DiamondsAreForever''. |
| 53 | * In episode 4 of ''Manga/CellsAtWorkCodeBlack'', penicillin is represented as a satellite zapping the cell walls off the invading gonococci, leaving them vulnerable to the white blood cells. |
| 54 | * The Sky Fortress Damocles from ''Anime/CodeGeass''. Technically not a satellite but a floating fortress armed with a cannon that shoots [[SphereOfDestruction F.L.E.I.J.A. warheads]], but since it was supposed to be flown out of the atmosphere and placed on a geosynchronous orbit, it fulfills all the criteria for a Kill Sat (it's in space, it rains doom on people). |
| 55 | * The ''Anime/CowboyBebop'' episode "[[Recap/CowboyBebopSession9JammingWithEdward Jamming With Edward]]" features a network of satellite-mounted lasers. They were built in an attempt to reduce the severity of meteor showers after [[DetonationMoon the moon was destroyed]] by the [[PhlebotinumBreakdown hyperspace gate explosion]]. In the episode, [[InstantAIJustAddWater an A.I. which evolved in the network]] uses them to carve graffiti on unoccupied areas of the planet surface to recreate the [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nazca_Lines Nasca Lines]]. Then automated defense programs activate when Spike comes to collect a bounty on it and try to blast his fighter... |
| 56 | * ''Anime/{{Dancougar}}'' handles this differently; the Kill Sat hits the ''sword'' of the titular machine, creating a gigantic laser sword for it to use. |
| 57 | * ''Anime/ElHazardTheMagnificentWorld'' arguably has two: Ifurita, a [[PersonOfMassDestruction Miniature Death Star With Breasts]], and the Eye of God, a [[WaveMotionGun superweapon]] which steps up the game by being able to ''selectively'' destroy a planet. |
| 58 | * In episode 10 of ''Anime/EngageKiss'', a satellite with laser weaponry, from the Cold War era, was used against Asmodeus, an especially dangerous demon. [[TheWorfBarrage It did not damage the demon.]] |
| 59 | * In ''Anime/EurekaSeven'', Dewey Novak fires one called "Oratorio #8" once at the Scab Coral to make a hole for [=TheEND=] to fly through, and again to target the beacon [=TheEND=] placed on the Control Cluster. After the second shot, the thing self-destructed and STILL rained death down on the poor planet with its highly explosive debris. |
| 60 | * ''Manga/FairyTail'' features the Etherion, a magical version of this. It takes about an hour for the Council to charge it up, and then it blasts down with the power of more than two billion, seven hundred million ideas of magical energy, which is about equivalent to the combined magical energies of all the wizards on the continent. According to one member of the Council, its destructive power is sufficient to wipe a country off the face of the planet. Naturally, the arc's villain [[JustAsPlanned manipulated the council into firing the weapon at his magic tower]] (which was secretly designed to ''absorb'' magical energy) so he can use the energy as a power battery for his spell to resurrect history's most infamous black wizard. [[spoiler:As the tower takes too much damage in the battle between him and the heroes, however, the energy starts to leak out and runs the risk of going out of control and exploding anyways. Only barely is the tower forced to fire the energy back into space to avoid a massive loss of life]]. |
| 61 | * ''Anime/FatePrototype'' brings us Archer: his twin swords join to form a bow, yet the arrow fired from the bow itself is nothing more than a targeting beacon for a magical version of this trope. |
| 62 | * ''Anime/GallForce'' ups the scale considerably with [[ThatsNoMoon a planet-sized energy cannon]] orbiting the sun. |
| 63 | * ''Manga/GetterRobo'' features two of these, in HumongousMecha form. The first, from the ''Shin Getter Robo vs. Neo Getter Robo'' OVA dispenses countless meteorites over North America, some of which are so large that they function as drop pods for ''other'' HumongousMecha. The second is in the ''Manga/GetterRobo Go'' manga, and is of the laser variety. Though it can apparently fire multiple times in succession. |
| 64 | * ''Manga/{{Gintama}}'', naturally, featured a comedic variation: Otae actually uses one of these in an episode [[ThereIsNoKillLikeOverkill as protection against Kondou stalking outside her dojo]], along with spiked fences and pratfalls. It's name is SOL, which stands for "[[FunWithAcronyms Stalker Obliterating Laser]]". |
| 65 | * In ''Anime/GreatMazinger'' (the sequel of ''Anime/MazingerZ''), [[TheDragon Great Marshall of Hell]] fabricated a massive lens of ice orbited around Earth and worked like a Kill Sat by focusing sunrays in one single point and blasting it with a massive, hot-melting [[DeathFromAbove heat ray]]. It appeared only in one of the manga continuities, though. |
| 66 | * The GHQ's satellite laser "Leucocyte" in ''Anime/GuiltyCrown''. [[spoiler:All 256 of them. Or rather, all ''three'' of them, and two of them were destroyed in episode 6. The 256 number was a bluff pulled by a guy with massive steel balls, and the U.N. ''bought it.'' The last remaining satellite was not in a position to deal any damage.]] |
| 67 | * Kill Sats show up in many ''Franchise/{{Gundam}}'' series, although they aren't quite as common as the ColonyDrop. |
| 68 | ** ''Anime/MobileSuitGundam'' has the Solar Ray, a super weapon made out of a colony. In the anime, it's burnt up after using it to kill General Revil and Degwin Zabi. In the novel, it's fully operational and it outright murders both sides. |
| 69 | ** ''[[Anime/MobileSuitZetaGundam Zeta Gundam]]'' has the Gryps Colony Laser. [[spoiler:Which makes a return in the final episode of ''[[Anime/MobileSuitGundamUnicorn Gundam Unicorn.]]'']] |
| 70 | ** ''[[Anime/MobileSuitVictoryGundam Victory Gundam]]'' has the Keilas Guilie... and it is [[spoiler:still around in ''Anime/TurnAGundam'']]. |
| 71 | ** ''[[Anime/MobileSuitGundamWing Gundam Wing]]'' has the Space Fortress Barge and Space Fortress Libra. |
| 72 | ** ''[[Anime/AfterWarGundamX Gundam X]]'' also has a colony laser. The titular mobile suit itself is a Kill Sat in a mech; Garrod once used the Satellite System in this manner, using the system as if he was preparing to fire the Satellite Cannon, then getting out of the beam's way. |
| 73 | ** ''[[Anime/MobileSuitGundamSeed Gundam SEED]]'' has the Gamma Emission by Nuclear Explosion Stimulate Inducing System, or [[FunWithAcronyms GENESIS]]. It's an ''enormous'' gamma ray cannon that fires what is best described as a massive microwave beam powered by ''nuclear explosions.'' And it's estimated to be powerful enough to wipe out half of all life on Earth with a single shot. |
| 74 | ** ''[[Anime/MobileSuitGundamSeedDestiny Gundam SEED Destiny]]'' has the Requiem [[spoiler:and the Neo-GENESIS]]. |
| 75 | ** In ''[[Anime/MobileSuitGundamSeedCE71Stargazer Gundam SEED Stargazer]]'', DSSD turns their space station, Apollon A, into one of these to destroy the Phantom Pain ship attacking them. |
| 76 | ** ''[[Anime/MobileSuitGundam00 Gundam 00]]'' has the Memento Mori. [[spoiler:Two of them.]] |
| 77 | ** According to the backstory given in the original Gundam novels, the reason space colonization was needed was due to the Federation bombarding the Earth with kill sats ''entirely by accident''. They tried to solve the world's energy problems with solar power satellites, but miscalculated the power of the microwave beams used to transmit the energy to the surface and almost burned off the entire atmosphere. |
| 78 | ** ''Anime/GundamBuildDiversReRise'' shocks the fandom with one of these. [[spoiler:[[BigBad Alus]] reveals this from the moon base he was in and, despite BUILD [=DiVERS=] trying their best, it fires and completely nukes the city of Seguri from the face of Eldora. The second half of the series is devoted to making sure Alus doesn't pull off a round two.]] |
| 79 | ** ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamTheWitchFromMercury'' has [[spoiler:the Interplanetary Laser Transmission System. That name is a lie -- it's one of these disguised as an energy transferring system. The Space Assembly League plan to use this to obliterate Quiet Zero, knowing full well pulling this off would also ravage those living at Lagrange 4, planning to allow Peil Technologies to lead the reconstruction. The first shot is blocked by the Aerial Rebuild and the Gundnodes, destroying the Gundnodes and ravaging the Aerial. Suletta in the Calibarn unleashes a powerful data storm using the Aerial, Pharact and Schwartzette to shut it down for good, at the cost of the Gundams and ravaging her body]]. |
| 80 | * Jiro from ''Manga/HajimeteNoAKu'' has one, on top of that it has ridiculously accurate aim, able to shoot glasses of the heroines face without hurting her. |
| 81 | * Parodied in ''Manga/HeavensLostProperty'', where Ikaros acts as a [[SeriousBusiness Peeping-Sat]] with a mirror (think Periscope). It then carried a [[MegatonPunch karate-chop]] back ([[RuleOfFunny still through being reflected by the mirror]]), making it act as a Kill-Sat in reverse. |
| 82 | * ''Literature/LegendOfTheGalacticHeroes'' featured two variants of Kill Sat, both of which are designed as space-based defences: the giant Iserlohn Fortress occupying an important choke-point in the Imperial frontier and the Artemis Necklace networks of battle-satellites orbiting around determinated planets. The Artemis Necklace is notable for being extremely powerful, wiping out an Imperial warfleet off-screen, but [[TheWorfEffect ultimately failing against the amazing skills of their opponents]] in the two occasions it's used on-screen. |
| 83 | * From the ''Franchise/LupinIII'' film series: |
| 84 | ** In ''[[Anime/LupinIIIIslandOfAssassins Island of Assassins]]'', the major governments of the world control a satellite laser that's been programmed to shoot down any ships that approach, or attempt to leave the island without authorization. Which Lupin reveals is the secret behind all the disappearances in [[spoiler:the Bermuda Triangle]]. |
| 85 | ** ''[[Anime/LupinIIITravelsOfMarcoPoloAnotherPage Travels of Marco Polo: Another Page]]'': Zeal, Bernardo’s satellite-based laser weapon, which incinerates everything it touches. |
| 86 | * ''Anime/{{Macross}}'': |
| 87 | ** ''Anime/MacrossPlus'' reveals that, decades after Space War I, Earth has upgraded its defenses with a network of ''hundreds of thousands'' of densely-packed, automated Kill Sats that serve a dual purpose: vaporize orbital debris before it falls into the atmosphere, and discouraging invasion from external forces. When [[TheAce Isamu]] has to navigate this network and force his way into Earth, his only hope is to shoot down a couple of communication sats, hide among the falling debris, and ''pray''. His companion has so little faith in their chances he just shuts himself off into hibernation. |
| 88 | ** On that subject, the conclusion to Space War I in ''Anime/SuperDimensionFortressMacross'': the main Zentraedi fleet folds in and the first thing they do is shoot the Earth with several million (NotHyperbole) {{Wave Motion Gun}}s, turning most the surface into an arid wasteland and exterminating 90% of the human population. |
| 89 | * In the final episode of ''Anime/{{Mnemosyne}}'', TechnoWizard Mimi hijacks a Kill Sat belonging to her friend's [[MegaCorp company]] and uses it in an attempt to stop the BigBad's plan. [[spoiler:She fails.]] |
| 90 | * Mikawa Kai uses a NASA Kill Sat in an effort to destroy the "Terminator" in ''Manga/MyBrideIsAMermaid''. |
| 91 | * Artemis, the trump card for the Searrs Foundation in ''Anime/MyHime'', is actually a meaningfully-named gigantic ''{{Mon}}'' in orbit. |
| 92 | * Used in ''Anime/NadiaTheSecretOfBlueWater''. Especially impressive considering the series takes place in the 19th century (the satellite was Atlantean technology). |
| 93 | * In ''Anime/NajicaBlitzTactics'', one of the [[RobotGirl android girls]] actually is the remote control for a Kill Sat, making a fair grab for the sexiest use of this trope in fiction. |
| 94 | * ''Manga/NegimaMagisterNegiMagi'': |
| 95 | ** [[RobotGirl Chachamaru]]'s artifact is this. ''[[CuteKitten And it's shaped like a cat]]''. |
| 96 | ** Fast forward a few decades in ''Manga/UQHolder'', and the kill sat is now under the control of the Holders, though a little worse for wear. |
| 97 | * ''Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion'': |
| 98 | ** It included a Kill Sat angel. It fired a [[spoiler:MindRape beam at you to the tune of the ''[[SoundtrackDissonance Hallelujah Chorus]]'' from [[Music/GeorgeFredericHandel Handel]]'s ''Messiah'']]. [[spoiler:Asuka]] was unfortunate enough to be on the receiving end of said beam, and needless to say, [[HeroicBSOD the results were not pretty]]. |
| 99 | ** A different Angel started out dropping bits of itself on the city, gradually target-tracking onto the geofront, at which point the whole thing [[ColonyDrop came crashing down]] and the Evas have to run up and catch it. |
| 100 | * In ''Manga/NotLives'', the [[BigBad Emperor Gentleman's]] skill, the 'Emperor's Thumb', involves firing a giant laser beam from an orbital satellite onto the unfortunate avatars in its path. |
| 101 | * Saya from ''Manga/{{Onidere}}'' has access to a Kill Sat that strikes her father every time she says a phrase. However her [[MadeOfIron father is so tough]] that despite destroying his house he doesn't even notice it. |
| 102 | * ''Anime/PanzerWorldGalient'' has the Eraser, a network of killing sats that uses a powerful gravity surge to destroy the surfaces of planets. |
| 103 | * ''Manga/PrincessLucia'': "God" employs one in chapter 36, it takes 180 seconds to recharge per shot, and it completely wrecks a city block trying to zero in on its target. |
| 104 | * ''Manga/{{Sekirei}}'': MBI owns one that can attack any single target in Tokyo. Matsu reveals its existence by attacking Musubi with it. Musubi manages to escape with minor clothing damage. The neighborhood she was in (she was buying groceries on Miya's behalf) wasn't quite so lucky. |
| 105 | * ''Manga/ShamanKing'' has one of these which is used against the main villain Hao Asakura, but he is unhurt by it. It was also detrimental for the other shaman [[spoiler:as it caused the world to become aware of their presence on the island]]. |
| 106 | * The AMP in ''Manga/SilentMobius'' has access to a Kill Sat, which seems to be privately owned by member Lebia Maverick. It also [[spoiler:acts as her second brain, providing a ridiculous amount of extra data storage]]. Its name is [[Creator/{{Disney}} Donald]]. |
| 107 | * The original ''Anime/SolBianca'' OAV cheats a little, when Feb hides herself on an orbiting Space Ring with a ''very'' long-ranged [[{{BFG}} laser sniper rifle]] to help her friends escape from their own execution on the planet below. |
| 108 | * ''Anime/SpaceBattleshipYamato'' had a few of these. The first series had a series of Gamilon mirror satellites working in conjunction with a planet-based BFG, and the second had a proper kill sat in Earth orbit. |
| 109 | * ''Manga/StealthSymphony'': [[spoiler:Laika's "third eye" is revealed to be a satellite that looks like an eye and can shoot deadly lasers from above.]] |
| 110 | * The [[AllYourBaseAreBelongToUs Radam-occupied]] Orbital Ring around Earth in ''Anime/TekkamanBlade'' is used for orbital bombardment in several episodes. |
| 111 | * ''Anime/TengenToppaGurrenLagann'''s [[spoiler:Anti-Spiral-controlled]] Cathedral Terra. The heroes nip its firing sequence in the bud, but it had several hundred (if not thousand) massive death rays trained on the planet, and it was ([[spoiler:disguised as]]) the planet's [[{{Pun}} natural satellite]] at the time. |
| 112 | * Wormhole Driver from ''Literature/TheThirdTheGirlWithTheBlueEye'' is an old (but still fully operational) Kill Sat capable of creating Black Holes on top of the targeted area (which means that depending on the power used in such attack it can most likely destroy anything up to the entire planet) |
| 113 | * In ''Manga/{{Toriko}}'' allied forces used those against Four Beasts, along with massive army of giant tanks, ships and airplanes. [[WorfBarrage It fails miserably.]] |
| 114 | * The [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Death-Para Machine]] from ''Anime/TransformersSuperGodMasterforce'', which had the power to destroy Earth's ozone layer. |
| 115 | * ''VideoGame/{{Utawarerumono}}'': You won't know where it is, though... [[spoiler:until episode 24, when Mikoto/Kamyu uses a powerful magic to obliterate a country. The next episode, we are given a glimpse on how it actually works... arrays of satellite-mounted beam cannons]]. |
| 116 | * ''Franchise/YuGiOh'': |
| 117 | ** In the ''Anime/YuGiOh'' Virtual Nightmare filler arc, Gozaboro Kaiba's former right-hand man [[CorruptCorporateExecutive Daimon]]/[[DubNameChange Lecter]] (who takes the form of "Jinzoningen -- Psycho Shocker") summons a monster called [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Satellite Cannon]], which is quite a pain for Kaiba until he finally summons Blue-Eyes White Dragon and destroys it. |
| 118 | *** Damon hints in the original version that Gozaburo was working on a ''real'' version of a Kill Sat before he was ousted from his position. It turns out that he succeeded and the weapon was in orbit ready to fire. [[spoiler:Noah uses it to destroy the mechanical fortress sustaining the virtual world; he changes his mind and tries to stop it, but Yami Marik destroyed the controls when he stepped away.]] |
| 119 | ** ''Anime/YuGiOhGX'': In the last third of the second season, securing one of these was part of the plot. The bad guys—an extraterrestrial EldritchAbomination and a brainwashed prince—were planning to use it to scour the Earth of all life. The 4Kids dub [[{{Bowdlerise}} claimed the satellite fired a brainwashing beam and that the bad guys were planning to use it to take control of the world]], but forgot to edit out the satellite's laser destroying the landscape before the heroes could stop it. Its owner, the aforementioned prince, duels with a deck built around his love for Kill Sats, using three copies of Satellite Cannon as well as a much larger Fusion of three of them. |
| 120 | *** The [[http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Satellite_Cannon card itself]] is just as [[RuleOfCool Cool]]. It cannot be destroyed by battle with anything less than Level 8 (signifying the difficulties of attacking it), Gains 1000 attack per turn (charging for its attack), and sadly loses its ATK after attacking (empty, reload). This has some [[FridgeHorror potential problems]] when you realize that [[ExactWords you do not have to attack with it to have it be in a battle (if it attacks, then and only then does it lose its ATK)]]. Many cards [[CompellingVoice force your opponent to attack]] and some even allow you to [[PsychicAssistedSuicide control who your opponent attacks]]. You can even summon ''three'' of them at once using a Spell Card called Machine Duplication. |
| 121 | ** Continuing with the trend, ''Anime/YuGiOhZEXAL'' has "Number 9: DysonSphere", a weaponized space colony that's the 2nd largest monster in the game, falling just behind its [[SuperMode Chaos Number form]] "Chaos Dyson Sphere". |
| 122 | ** In ''Anime/YuGiOhArcV'', Shun Kurosaki has a card called "Raid Raptors -- Satellite Cannon Falcon", which is a Kill Sat combined with a giant cybernetic falcon. Combined with the HardLight technology of the setting, it has absolutely devastating results -- he blew up the stadium, and in the following 20+ episodes it never gets fixed. He's also banned from dueling there again. |
| 123 | ** ''Manga/YuGiOhOCGStories'': In the backstory of the Sky Striker arc, the AI-run nation of Spectra used satellite weapons to render humanity extinct. The [=AIs=] of the nation Karma blew up all the satellites, filling the planet's orbit with so much debris that that it is impossible to launch anything into orbit again. In the final part of the arc, [[spoiler:Azalea reveals that there was one satellite that they missed and commands it to blast her enemies, but Raye is able to shoot it down before it can fire.]] |
| 124 | * ''Franchise/{{Zoids}}'': |
| 125 | ** There's one in the ''Anime/ZoidsNewCentury'' series, as a side function of the Judge satellite. While it doesn't usually come up because the enemy uses Dark Judges, which skew the battle in their favor, in one specific instance there's a regular Judge on the battlefield and the bad guys ignore him completely, prompting him to call down a barrage that completely frags the remaining enemies and their AirborneAircraftCarrier. |
| 126 | ** Near the end of the series during a tournament, the Backdraft Group calls down a whole bunch of different Dark Judges. As they're defeated on the ground, the real judging authority has a very large satellite covered in gun turrets that blows the satellites out of the sky. |
| 127 | [[/folder]] |
| 128 | |
| 129 | [[folder:Comic Books]] |
| 130 | * ''ComicBook/AtomicRobo'' sees the titular character seize control of a Nazi kill sat. |
| 131 | * ''ComicBook/TheAvengers'': An early story features a group of {{mad scientist}}s ([[ComicBook/AntMan Egghead]], [[ComicBook/FantasticFour the Mad Thinker, and the Puppet Master]]) attempting to hold the Earth for ransom with one of these. [[TheGoodGuysAlwaysWin Obviously]], the Avengers stop it. |
| 132 | * ''ComicBook/{{Blackhawk}}'': A kinetic harpoon, armed with bunches of tungsten rods, appears in one story. Wildman is in love with the concept -- "Why spend all the money and resources building a laser or a missile when an inert object traveling at Mach Ten does the same amount of damage?" |
| 133 | * In ''ComicBook/TheDarkKnightStrikesAgain'', Luthor gleefully describes the system of Kill Sats he placed around Earth to a captive Batman. Kill Sats which will wipe out most of Earth's population and bring it to a level that will be easier for Luthor to control. [[spoiler:Fortunately, Batman had only let himself be captured as a distraction to give Green Lantern an opportunity to get rid of the Kill Sat network.]] |
| 134 | * ''ComicBook/{{Fathom}}'': The Blue had a network of these orbiting Earth before [[spoiler:Killian's Blue Sun destroys them all to absorb their energy]]. In the event that the Surface Dwellers ever gave them a reason, this network could have obliterated every city on Earth several times over. They also had a secondary function of being spy satellites. |
| 135 | * ''ComicBook/GIJoeARealAmericanHeroMarvel'' has a kill sat with the command centre hidden in the Chrysler Building. [[ComicBook/GIJoeARealAmericanHeroIDW The IDW series]] that carries on the Marvel continuity also uses it. |
| 136 | * The final issue of ''ComicBook/GlobalFrequency'' is based around a preset plan by the US government to cause a population reduction by blasting a few major cities with Kill Sats. These are kinetic harpoons, a single shot weapon mostly by virtue of being a fancy orbiting crossbow that fires an artificial diamond at enough speed that the kinetic energy goes off like a nuke when it strikes the ground. |
| 137 | * The last StoryArc of the original ''ComicBook/{{Grendel}}'' series features the Sun-Disk, a superweapon used only once (to level Japan and a future cold war), before its creator disables it and dies. |
| 138 | * ''ComicBook/InfiniteCrisis'': The rogue [[ComicBook/{{OMAC}} Brother Eye]] satellite that ComicBook/{{Batman}} built can be used as a Kill Sat; it even has the A.I. necessary to use and control all of its functions (yes, even the ''really'' deadly ones) on its own, [[AIIsACrapshoot which sucks for Earth]]. |
| 139 | * Ultraman is a human version in ''ComicBook/JLAEarth2''. When he hears someone on Earth talking trash about him, he leaves the Crime Syndicate's satellite bases and blasts the man from space with EyeBeams. |
| 140 | * ''ComicBook/PaperinikNewAdventures'': |
| 141 | ** It is stated that Xerba had a powerful network of these for defense, believed to be able to stop any and all attacks. [[InformedAttribute However, we don't get to see it in action]], as [[WeComeInPeaceShootToKill the Evronians convince the Xerbians to sign a trading treaty and temporarily deactivate the defense network and invade in that small window of opportunity]], [[CurbStompBattle quickly overrunning the capital to prevent reactivation and conquering the planet in a matter of days]]. |
| 142 | ** Earth is also stated to have one such defensive network. While far less efficient than Xerba's, it ''is'' seen in action as it wipes out a number of Evronian ships and is believed formidable enough that it would cause unacceptable losses to an Evronian invasion... Assuming it detects them, as Evronian stealth technology is advanced enough to make it rather hard. |
| 143 | * An orbital particle beam cannon shows up in ''ComicBook/{{Planetary}}''. |
| 144 | * ''ComicBook/PS238'': [[spoiler:Zodon]]'s 'modifications' to the lunar lander. |
| 145 | * Taken to ''ridiculous extremes'' in ''ComicBook/SecretWars2015'', as it is revealed that, in order to stop the [[ApocalypseHow/ClassX4 Incursions]], ComicBook/IronMan has created the ''Sol's Hammer'', a Kill Sat surrounding the sun which [[ThePowerOfTheSun absorbs solar energy to recharge itself]] and can destroy a ''planet'' at '''2% of power!''' |
| 146 | * ''ComicBook/StarWarsShatteredEmpire'' shows the Galactic Empire using a number of kill sats in Operation: Cinder, a series of orbital bombardments triggered as a contingency following the death of Emperor Palpatine. |
| 147 | * ''ComicBook/{{Superman}}'': |
| 148 | ** In ''ComicBook/SupermanVsTheAmazingSpiderMan'', Lex Luthor appropiates Comlab, an orbiting communications laboratory, and turns it into a weapon capable of controlling the weather. He creates a giant storm [[spoiler:with the deliberate intention of destroying human civilization, but Superman and ComicBook/SpiderMan stop him]]. |
| 149 | ** In ''ComicBook/WarWorld'', the eponymous super-weapon is a star-sized satellite equipped with weapons that can easily disintegrate planets. When Superman and ComicBook/{{Supergirl}} attempt to destroy it, they confirm that a pair of blows of the weakest weapon of Warworld can kill them in spite of being nigh invulnerable. |
| 150 | ** In ''ComicBook/ThePhantomZone'', General Zod and his criminal band build a giant space cannon, powered by Green Lantern's power battery, to send Earth into the Phantom Zone. |
| 151 | ** In ''ComicBook/LuthorUnleashed'', Lex Luthor builds an orbital weapon which surrounds Metropolis with a force field, cutting the city off from the outside world almost completely. Superman soon figures out that tampering with the force field or the satellite itself will trigger a detonation, obliterating Metropolis. |
| 152 | ** One of the {{Kryptonite Ring}}s which Superman helps Leo Quintum design in ''ComicBook/AllStarSuperman'' is a cannon that's fired from the Moon which can send Superman into the [[PrisonDimension Phantom Zone]]. |
| 153 | * In the BizarroUniverse ''ComicBook/TransformersShatteredGlass'', the United States has a massive Kill Sat called the [[FunWithAcronyms Global Orbiting Defense Satellite]], which gets hijacked by the Autobots and used to hold the world hostage to their demands. |
| 154 | * The kinetic harpoon concept appears in ''ComicBook/TheWildStorm''; Skywatch calls it "Little Stick", a single diamond rod too small for radar detection, dropped into the atmosphere over a target and striking with the force of a tactical nuke. Bendix uses one to level a recently evacuated I/O base and threatens he could easily do the same to their New York City HQ. |
| 155 | [[/folder]] |
| 156 | |
| 157 | [[folder:Comic Strips]] |
| 158 | * ''ComicStrip/BloomCounty'' parodied SDI with "The Space-Based, Basselope-powered All-Purpose Defense Initiative," featuring a ridiculous variety of {{Death Ray}}s including the "Anti 7-Eleven Porno Rack Raygun" and the "Anti-presidential Progeny Destruct-o-Beam." |
| 159 | [[/folder]] |
| 160 | |
| 161 | [[folder:Fan Works]] |
| 162 | * A variation of Kill Sats appeared in the ''Fanfic/AllThingsProbableSeries'' story: ''[[http://www.fanfiction.net/s/3785522/1/A_Friend_In_Darkness A Friend in Darkness]]''. The villains of the story, Monkey Fist (who had been infused with the power of the Yono) and Maze, used a device called an Ultra-Atmospheric Jammer to seize control of the world's communication satellites and use them to channel the Yono's [[TakenForGranite petrification]] power across the world to create an army of {{Living Statue}}s. |
| 163 | ** Monkey Fist also had a more destructive [[ShockAndAwe lightning bolt attack]], and some readers [[FridgeLogic wonder why he didn't channel that through the satellites]]. |
| 164 | * ''Fanfic/{{HERZ}}'': The Orbital Defence Platforms, satellites mounted with positronic cannons. Power was collected by solar panels and channelled into a sophisticated power system to blast enemies from the sky. |
| 165 | -->''"We've still got the Orbital Defence Platforms that we put up over the past few years. Their positronic cannons should give HERZ's Evas a real nasty surprise should the need actually arise. And they thought that we'd actually use it to help those UN and HERZ guys over that little escapade in Kransoyarsk."''\ |
| 166 | ''"Ain't this a beauty." Each ODP was a satelite mounted with a version of the positron rifle first used by Eva. Power was collected by solar panels and channeled into a sophisticated power system. This was the ultimate weapon. And now, they were all in place, circling the heavens. Deadly and waiting.'' |
| 167 | * In ''Fanfic/ImaginarySeas'', Zoe Nightshade assists Percy through her constellation in the stars, raining arrows in the form of lasers upon foes in the general direction of Percy's sword swings through their mutual connection in Riptide. While these beams are normally a mere D-Rank Noble Phantasm, enough to injure but not kill a Servant, their power rises dramatically at night when the stars and moon are visible, easily delivering a BoomHeadshot death to the soldiers Lostbelt Chiron sends after Percy. At full power, they're strong enough to scour an island. |
| 168 | * ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'' has an image macro titled "Hate Detected. Firing The Orbital Friendship Cannon. (It's not actually a Kill Sat though, just SpeedLines combined with MundaneMadeAwesome). The ''WebAnimation/MLPFIMFanFic'' [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5x8bZJPovUQ animation]], however, plays it straight. |
| 169 | ** Orbital Friendship ''Beam'', meanwhile, is used by several fanfics to refer to the beam produced by the Elements of Harmony. |
| 170 | * In ''Fanfic/KyonBigDamnHero'', Kyon's {{Morph Weapon}}s can assemble into a Kill Sat called "[[ShoutOut Spear]] [[Franchise/TouhouProject the Gungnir]]". |
| 171 | * During ''Fanfic/TheEmiyaClan'' Christmas Special [[VisualNovel/{{Tsukihime}} Zelretch]] is shown to have an orbital railgun, in the shape of a giant yellow smiley face. It's used to great effect. |
| 172 | * Used in ''Fanfic/ADream''. As part of Valiant's satellite program, he's launched several stations capable of carrying out kinetic bombardment of nearly any location in Equestria. So far it's only been used against [[KnightTemplar Gabby]], which while it failed to kill her, it completely destroyed the landscape and is the only thing to even come close to disabling [[DamageProofVehicle Tin Mare.]] |
| 173 | * ''Fanfic/TheLastSon'' features a couple of examples: |
| 174 | ** A.I.M. constructed an orbital railgun as part of a blackmail scheme with Kaznia. |
| 175 | ** Battlestation Sentrius is described by Nick Fury as a Death Star 2.0, and with good reason: it has all the state-of-the-art weaponry available in the Kryptonian Military Force. [[spoiler:General Zod uses it to launch a Nova Javelin at North Korea in retaliation for them trying to attack it with a salvo of nukes.]] |
| 176 | * The oddly named "Cosmetic Moonlight Blaster" appears as part of Bahija's backstory in ''[[Fanfic/TheZeroContextSeries The Zero Context Series]]'', dealing the finishing blow in a [[NoHoldsBarredBeatdown vicious chain of attacks]] that she experienced. Bahija remembers the blast as striking her with the force of "a thousand supernovas concentrated into a single point" while the power was set to less than one percent. |
| 177 | * ''Fanfic/FalloutEquestriaPinkEyes'' features Ponymedes, a pre-war system of these. Since nobody remembers it exists nowadays, the controller finds its way into the hands of Puppysmiles, an elementary schooler who thinks its a toy gun. Attempting to 'fire' it in the middle of a battle forces both sides to immediately abort and start running as soon as they notice the beams of light taking aim from space. |
| 178 | [[/folder]] |
| 179 | |
| 180 | [[folder:Films -- Animation]] |
| 181 | * In ''WesternAnimation/{{Antz}}'', a kid with a [[SolarPoweredMagnifyingGlass magnifying glass]] functions as the insect-sized version of this. He vaporizes one [[{{Mooks}} soldier ant]] before chasing the protagonists down with a beam of sunlight. They get away, but end up hopelessly lost in the process. |
| 182 | * In ''WesternAnimation/BatmanBeyondReturnOfTheJoker'', the Joker [[spoiler:using [[GrandTheftMe his host Tim Drake's]] knowledge as a communication expert,]] builds a Satellite Jamming System that allows him to take control of a military defense satellite armed with a laser. Terry is forced into a chase scene with the beam through downtown Gotham at one point. ([[WordOfGod The commentary notes]] that this is a ShoutOut to the ''Manga/{{Akira}}'' example from above.) |
| 183 | * The Zeus space cannon in ''Anime/FinalFantasyTheSpiritsWithin''. |
| 184 | * This is how WesternAnimation/{{Megamind}} actually kills [=MetroMan=]. [[spoiler:Except that it turns out that [=MetroMan's=] NotQuiteDead.]] In the straight-to-video ''Megamind: The Buttom of Doom'', the villain-turned-hero Megamind tries to sell off all his "evil" inventions at a garage sale, including the Kill Sat, which he markets as a barbeque starter. This is the only item he fails to sell. It turns out to be useful in the end [[spoiler:when he has to destroy a HumongousMecha he built a long time ago programmed to kill heroes, who he now happens to be]]. |
| 185 | [[/folder]] |
| 186 | |
| 187 | [[folder:Films -- Live-Action]] |
| 188 | * ''Film/AmeriGeddon'': The terrorists affiliated with the [[UnitedNationsIsASuperpower United Nations]] possess a satellite that can fire an {{EMP}} before self-destructing. It's used to cause a massive blackout [[FalseFlagOperation as a pretext for martial law in the United States]]. |
| 189 | * Dr. Evil's "Alan Parsons Project" in ''Film/AustinPowers: The Spy Who Shagged Me''. He cheats a little by putting it on the Moon, but that's still in orbit -- [[FridgeBrilliance in fact]], the Moon is a '''natural satellite'''. |
| 190 | * ''Film/DefCon4'' is a case where it's a space station instead of an autonomous satellite. Nevertheless, the film's main protagonists are stationed in one and ordered to launch the nuclear missiles if war breaks out -- which it does. [[spoiler:One warhead that was not launched because of an apparent malfunction, but which remained armed and began counting down after the station crashed, is the film's biggest DiabolusExMachina.]] |
| 191 | * ''Film/EpochEvolution'' starts with a Chinese GeneralRipper launching an unauthorized nuclear strike at a Western space station armed with three laser weapons for shooting down [=ICBMs=]. The attack is preceded by a Chinese satellite disabling one of the weapons with a powerful jamming signal. Two of the missiles are shot down early enough, but the remaining one can only be hit by the disabled laser. The crew of the station manages to get control of it in time to destroy the missile, but the nuclear blast still destroys the station. In retaliation, a US sub torpedoes a Chinese one. Things start to snowball toward a nuclear war. [[spoiler:Fortunately, they don't reach that point, and a Chinese party official has the rogue general arrested.]] |
| 192 | * The stolen MacGuffin in ''Film/EscapeFromLA'' is a control for a network of Kill Sats that can be focused to shut off all electric devices in specific regions, effectively returning them to the Dark Ages. |
| 193 | * A ''very'' unconventional example in ''Film/{{Geostorm}}''. The Dutch Boy satellites are orbiting {{weather control machine}}s that are meant to ''save people'' by changing the weather in a specific area. The plot revolves around them doing the opposite (which is made blatantly clear by the trailers). The Moscow satellite plays it particularly straight by attacking the city with a massive heat ray very akin to the (in)famous one in ''Film/DieAnotherDay''. |
| 194 | * ''Film/GIJoeRetaliation'': Cobra's Zeus satellites, [[spoiler:which they use to break London like an egg]]. Want to know something scary? That appears to be a very accurate depiction of how such a system would function in reality. The only mistake they make is when they say that the satellite "drops" its rods instead of launching them. If it merely dropped the rods, then they'd continue orbiting with the satellite instead of falling to the surface. The rods have to launched on a tangential velocity in order to reduce their orbit and get them to fall where intended. |
| 195 | * ''Franchise/{{Godzilla}}'': |
| 196 | ** The Soviet Nuclear Attack Satellite in ''Film/TheReturnOfGodzilla'' counts as this, being a military satellite operated by Soviet Russia armed to the teeth with [=ICBM=]s. In the original Japanese film, the Satellite is accidentally activated after Godzilla damages the boat carrying the launch system, but not before the ship's commander, Colonel Kashirin, bravely tries to stop the launch sequence, but dies in the process. In the American dub, he deliberately launches the missile. |
| 197 | ** The Dimension Tide in ''Film/GodzillaVsMegaguirus'' was designed to trap Godzilla within a miniaturised black hole. Unfortunately, a test firing of the satellite's cannon opened a wormhole for a very brief moment, allowing an egg from the Carboniferous period containing countless Meganulon and the larval Megaguirus to arrive in the present day. The Dimension Tide is later used at the end of the film to successfully trap Godzilla, although it seems to have merely imprisoned him underground... |
| 198 | * ''Film/JamesBond'' villains love this trope: |
| 199 | ** DiabolicalMastermind Ernst Stavro Blofeld helped [[TropeMakers pioneer this trope]] in ''Film/DiamondsAreForever''. Willard Whyte, a faintly disguised version of Howard Hughes, is a reclusive billionaire who supposedly put a satellite into orbit as part of his Aerospace operations; [[spoiler:it's actually Blofeld, impersonating Whyte, who went on to use the satellite's ability to focus the sun's light into a coherent beam and thus fire a laser anywhere on earth to attack important locations such as nuclear missile launch facilities or nuclear submarines]]. |
| 200 | ** ''Film/{{Moonraker}}'' has a slight twist on this: Hugo Drax's Kill Sat is also an inhabited SpaceStation, where his master race will remain safe and sound while nerve gas wipes out the rest of humanity. |
| 201 | ** The titular weapons in ''Film/GoldenEye'' are single-shot {{EMP}}[=-based=] Kill Sats. The first one is used to cover up the theft of the satellite control codes by destroying the operations base. The BigBad plots to use the second one to knock out London (and all evidence of a [[BankRobbery grand electronic bank raid]] to be completed first), but is stopped by Bond and his [[GirlOfTheWeek Girl of the Movie]], Natalya. |
| 202 | ** The villain in ''Film/DieAnotherDay'' makes an orbital [[SolarPoweredMagnifyingGlass mirror]] that doubles as a Kill Sat. |
| 203 | * ''Film/LooneyTunesBackInAction'' has the [[AcmeProducts ACME satellite]], which harnesses the power of the Blue Monkey diamond to turn the earth's population into monkeys. |
| 204 | -->'''Daffy:''' Uh, did you order satellite?\ |
| 205 | '''Bugs:''' Eh, I don't even have cable. |
| 206 | * ''Film/ManOfSteel'' (and the opening of ''Film/BatmanVSupermanDawnOfJustice'') has the Kryptonian World Engine, which is used for [[HostileTerraforming terraforming planets]] using a destructive pillar of light with gravitational effects; while not explicitly a tool for mass murder, it has that effect by default if deployed over a populated area, and indeed the Kryptonians park it directly over Metropolis. |
| 207 | * ''Film/MaximumOverdrive'': [[spoiler:At the end, the epilogue states that the alien mothership was destroyed by a Russian "weather satellite" equipped with a laser cannon and "Class IV Nuclear Missiles".]] |
| 208 | * ''Film/{{Meteor}}'' features two satellites armed with over a dozen nuclear weapons. It turns out that Dr. Paul Bradley designed one to be a defense against asteroids, but they thought it would be better used against Russia. |
| 209 | * In ''Film/OnceUponASpy'', BigBad Marcus Valorium steals the X-2 supercomputer from NASA because this allows him to calculate the exact position of any satellite in orbit. This in turn allows him to use any satellite as a kill sat by bouncing his ShrinkRay off it. |
| 210 | * In ''Film/RealGenius'', the lead characters are duped by their college professor into building a laser which is intended as the main weapon for a Kill Sat dubbed "Crossbow". [[spoiler:They retaliate by sabotaging the test to have it destroy the duplicitous professor's home [[CoolAndUnusualPunishment with popcorn]].]] Technically, the weapon would be mounted on a shuttle, not on a satellite, as shown by the demo video at the start of the movie. It's still insta-death from orbit for anyone it hits, though. |
| 211 | * In ''Film/TheRightStuff'', this is the flavor of RedScare that Senator (later VP and President) Johnson invokes to scare the cabinet into funding the space program. |
| 212 | -->''"And now the Communists have established a foothold in outer space. Pretty soon they'll have damned space platforms so they can drop nuclear bombs on us, like rocks from a highway overpass."'' |
| 213 | * The protagonists in ''Film/SpaceCowboys'' go into space to fix what they're told is a communications satellite, only to find out that it's an old Soviet Kill Sat armed with nuclear missiles and in danger of activating. |
| 214 | * In ''Film/SpiderManFarFromHome'', Tony leaves Peter in charge of a Stark satellite that holds an army of AttackDrones that can be deployed anywhere on Earth. |
| 215 | * ''Film/StarTrek2009'': The ''Narada'''s drill. It seems to blast some kind of epic fire rather than an actual laser, but it can punch straight to the ''core of a planet''. [[spoiler:This turns out to be problematic for Vulcan, as it allows the Romulans to drop a ball of black-hole-creating matter to the core and make it implode.]] Something like that in the hands of angry and [[OmnicidalManiac "particularly troubled"]] Romulans? Oh sure, they get kinda [[WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds Woobie]] with the backstory, but that still ain't a happy situation. |
| 216 | * ''Franchise/StarWars'': |
| 217 | ** The Death Star from ''Film/ANewHope'', and its successor in ''Film/ReturnOfTheJedi''. It's not ''technically'' a satellite, since it's a mobile space station with millions of staff, [[TheBattlestar a full complement of fighters and support ships, thousands of secondary weapons]], and a [[EarthShatteringKaboom planet-shattering]] superlaser -- however, it is seen orbiting the planet Yavin in ''A New Hope'' so that it can turn its superlaser on the moon where the main rebel base is located. |
| 218 | ** The Death Star acts much more like a typical Kill Sat in ''Film/RogueOne'' when Tarkin orders the battlestation to fire low-power shots to destroy the Holy City on Jedha and the Imperial base on Scarif. The blasts destroy the targets and their surrounding areas while the celestial bodies remain (relatively) intact. This is because it was firing its superlaser at minimum setting. |
| 219 | * In ''Film/TransformersRevengeOfTheFallen'', Soundwave's alt mode is that of a satellite. Instead of normal projectiles, however, he fires other Decepticons, notably his minion Ravage. -- and if his toy bio has any credence, he's hacked so many satellites that he could destroy human civilization if he got bored. |
| 220 | * ''Film/UnderSiege2DarkTerritory'' features a DiabolicalMastermind who designed one such satellite for the military, [[NotQuiteDead faking his death]], and seizing control of it to threaten Washington, DC. It shoots ''earthquakes'' -- which, [[ArtisticLicensePhysics somehow]], can also destroy high-flying bomber jets. |
| 221 | * Although it didn't make it into the final product, an early draft script of the ''Film/{{Watchmen}}'' [[TheMovie movie]] featured one of these. (None existed in [[ComicBook/{{Watchmen}} the original comic]].) |
| 222 | [[/folder]] |
| 223 | |
| 224 | [[folder:Literature]] |
| 225 | * In ''Literature/BookOfTheAncestor'', the planet Abeth's moon is a giant focusing mirror that melts away a bit of the ice covering the planet each night. The moon's light can also be focused on a single point, instantly vaporizing everything there through the immense heat. In the climax of the third book, Zole and Nona [[spoiler:kill the Scithrowl's warrior-queen this way, ending the ongoing war]]. |
| 226 | * ''Literature/TheCardinalOfTheKremlin'': The simultaneous development of anti-satellite weapons by the US and the USSR is a major plot point. As the lasers were ground-located, they weren't technically Kill Sats, but the US system included the ability to bounce the laser beam off of multiple orbiting mirrors, thus hitting any target on the planet. It worked, too, except that the laser was too weak to do much more than give the target a mild sunburn. |
| 227 | * The Creator/DeanKoontz novel ''Dark Rivers of the Heart'' has a rare heroic use of one. One of the protagonists uses a back door to commandeer a Japanese laser satellite, using it to help make a getaway. The satellite is named Franchise/{{Godzilla}}. |
| 228 | * The fusion-powered microwave satellites in ''Literature/{{Duumvirate}}'' can burn and melt a building. |
| 229 | * ''Flight of the Old Dog'' by Creator/DaleBrown involves the Russians with a nuclear-powered laser in Siberia. Later, they deploy a mirror sat, and the Americans deploy their own Kill Sat with X-Ray warheads in response. |
| 230 | * ''Literature/GregMandelTrilogy'': |
| 231 | ** In ''Mindstar Rising'', [[HonestCorporateExecutive Julia Evans]] creates an improvised version by hacking her own space probe so it remains in Earth orbit. She intended to place a phone call to the BigBad to establish the location of his yacht, then ColonyDrop the probe on it. It ends up getting used in a similar manner in the climax of the novel. |
| 232 | ** By the third book, the area of concern is a surprise attack by a SpacePlane armed with kinetic energy harpoons, so networks of high-orbit defense platforms have been organised on a regional basis rather than political alliances. Strictly defensive, but as there's a fear of them also having hidden kinetic energy harpoons, [[SpaceColdWar spy satellites are put up to keep an eye on them]]. The protagonists are investigating a possible FirstContact by an alien lifeform, and there's a lot of concern that the alien might be hostile. A Russian general who is a friend of Greg's tells him he has the means to access these defense satellites to [[WeComeInPeaceShootToKill take direct action if needed]]. |
| 233 | * In ''Literature/HyperionCantos'', Fedmahn Kassad uses these to resolve a planet-wide hostage situation -- by simultaneously attacking all of the terrorist ringleaders at once. The leader of the terrorists is even killed on live television mid-SedgwickSpeech, for bonus points. |
| 234 | * ''Literature/KittyCatKillSat'': Lily's station, unsurprisingly. Funnily enough, its weapons are supposed to be pointed ''out'', towards space, but at some point, it was flipped upside down because she needed most of the guns pointed down at the surface. She uses the to bomb portals spitting out monsters, ancient machine foundries who don't know their wars are over, or just blast a few demagogues leading armies of conquest. |
| 235 | * "The Last Command" is a short story by Creator/ArthurCClarke in which the USSR built one of these, armed with nuclear missiles, as the "ultimate deterrent". |
| 236 | * In ''Milan last stop'' by Simone Farè, set in a soft dystopic world, the city of Milan, Italy has a secret PureEnergy and DeflectorShields and uses it, among things, to create and launch such a satellite called "Giudecca", controlled by the same physicist who controls the city and created these technologies. |
| 237 | * A Kill Sat named [[FunWithAcronyms ODIN]] ('''O'''rbital '''D'''efense '''IN'''itiative) appears in the ''Literature/MortalEngines'' quartet, especially in ''Infernal Devices'' and ''A Darkling Plain''. A semi-sentient one no less. You might even feel sorry for it after its mini-BSOD. |
| 238 | * ''Literature/TheNightsDawnTrilogy'' has planets surrounded by swarms of these, known as "Strategic Defense satellites". They usually are pointed outward to defend against attacks from space, but can be used against surface targets with devastating effects. |
| 239 | * In ''Powersat'' by Creator/BenBova, a microwave power satellite is turned into a Kill Sat by a bunch of terrorists. |
| 240 | * In ''Quicksilver'' by Judith and Garfield Reeves-Stevens, the titular satellite was intended to be a relatively harmless (to biological material) EMP blast, but instead caused some sort of [[AppliedPhlebotinum chain reaction]] which charged the air around the target to such a degree that hugely powerful bolts of lightning would strike the target instead. |
| 241 | * In ''Literature/RedStormRising'', both the US and USSR employ anti-satellite weapons. Played straight by the Soviets with kamikaze anti-satellite satellites, but inverted by the US with the air-to-orbit [[https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/ASM-135_ASAT ASM-135 missile]]. See the entries under Real Life, below. |
| 242 | * ''Literature/{{Ringworld}}'': The Ring is defended by a magnetically controlled x-ray laser made by the forced fluorescing of sunspots. The beam of this weapon is the width of Earth's moon. |
| 243 | * ''Literature/{{Riverworld}}'': Human history (as represented by the population of the Riverworld) ends when a fumbled first contact triggers a counterattack by an orbiting alien satellite that methodically lases every square mile of Earth into ash. |
| 244 | * ''Literature/{{Safehold}}'': The planet Safehold's prohibition on advanced technology is enforced by orbital platforms that, if they detect power sources, will unleash a [[KineticWeaponsAreJustBetter kinetic bombardment]] capable of devastating a small continent. Merlin is running extensive tests to determine what counts as a "power source". So far, no solution has been found to the main problem, [[spoiler:but we're up to steam engines with no response]]. |
| 245 | * The title space station in ''Silver Tower'' by Creator/DaleBrown has a [[EnergyWeapon high energy laser weapon]] called Skybolt that's used to wipe out a swarm of Soviet cruise missiles and save an American naval fleet from destruction. It reappears in later books, but the Skybolt is eventually removed. ''Executive Intent'' has the Mjölnir/Thor's Hammer kinetic kill vehicles, transparently based on the RealLife "Rods from God". |
| 246 | * ''Franchise/StarWarsLegends'': |
| 247 | ** In ''[[Literature/XWingSeries Wedge's Gamble]]'', Rogue Squadron remote-control-hijacks a solar mirror orbiting Imperial Center. The mirrors are used to redirect sunlight, but this one was focused on one of the water reclamation plants in order to raise the local humidity to create a massive thunderstorm and knock out the power at a shield generator. Nothing exploded, but there was quite a bit of steam and melting going on. |
| 248 | ** [[http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Base_Delta_Zero Base Delta Zero]]. |
| 249 | ** In ''[[Literature/NewJediOrder Rebel Dream]]'', the New Republic pulls this off for the first time with Operation Emperor's Hammer, using the ''Lusankya'' to bombard the Yuuzhan Vong warriors assaulting the Borleias base. |
| 250 | --->'''Wedge:''' We're going to face them with an enemy they've never had the displeasure of fighting. We're going to hit them with the Empire.\ |
| 251 | '''Tycho:''' They're not going to like the Empire. |
| 252 | ** ''Literature/{{Shatterpoint}}'' features a De-Orbiting Kinetic Anti-emplacement Weapon, or DOKAW, that essentially drops a chunk of metal from orbit at 30,000 kilometers per hour. |
| 253 | * ''Literature/TakeshiKovacs''' homeworld of Harlan's World has several [[{{Precursors}} Martian]] satellites in orbit that vaporize any technology more advanced than a gas-powered helicopter that rises above a certain altitude. Though there is at least one gap in the coverage through which the original ColonyShip landed. The "angelfire" also makes for good Harlan's Day fireworks, and easy disposal of bodies. |
| 254 | * In "Literature/TrueNames", the Eye of God laser satellites are the first military installations taken over during the climactic in-computer battle between the BigBad and Mr. Slippery/Erythina. Suddenly, things get real, and the danger of dying the True Death raises its head. |
| 255 | * ''Literature/{{VALIS}}'': Almost completely inverted with VALIS. In addition to healing serious injuries and curing cancer, it provides telepathic assistance to keep you from ''getting'' killed (including taking control of the protagonist when he is [[spoiler:framed as a Communist spy]]), advice (prophetic dreams, future knowledge, and at one point [[spoiler:an audience with God]]), and [[spoiler:immortality beyond death]]. The only thing it ''doesn't'' do is perform resurrections... at least not within the context of the story. |
| 256 | * In ''Literature/WraithKing'', there is a literal example of the trope as an orbital satellite leftover from the days of Old Terralan is used to blast the armies of [[spoiler:both Empress Morwen and Jacob, killing the majority of both. Jacob ends up destroying it by sacrificing his newly acquired human body]]. |
| 257 | [[/folder]] |
| 258 | |
| 259 | [[folder:Live-Action TV]] |
| 260 | * ''Series/{{Angel}}'': In "[[Recap/AngelS05E10SoulPurpose Soul Purpose]]", the heroes are surprised and disturbed to find they have such a thing at their command (in the form of microwave laser satellites) after taking over Wolfram and Hart. Angel considers using them to wipe out all the bad guys rather than continue to live as a corporate drone. |
| 261 | * ''Series/BabylonFive'': |
| 262 | ** In "[[Recap/BabylonFiveS04E20Endgame Endgame]]", when Sheridan's forces arrive at Earth and easily overwhelm most of the remnants of [=EarthForce=] fleet, [[PresidentEvil President Clark]] kills himself, [[TakingYouWithMe after programming the planet's orbital defense system to take all of Earth with him]]. This means Sheridan's fleet must destroy the satellites before they fire. |
| 263 | ** The rebuilt orbital defense system shows up again in "[[Film/BabylonFiveACallToArms A Call to Arms]]", and this time manages to fire their {{Wave Motion Gun}}s at the target, the Drakh fleet. The Drakh are ''obliterated''... but, sadly, not in time to stop them from infecting Earth with [[ThePlague their plague]]. |
| 264 | ** The Expanded Universe has many other models from multiple factions. Honorable mention for capability and originality go to the Abbai Alanti, the Orieni Skywatch and the Drazi Shodroma: where most models are just a large gun or missile launcher (or both) with thrusters for positioning and aiming, the Alanti, like most things put in space by the Abbai, has actual DeflectorShields, the Skywatch complements the laser cannons and missiles with ''[[RammingAlwaysWorks kamikaze drones to ram enemy targets]]'' (a standard Orieni weapon), and the Shodroma packs the same Drazi-designed WaveMotionGun of the Earth model (the blueprints of the weapon were given to Earth during the Earth-Minbari War as an apology for their inability to intervene and fight the Minbari). |
| 265 | * The Season 2 finale of ''Series/{{Blindspot}}'' reveals that using one of these is key to [[NebulousEvilOrganization Sandstorm]]'s ultimate plan, based on the more realistic principle of a satellite (which Sandstorm put into orbit) launching a projectile from high orbit to impact the surface. This one has the added component of [[spoiler:being targeted for the GPS coordinates of some nuclear material that Sandstorm stole; the impact will cause it to disperse over most of the East Coast]]. |
| 266 | * Parodied by ''Series/TheColbertReport'' when Colbert responds to North Korea's bizarre video about a man dreaming about nuking the United States by falling asleep and dreaming about flying into space to blow up North Korea with a satellite-mounted laser. (The effect is mitigated by the obvious use of movie clips and the presence a man dancing around in a hot dog suit.) |
| 267 | * In ''Series/TheExpanse'', the UN has at least 5 large railgun-armed satellites orbiting Earth. They can target and take out any target within the inner Solar System. The MCR has stealth orbital nuclear platforms aimed at Earth as a MAD-type deterrent. [[spoiler:The UN uses the former to take out the latter, but one of the platforms manages to get off a missile before being destroyed. The MIRV gets a warhead through Earth's anti-missile defenses and nukes South America, killing 2 million people.]] |
| 268 | * An early ''Series/FirstWave'' episode has the protagonist investigate the death of a college student who is revealed to have been working on a government project to deploy a series of nuclear missile-armed satellites in Earth's orbit. While he initially assumes they're there to attack other nations, the fact that they're pointing ''away'' from Earth tips him off that the government is aware of (some sort of) an alien threat and are taking precautions. Unfortunately, the aliens find out about this and send their agent to set the satellites to self-destruct, showing Earth with radioactive material. Since [[TheChosenOne Cade]] foils this plot, the satellites are assumed to still be up there. None if this is ever mentioned again. |
| 269 | * ''Series/KamenRiderFourze'': The M-BUS is capable of acting as one, though it mostly serves as a Transform Sat instead. |
| 270 | * Project Crossbow in ''Series/{{Nikita}}'', a defunct Strategic Defense Initiative satellite that couldn't hit a moving target, but does really well against large, planet-based targets...like nuclear power plants. [[spoiler:Except it doesn't. In a subversion, it turns out that the whole thing is a hoax cooked up by a villain with mooks willing to conduct suicide bombings of the targeted reactors.]] |
| 271 | * In TheNineties remake of ''Series/TheProfessionals'', a scientist developed a successful laser satellite for the Star Wars program, but then the Soviet Union collapsed and the system was made redundant. He's able to regain control of the system and plans to sell it to an ArmsDealer. |
| 272 | * The 1978 ''Franchise/{{Quatermass}}'' series (a.k.a. ''Quatermass IV'' or ''The Quatermass Conclusion'') featured an alien device that lured people into small areas and then engulfed them in a column of light. True Believers assumed that the light was transporting them to a better planet. No such luck. It was actually a kind of nasty and insidious form of Kill Sat, only just to make things worse there wasn't an actual satellite that could be shot down. There was something that the Russians launched nuclear missiles at, but it didn't work. |
| 273 | ** In the novelisation (by the scriptwriter) Quatermass theorises that it's a kind of energy field surrounding the Earth like a huge soap bubble. When it needs to fire it just concentrates its energy on one spot. |
| 274 | * ''Franchise/StargateVerse'': |
| 275 | ** ''Series/StargateSG1'': |
| 276 | *** In the season 4 episode "[[Recap/StargateSG1S4E17AbsolutePower Absolute Power]]", the Harsesis (a human child born with the racial memories of [[PuppeteerParasite the Goa'uld]]) gives [[TheIdealist Daniel]] a sample of that knowledge after warning him that "Evil is too strong". Daniel uses that knowledge to lead the construction of a network of kill sats intended to defend the Earth from The Goa'uld, but then takes sole control over it and destroys Moscow to prove his power and discourage retaliation. [[spoiler:The entire thing was a dream given to him instead in order to teach him that]] [[DrunkWithPower Absolute Power Corrupts Absolutely]]. |
| 277 | *** In "[[Recap/StargateSG1S9E15Ethon Ethon]]", the Ori supply one of these to the Rand Protectorate, one of two feuding governments on the world of Tegalus. [[spoiler:It ends up destroying Earth's first starship, the ''Prometheus''.]] |
| 278 | ** The Asurans use a Kill Sat against Atlantis in the ''Series/StargateAtlantis'' episode "[[Recap/StargateAtlantisS03E20FirstStrike First Strike]]". The Kill Sat itself is a big ship with a stargate embedded in it. The beam is fired on the Asuran homeworld through a stargate, and out the other onto Atlantis. The Expedition also uses one (though it's actually a space station, not a satellite) in order to destroy a Wraith hive ship while a fleet of Wraith is on its way to Atlantis in in the finale of the first season. |
| 279 | * ''Franchise/StarTrek'': |
| 280 | ** ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'': In the season 6 finale "[[Recap/StarTrekDeepSpaceNineS06E26TearsOfTheProphets Tears of the Prophets]]", the combined Federation, Klingon, and Romulan fleets attempt to invade a Cardassian world protected by kill-sats. These satellites appear again when the allied fleet manage to reach Cardassia near the series finale. |
| 281 | ** ''Series/StarTrekEnterprise'': The Xindi weapon in season 3, which blasts a corridor of death from Florida to Venezuela in literal scorched earth campaign. And that was just the ''prototype''. The finished version was designed to create an EarthShatteringKaboom. |
| 282 | * ''Series/TheTwilightZone1985'': In "Quarantine", Matthew Foreman designed a series of particle beam satellites for the American government before he entered [[HumanPopsicle suspended animation]] in 2023. Sarah and the other members of the {{Commune}} ask him to use one of the surviving satellites to destroy a meteor that is rapidly approaching Earth. However, it turns out that they are deceiving him using their [[HumansArePsychicInTheFuture psychic powers]]. They actually want him to destroy [[TheArk an American spacecraft containing 1,000 politicians and military figures]] for whom only five or ten years have passed since the [[WorldWarIII nuclear war]] of 2043 because of TimeDilation. |
| 283 | * In ''Series/TheXFiles'', the episode "[[Recap/TheXFilesS05E11KillSwitch Kill Switch]]" (written by Creator/WilliamGibson) centered around a network of Kill Sats, complete with a computer control system that [[InstantAIJustAddWater developed its own ideas]] about how to use it. |
| 284 | [[/folder]] |
| 285 | |
| 286 | [[folder:Myths & Religion]] |
| 287 | * ''Literature/TheBible'': Although God deals out punishment from Heaven several times, special points go to the story of Elijah. The prophet is sitting on a hill when a captain leading fifty soldiers approaches and calls out, "Man of God, by order of the king, come down!" Elijah responds, "If I am a man of God, let fire come down from heaven and [[KillItWithFire consume you with your fifty men]]!" A second captain leading fifty men suffers the same fate, and the third one appears begging for his life. An angel tells Elijah that this one is safe to go with. |
| 288 | * Creator/ThomasAquinas in the ''Literature/SummaTheologiae'' discusses a speculative theory for the cleansing of the Last Judgement in which the light of the heavenly bodies is focused into massive burning laser beams by huge concave cloud mirrors. He considers it improbable, mostly because it could make the hour of judgement too predictable. |
| 289 | * Myth/ClassicalMythology: Helios is begged to by Gaia to throw a burning "red" ray to melt off Zeus' snow and ice off [[EldritchAbomination Typhon]] in Nonnus, Dionysiaca 2. 543 ff. |
| 290 | * Myth/EgyptianMythology: Ra's Eye, usually a goddess like Sekhmet or Isis, acts as this every night to kill of his enemy Apep...and punish whoever is unlawful. |
| 291 | [[/folder]] |
| 292 | |
| 293 | [[folder:Radio]] |
| 294 | * ''Radio/{{Earthsearch}}'': After the Sun threatens to go nova, Earth is surrounded by orbiting artificial suns and [[PlanetSpaceship moved to another solar system]]. The artificial suns are run by [[AIIsACrapshoot freewill computers, one of which goes power-mad]] and threatens to fry a city unless it's [[TakeOverTheWorld given control of the other artificial suns]]. Instead they cut the tractor beams holding it in orbit. |
| 295 | [[/folder]] |
| 296 | |
| 297 | [[folder:Tabletop Games]] |
| 298 | * In ''TabletopGame/ConspiracyX'', the secret organization "[[SovietSuperscience Project Rasputin]]" has a ''psychic'' Kill Sat. It's a gigantic amplifier for a crew of psychic characters, letting them use their powers on anything from one building to several square kilometers. In that area it can do things like read minds, alter memories, or yes, kill people. |
| 299 | ** More directly, NASA also had "Gun Stars" that would fire hockey-puck sized chunks of metal really fast at ground targets. |
| 300 | * ''TabletopGame/YuGiOh'' has Satellite Cannon. While it has 0 attack points it gains 1000 attack points every turn and continues to charge itself up indefinitely. And it cannot be destroyed by monsters who are Level 7 or lower, as according to the anime the Satellite is in outer-space and only strong monsters can reach the satellite. |
| 301 | * In the ''TabletopGame/OldWorldOfDarkness'', the Technocracy had secret orbital satellites for spying, defense against alien incursions, you name it (as well as various research stations on Luna and some moons of Jupiter and at Lagrange points throughout the solar system, a defense parameter around Earth and Moon, a DysonSphere in Deep Space...). As revealed in the supplement ''Time of Thin Blood'', when an ancient vampire arose from slumber in India during the End Times and laid waste to Bangladesh the Technocracy executed "Code Ragnarök"; they finally managed to destroy the vampire by first stunning him with fusion bombs and then incinerating him with the help of a network of mirror satellites and a concentrated ray of sunlight from heaven. |
| 302 | * In ''TabletopGame/LeviathanTheTempest'', the Marduk Society has access to orbital LightningGun satellites. They are very much a GodzillaThreshold weapon though, as they will probably kill everything within a quarter-mile of the target and are exactly as unsubtle as you would expect from a giant orbital lightning bolt. The rulebook mentions that player Leviathans should not have to worry about these unless they very seriously screw up. |
| 303 | * In ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}}'', Exterminatus is the command used by the Inquisition when demons or heresy spread too far across the planet to be contained by covert or even overt military action. All possible (or at least important) Imperial forces pull out, and the orbiting fleet blows the planet in any of a wide variety of ways, ranging from glassing the surface with hundreds of multi-gigaton warheads and ship-based beam weapons, to bombs filled with viruses that turn all organic matter into sludge, and "cyclonic torpedoes" that ''[[AtmosphereAbuse light the atmosphere on fire]]'' in a rather ''VideoGame/{{Homeworld}}''-esque way. All of these methods aim for one thing: rendering life on the planet impossible. |
| 304 | ** Even when you don't need to destroy the entire planet, the various factions aren't above shelling the battlefield from orbit. |
| 305 | ** There is a giant defense system in Terra's solar system meant to defend it against enemy fleets thousands strong. It includes Kill Sats, moons that were hollowed out and made into bases, and a whole space fleet to name a few items. |
| 306 | ** This being ''Warhammer 40k'', sometimes setting the atmosphere on fire, rendering organic matter into its constituent molecules or just plain old turning everything into molten slag just is not enough.. for this, there are two stage torpedoes which will actually [[EarthShatteringKaboom blow a planet up]]. |
| 307 | ** Lampshaded in the Ciaphis Cain novels, with Cain admitting that occasionally a planet is too far gone even for bombardment, as it won't work and merely "gives them ideas". |
| 308 | * In ''TabletopGame/{{Shadowrun}}'', "Thor shots" are Kill Sats that fire space junk at the target. It has similar power to a nuclear device and is treated as such. Orbital lasers also exist, and one was used on the dragon Alamais. He survived. Neo-Tokyo also has a power generating satellite in geosynchronous orbit, which as is quickly pointed out, also an enormous orbital microwave laser cannon. It's jokingly suggested in-universe that it's there in case [[Franchise/{{Godzilla}} Gojira attacks the city]]. |
| 309 | * The Fist of Shiva from the ''TabletopGame/FengShui'' supplement "Seed of the New Flesh" is a Buro [[WeatherControlMachine weather control satellite]] that doubles as a Kill Sat. In the adventure that features it, the players have to forge an alliance between all the other factions in order to commandeer a space shuttle, take over the Fist of Shiva, and use it to destroy the Buro-controlled 2056-era Vatican in order to wipe out not only a powerful Buro feng shui site, but also to stop the Buro from using their new Transworld Maglev Network to make the site the most powerful in the world and warping the world's chi to an unimaginable degree. |
| 310 | * ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'' has a spell called "Apocalypse from the Sky". No points for guessing what it does, considering it's not summoning kitties. |
| 311 | ** Also, in 4e Warlocks with a Starpact learn an spell that calls down an ice beam from the stars. Sustaining it drains the Warlock's life but continually ramps up the power. With Actions and a paladin sustaining him a Warlock could do several dozen D10's of damage over the course of the spell. |
| 312 | * In the TabletopGame/D20Modern Urban Arcana setting, the Swiss Juncture of Gnome (a bunch of gnomes dropped in Switzerland using their "out of the box" though process to form their technical consulting company) made plans for a kill sat, that [[AwesomeYetImpractical was never built because of cost concerns]]. |
| 313 | * In the post-apocalyptic world of ''TabletopGame/EclipsePhase'', the Earth has been ravaged by nuclear weaponry, bio- and nanovirii, and rampaging TITAN technology. The planet is under interdiction by a number of Kill Sats -- they shoot down anything attempting to reach or leave the surface. Who put them there? Nobody's quite sure... |
| 314 | * In ''TabletopGame/HeavyGear'', there's even a new term to describe kill sats -- ortillery, a portmanteau of orbital artillery. |
| 315 | * In ''TabletopGame/GeniusTheTransgression'', "Orbital Gun" is a modification one can make to Katastrofi Wonders. It allows the Wonder in question to deal out hellish amounts of damage, but makes it difficult to successfully hit any target smaller than an Navy destroyer. For added fun, you can also pour in some extra training and a crapton of Mania, and get the mother of all {{Healing Shiv}}s in orbital laser form. |
| 316 | * For reasons that aren't entirely clear a lot of White cards do this in TabletopGame/MagicTheGathering. [[http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Smite%20the%20Monstrous Smite the Monstrous]] is a apparently a mystical laser that is fired by the moon of Innistrad. |
| 317 | * In ''TabletopGame/NuclearWar'', the Killer Satellite card is used to deter/destroy Space Platforms. |
| 318 | ** It can also shoot down the Space Shuttle, IIRC. |
| 319 | * In ''TabletopGame/{{Rifts}}'' many people believe that Earth is surrounded by Kill Sats put into orbit by the nations before the Great Cataclysm, which is why nothing can be launched into space without being destroyed. They're partially right. In reality, [[ButWhatAboutTheAstronauts survivors from Earth's space stations and Moon colony]] maintain and deploy new Kill Sats deliberately to keep the Earth under quarantine. |
| 320 | * ''TabletopGame/BattleTech'' has Space Defense Systems used to protect capital worlds from invaders. They are armed with multiple cannons, design to take down warships, and blast incoming {{Drop Ship}}s attempting to make land fall. They're also insanely rare [[LostTechnology Lostech]] to the point that by the late 31st Century it's possible they've become completely extinct. |
| 321 | * ''TabletopGame/SentinelsOfTheMultiverse'': While he joins the heroes in fighting [=OblivAeon=], Luminary is still very much the MadScientist Baron Blade was. Case in point, his deck's special keyword is "Doomsday Device," and among them is an orbital death ray. |
| 322 | * ''TabletopGame/{{Neuroshima}}'' has two potential examples: |
| 323 | ** The ARGUS system is a constellation of missile defence satellites equipped with powerful lasers.[[note]]similar to some proposals from the real-life Strategic Defense Initiative program[[/note]] Some say it can be reprogrammed to hit ground-based targets. Although, if that were the case, the [[AIIsACrapshoot Moloch]] would probably have used it for that purpose long ago. |
| 324 | ** There are rumors that the Orbital, a pre-war space station, has some kind of weapon system installed. Naturally some people are worried that [[ButWhatAboutTheAstronauts the astronauts who are stuck up there]] will start to shoot random targets once they finally GoMadFromTheIsolation. |
| 325 | [[/folder]] |
| 326 | |
| 327 | [[folder:Video Games]] |
| 328 | * ''VideoGame/SeventhDragon III: code VFD'' has one that the Agent class can gain access to by completing a sidequest. Firing it causes massive damage to all enemies and has a high chance of inflicting Hacked status. |
| 329 | * ''VideoGame/AceCombat'': |
| 330 | ** ''VideoGame/AceCombat3Electrosphere'' has the OSL (Orbital Satellite Laser) unlockable weapon, which [[GameBreaker only requires a radar lock and the push of a button to annihilate any target in one hit, is available for all aircraft, and has plenty of "ammo" too]]. |
| 331 | ** ''VideoGame/AceCombat5TheUnsungWar'' has the SOLG (Strategic Orbital Linear Gun), a satellite-based railgun capable of firing MIRV-type nuclear warheads and wiping out half the major cities in the game's two main countries, and it's programmed to crash down into Earth if control from the surface is cut off. There's also the Arkbird, which is actually a huge spaceship rather than a satellite, but can still kick some ass down there when equipped with a laser system. |
| 332 | ** The Belkan laser-based superweapon Excalibur in ''VideoGame/AceCombatZeroTheBelkanWar'' is kind of a downplayed example of one. While the weapon is ground based, it uses a network of satellites with mirror-like structures in orbit to redirect the beam, thus allowing Excalibur to increase its effective range and change its angle of attack as if were an orbital platform. |
| 333 | * The ''VideoGame/AeroFighters'' game ''Sonic Wings'' features a barrage of orbital lasers presumably from satellites as the special weapon of one of the playable characters. Video games seem to like to give these to good guys and bad in equal measure. |
| 334 | * ''VideoGame/AnotherCenturysEpisode 2'' has the Guardian System controlled by the mysterious red [[HumongousMecha Buster Ark]] which shows up to periodically harass the heroes. They occasionally wonder [[WhyDontYouJustShootHim why the pilot doesn't just vaporize their battleship]], but eventually you learn [[spoiler:that the pilot is [[TheHero Tak]]'s partner/love interest Marina, who [[FakingTheDead faked her death]] at the start of the game. The Guardian System was designed to prevent an alien invasion (here, the Zentraedi from ''Anime/SuperDimensionFortressMacross''), but it [[CastFromHitPoints runs off the pilot's lifeforce]] and the energy required to defeat the Zentraedi fleet would be fatal. Tak eventually unlocks the Guardian control program in his own mecha and convinces Marina that they should fight the invasion together so nobody has to die, which prompts her HeelFaceTurn back to the good guys and their [[EarnYourHappyEnding eventual happy ending]]]]. As an added bonus linked to the storyline aspect of the Guardian, it actually does cause damage to the Gunark and Buster Ark when used, making these two the only mecha in the game capable of destroying themselves. |
| 335 | * ''VideoGame/ArmoredCore'': |
| 336 | ** The Justice cannon is a space-based laser cannon which fired once, charring the surface of Earth and forcing humanity underground and to Mars in order to survive. Later, someone attempts to fire it again, and the player must take the fight down the barrel of the cannon to stop it from annihilating the planet. This fight, by the way, is between robots that are at least fifty, and probably closer to one hundred feet tall, and they fight down the barrel of a space gun that takes a full three seconds of flight to reach the top of. That is a ''[[{{BFG}} big fucking gun]].'' |
| 337 | ** In ''VideoGame/ArmoredCoreSilentLine'', a Kill Sat takes out anything that crosses the titular boundary. In ''VideoGame/ArmoredCoreForAnswer'', its revealed that there are ''so goddamn many'' of these cannons in Earth Orbit that it become ''impossible to reach space''. |
| 338 | * ''VideoGame/ArTonelicoIIMelodyOfMetafalica'' features Replekia, which is powered by a CombinedEnergyAttack and amplifies your magic. It's [[GameBreaker rather effective]]. Several spells in [[VideoGame/ExaPico the series]] also do this. |
| 339 | * One of the oldest (if not ''the'' oldest) examples of this trope in video games is the ''VideoGame/MissileCommand''-inspired ''VideoGame/{{Ashes to Ashes}}'' from the early Platform/{{Macintosh}} days, which has a satellite-based ion cannon as one of the three weapons in the player's defensive arsenal. It strikes the target area instantly and has unlimited uses, but has a 2-second cool-down delay and a smaller blast radius than ground-based missiles. Still, skilled players can survive for quite a while after exhausting their other weapons. |
| 340 | * ''VideoGame/Battlefield2142'' has Orbital and {{EMP}} strikes. |
| 341 | * The EA version of ''TabletopGame/{{Battleship}}'' for [=iOS=] has a one-shot satellite-based superweapon that can devastate a fairly large area of the game grid. Naturally, it ends up being TooAwesomeToUse. |
| 342 | * In ''VideoGame/{{Bayonetta}}'', [[spoiler:Balder]] owns one of these and will try to use it during their BossBattle. It has a two-shot limit, after the second time, if you don't kill the boss before the third, they'll just [[ColonyDrop yank it out of the orbit]]. |
| 343 | * ''VideoGame/BlackAndWhite'': |
| 344 | ** The most destructive spell is called Mega-blast, in its basic form consisting of one powerful beam capable of turning a building into scraps and in its most powerful form consisting of many powerful beams capable of turning a ''village'' into scraps. |
| 345 | ** In the sequel, activating a Wonder initially manifests as a beam from the sky, quickly followed by anything from a localized hurricane to a ''volcanic eruption'' at ground zero. |
| 346 | * ''Franchise/BlazBlue'' has the magical satellite ''Nox Nyctores Gigant: Take Mikazuchi'', complete with digital monster in a coffin that shoots the beam. It has a four-year "cooldown" period, and the firing sequence is breathtaking to behold. |
| 347 | ** Ruins of Japan: The shot from Take-Mikazuchi was the finishing blow to [[EldritchAbomination the Black Beast]]. |
| 348 | ** Ibukido: The entire city was annihilated. [[spoiler:In one timeline, only Number 12 (a.k.a. Noel) survived.]] |
| 349 | ** Kagutsuchi: "[[DeflectorShields Activating Tsukuyomi Unit]]." |
| 350 | ** ''[[VideoGame/BlazBlueChronophantasma Chronophantasma]]'': [[spoiler:The true BigBad pulls it down to earth and repowers it to serve as the TrueFinalBoss.]] |
| 351 | * The fifth game in the ''VideoGame/BloonsTowerDefense'' series has the Bloonsday Device, which can send down a laser that can pop bloons. |
| 352 | * In ''VideoGame/Borderlands2'', Hyperion's Helios SpaceStation is outfitted with a moonshot cannon: originally designed to fire supplies to the moon of Elpis, Handsome Jack modified it to function as an orbiting artillery cannon. In ''VideoGame/BorderlandsThePreSequel'', it had a laser cannon called the "Eye of Helios", [[spoiler:which weaponized an eyeball recovered from the Destroyer, the FinalBoss of the original ''VideoGame/Borderlands1'']]. |
| 353 | * In ''VideoGame/BoxxyQuestTheGatheringStorm'', Low Orbit Ion Cannons are mentioned a few times in passing. A certain item lets you call down a strike from one on enemies during battle. |
| 354 | * ''VideoGame/BreathOfFireIV'' has the ultimate dragon forms of the protagonist and antagonist, Ryu and [[spoiler:Fou-Lu]] -- Kaiser and Tyrant, respectively. The method of attack is eerily similar to the ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII'' Bahamut Zero example below; they both transform, fly high into space, and then Tyrant blasts the entire battlefield with a massive dark ball of power, while Kaiser beam spams the area. |
| 355 | * ''VideoGame/CallOfDutyGhosts'' takes place after the United States has been devastated by strikes from its own Kinetic Impactors ("Rods from God") after the space stations containing the weapons were hijacked by astronauts from a hostile nation. |
| 356 | * ''VideoGame/ChampionsOnline'' actually has the "Orbital Cannon" power available for {{Player Character}}s (and some {{N|onPlayerCharacter}}PCs) to use. Normally a single, vehicle-sized blast, one optional advantage allows it to fire continuously -- and select new targets on its own (always an enemy) as it does so. |
| 357 | * ''VideoGame/CityOfHeroes'' features a few examples at higher levels -- the powerful War Walkers have access to an Orbital Cannon, while MadScientist Anti-Matter can launch an Obliteration Beam from his space station which not only deals massive damage but also holds players helplessly in the beam. |
| 358 | * ''VideoGame/CivilizationCallToPower'' includes the ability to build space-based weapons and cities. One of these weapons is, for all intents and purposes, a high-powered Kill Sat that can hit anything on the ground with near impunity. It's a shame that the game was never completely debugged... |
| 359 | * ''VideoGame/CloudCutter'' gives you the Ion Strike designator, a power-up that homes in on designated targets you must plant manually, on certain targets like an enemy submarine or a power plant. The following cutscene will have a laser bolt larger than yourself coming down from the stratosphere and wiping out everything in its way. |
| 360 | * Looking for a DeathFromAbove superweapon? Play as the good guys and beat the baddies with [[RuleOfCool style]] ''and'' [[GoodWeaponEvilWeapon morals]] in ''VideoGame/CommandAndConquer'', with three different flavors! |
| 361 | ** The GDI Ion Cannon in the ''[[VideoGame/CommandAndConquerTiberianSeries Tiberium]]'' games is a by-the-book kind -- used ''and'' abused against the Brotherhood of Nod. It has a humble start killing small targets but [[TookALevelInBadass eventually moves]] to leveling entire military bases. As of ''[[VideoGame/CommandAndConquerTiberianTwilight Tiberian Twilight]]'', it even has adjustable power settings, and there are even some [[PoweredArmor foot-soldiers]] that can call down a strike (first seen in ''[[VideoGame/CommandAndConquerRenegade Renegade]]'' with the Ion Cannon Beacon). Compare this to Nod's [[NuclearWeaponsTaboo excessive use]] of [[SlapOnTheWristNuke tactical nukes]]. |
| 362 | *** In the ''[[VideoGame/CommandAndConquerTiberiumWars Command & Conquer 3: Kane's Wrath]]'' expansion, GDI have an additional orbital attack protocol: Thor's Hammer orbital attack satellites that fire Mjölnir rods at the surface, decimating Kane's little armor divisions with impunity. |
| 363 | *** The [[StarfishAliens Scrin]], having a bunch of support starships beyond Neptune's orbit, ''as well as'' [[OurWormholesAreDifferent wormhole capabilities]], can deploy a Tiberium-laced ''asteroid'' against ground targets, as well as call down a Tiberium-seeding beam from orbit. None of these are superweapon-grade, however. |
| 364 | ** The American Particle Cannon orbital reflectors in ''[[VideoGame/CommandAndConquerGenerals Generals]]'' are a less verbatim kind. Technically, they're not even real Kill Sats -- they're actually part of a bigger [[PillarOfLight beam]] [[WaveMotionGun cannon]] system, and their job is [[ReflectingLaser to reflect beams fired from a Particle Cannon on the ground to another spot on the ground]]. And what do the other two sides get? [[SlapOnTheWristNuke Tactical nukes]] and [[PoisonedWeapons anthrax SCUD barrages]], respectively. |
| 365 | ** The Allied Athena Cannon in ''[[VideoGame/CommandAndConquerRedAlert3 Red Alert 3]]'', in the form of a truck-mounted LaserSight and comms boom paired with a Kill Sat up in orbit -- also less verbatim. Oddly, though, each truck purchased gives you control of a different satellite, [[FridgeLogic leading some players to wonder]] why, if they have all these satellites up there, they can't just use them ''all at once''. However, given that the Allies are clearly obsessed with data security ("clearance" must be purchased in order to deploy more advanced weapons), [[FridgeBrilliance it does make a kind of sense]] for them not to give you too many at once. |
| 366 | ** The [[UsefulNotes/RedsWithRockets Soviet Union]] also uses a ''sort'' of Kill Sat in the form of the Magnetic Satellite, which is capable of sucking any vehicle up into space. This, coupled with their Krasna-45 Orbital Drop protocol enables them to not only ''[[ColonyDrop de-orbit space stations]]'' at you, but also send back the ''same vehicles'' they've previously captured. The only thing that could ruin your day more than having your aircraft carrier sucked up into space is having that same aircraft carrier thrown back down at your base. |
| 367 | * ''VideoGame/ConfidentialMission'' revolves around recovering control of a laser satellite from the BigBad, which you do. [[HoistByHisOwnPetard Then you fire it at his escape submarine]]. |
| 368 | * The last few missions of the first ''VideoGame/{{Crusader}}'' game involve striking at an orbital defense platform which controls a network of nuclear-armed satellites before it becomes fully operational. |
| 369 | * The 8-bit game ''VideoGame/DarkSide'' takes place on a moon where terrorists have built a superweapon. It continuously collects energy from the Sun; guess [[EarthShatteringKaboom what will happen]] if you fail to disable it. |
| 370 | * ''VideoGame/DawnOfWar'': |
| 371 | ** The Space Marine Force Commander's special ability allows him to call in supporting fire from his Battle Barge in orbit. In ''Dark Crusade'' onward, the Tau Ethereal can also call down an Orbital Bombardment. |
| 372 | ** ''Dawn of War: Soulstorm'' has the Tau turn a natural satellite into a Kill Sat. As in, they built a cannon capable of firing across the system's interplanetary distances on a moon. (Flee not, spoilerphobes! This is told to you in the very first campaign cinematic!) |
| 373 | ** In ''Dawn of War 2'', the Orbital Bombardment ability for Space Marine players is essentially three lasers hitting the area of your target. Devastating to anything that gets hit. |
| 374 | * ''VideoGame/DigimonWorld3'' has [[spoiler:Gunslinger]], the location [[spoiler:(and last boss, sort of)]] of the final boss battle for the main part of the game. It's infested with powerful Digimon and at the end [[spoiler:Snatchmon merges itself with its master and then with the station itself]]. Then it plans to merge with [[spoiler:Earth to make the most powerful Digimon EVER to have existed]]. |
| 375 | * ''VideoGame/DinoCrisis2'' has one of the protagonists activating a satellite to vaporize a gigantic dinosaur. |
| 376 | * Kira from ''VideoGame/DirtyBomb'' has this as her special ability, which she controls via a PuppetGun. |
| 377 | * In ''VideoGame/DungeonFighterOnline'', the Wrecking Ball class' ultimate attack is a satellite beam. |
| 378 | * In ''VideoGame/TheElderScrollsVSkyrim'', the ''Dawnguard'' expansion features Auriel's bow, a weapon forged by a God. Whenever this weapon is used to fire Sun-Hallowed Elven Arrows directly at the Sun, cue the magical equivalent of a powerful Kill Sat being unleashed onto nearby enemies. |
| 379 | * ''VideoGame/EndOfNations'' has the [[AntiHero Shadow Revolution]] use these. |
| 380 | * In ''VideoGame/EndWar'', both the American Joint Strike Force and the European Enforcers Corps have access to Kill Sat technology. The latter have your usual laser satellite tech, while the former have kinetic impactors, a.k.a. "Rods from God". |
| 381 | * ''VideoGame/EpicBattleFantasy 2'' gives ''you'' one of these after you reach the first checkpoint. The final boss has the ability to do this, as well. It appears in the third game as well -- though instead of a summon for Natalie, it's a LimitBreak for Lance, and it's safer to use. Then in the fourth one, one of the bosses hacks it to use it on ''you'', though you can use it as well if you find the right chest. |
| 382 | * As an AffectionateParody of Film/JamesBond villains, it shouldn't be too surprising that your goal in ''VideoGame/EvilGenius'' is to launch one of three Kill Sats to blackmail world leaders into total surrender. It works. |
| 383 | * In ''VideoGame/EvilZone'', ''Series/MetalHeroes'' parody Danzaiver's LimitBreak has him calling upon a Kill Sat to strike at his enemy from orbit, complete with cutaway to the satellite itself. [[SlapOnTheWristNuke It's not as painful as it sounds]]. However, this technique is actually a ''grappling maneuver'', which takes the concept to an unforeseen level of ridiculous. |
| 384 | * In ''VideoGame/{{Evolve}}'', the support character Hank can target an orbital bombardment fired from a modified mining satellite. His modification replaces the artillery barrage with a laser beam. |
| 385 | * ''VideoGame/ExtremeG'': In ''XGRA'', you can use the Death Strike for a OneHitKill. It's an orbital laser ''operated by the sponsors''. |
| 386 | * ''Franchise/{{Fallout}}'': |
| 387 | ** The scrapped ''VideoGame/FalloutVanBuren'' project revolved around the B.O.M.B., one of two nuke-throwing death stations, still in orbit after 200 years, and still with its payload intact. |
| 388 | ** ''VideoGame/Fallout3'' has a DevelopmentGag to the above with "Highwater Trousers" orbital platform. Broken Steel has the Enclave dust off the Bradley-Hercules satellite weapon (they were keeping it as a last resort, but [[TheJuggernaut Liberty Prime]] forced their hand), which you can use against either their own base [[MoralEventHorizon or the Brotherhood of Steel Citadel]]. Then there is Mothership Zeta and its WaveMotionGun... |
| 389 | ** The player finally gets one of their own in ''VideoGame/FalloutNewVegas'', in the form of the Archimedes II solar death ray. Complete with a LethalJokeItem for a target designator. Prior to that, you can fire the Archimedes I on the NCR's own Helios 1 plant, [[MoralEventHorizon earning you infamy to them]]. |
| 390 | ** Taken up several notches in ''VideoGame/Fallout76'', in which the player can earn access to the Kovac-Muldoon orbital platform. Unlike in previous games, there's no limit to where you can aim the K-C or how many times you can use it, so craft some orbital strike beacons and go wild! |
| 391 | * In ''[[http://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/521616 The Farm]]'', a TowerDefense game, the farmer can use a satellite-mounted laser to defend his flock of sheep. This may seem excessive, but then he is being attacked by zombies, cultists and the US Army. |
| 392 | * ''VideoGame/FateGrandOrder'': In "Lostbelt 5.1: Ancient Ocean of the Dreadnought Gods, Atlantis", one of the biggest threats Chaldea faces is one of these, a massive divine satellite in orbit that unleashes massive magical lasers powerful enough to reduce islands to nothing and it's classified as an ''[[PlanetDestroyer Anti-Planet]]'' Noble Phantasm. [[spoiler:It's actually the [[MechanicalAbomination true form]] of the Moon Goddess Artemis herself. You see, in the ''Franchise/{{Nasuverse}}'', the Twelve Olympians were once massive alien machine life-forms that gained sentience and humanity from mingling with humans after their original bodies were destroyed by another extraterrestrial threat. This [[AlternateTimeline Lostbelt]] shows what happens when said Olympians managed to keep their old bodies.]] |
| 393 | * ''Franchise/FinalFantasy'': |
| 394 | ** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII'' has two. One was the "Bahamut ZERO" summon (though it was less a satellite and more a giant dragon blasting the enemy from orbit), and the other was one of Barret's level three limit breaks called "Satellite Beam", which does exactly what the name suggests (even underground). |
| 395 | ** ''VideoGame/CrisisCore'' had Bahamut Fury turn ''the Moon'' into a Kill Sat. |
| 396 | ** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIX'' has another summons that seems to do much the same thing, Ark, complete with mystical targeting electronics readouts. |
| 397 | ** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXII'' has yet another in the form of the Holy summon Ultima, who fires a beam from space via a cannon mounted below herself from space, as a finishing move. |
| 398 | ** Ultima did it again in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyTacticsAdvance''. However, this version only did [[ManaDrain MP damage]]. Watching a gigantic lance of energy smash into the enemy from above with an explosion of magical force, only to see nobody at all physically harmed, let alone reduced to a pair of smouldering boots... a case could be made for {{subver|tedTrope}}sion, there. The [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyTacticsA2 sequel]] makes Ultima deal Light-based damage on all enemies ''and'' heal all allies. There are others with this Modus Operandi, as well. |
| 399 | ** ''[[VideoGame/DissidiaFinalFantasy Duodecim]]'' gives access to one of these to [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyVIII Laguna]] as one of his HP attacks. |
| 400 | ** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyDimensions'' has Holy. Small beam targets an enemy, large one obliterates it -- even in the [[spoiler:World of Nil]]. |
| 401 | ** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIV'' has the [[TheGunslinger Machinist]]'s Level 3 LimitBreak call one down to raze whatever boss is unfortunate to be in its path. |
| 402 | * In what is one of the (probably) few ''unintentional'' uses of a Kill Sat, the game ''VideoGame/{{Freelancer}}'' makes mention of a [[SingleBiomePlanet winter world]] attempting to use a vast array of orbital mirrors to gradually thaw out the world, or at least the settled parts of it. Evidently, someone didn't carry the one, because the in-game article states that it focused the refracted light into a single coherent beam and described the results as being akin to a superlaser bombardment on the colony. |
| 403 | * ''VideoGame/{{Freespace}}'': The second game introduces the Mjolnir RBC (Remote Beam Cannon), a stationary emplacement that fires a large green beam weapon, capable of doing major damage to even a Destroyer -- class ship. Notable in that we only see them used to guard [[PortalNetwork jump nodes]], firing on enemy ships as soon as they emerge. We never see them used against ground targets, although there is nothing that would stop them from being used this way. |
| 404 | * ''VideoGame/GearsOfWar'': The Hammer of Dawn, controlled by the good guys, and somewhat more limited than usual for this trope as it requires a grunt on the ground to 'paint' the target using a handheld laser gun from close range; getting into a position it can reach while it's overhead plays a part in the stages where it's used. The Hammer only works in certain weather conditions -- it's how they explain it only being used occasionally. The government in ''Gears'' deliberately Kill Satted most of the planet to stem the Locust invasion, which is the major reason for all the SceneryGorn. |
| 405 | * The ''VideoGame/GoldenSun'' games have a fair few summons that do this -- and, being summons, they can naturally target anywhere you happen to be battling, even inside caves or buildings -- but only Eclipse (a dragon) and Isis are in space at the time. |
| 406 | * In the Doomsday Heist update for ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoV'', an orbital cannon was made available as a purchasable utility for your high-tech facility, enabling you to use it as surveillance across all corners of the map, or as its function as an instant kill weapon by firing on your target from high above, but you will need $500k to fire a manual shot or, if you so choose to leave the reins to the game, pay $750k to autotarget your choice of players in the lobby and let the cannon do the rest for you. On top of that, there's a long cooldown period before it can be used again, and you can only use it from a command post in the facility. |
| 407 | * In ''VideoGame/GuiltyGearStrive'', [[ActionPolitician Goldlewis Dickinson]] has a target designator for one in his glasses, and has it fire on the enemy for one of his specials. |
| 408 | * ''VideoGame/{{Gunbound}}'' has two. First, the mobile E. Sate has a Kill Sat as its normal attack, though it doesn't as much fly through space as hover above its head. However, there's the giant Kill Sat named Thor that hovers above the stage, adding damage to attacks on certain turns, and becoming stronger as it deals more damage. The two of them together is a sight to see. Then there's the Aduka, whose secondary weapon is specifically designed to call down the Thor. A 4v4 match where ''everyone'' is piloting an Aduka... things aren't so bad in the beginning, but the pain ''really'' starts once Thor hits 3 or 4. |
| 409 | * ''Franchise/{{Halo}}'': |
| 410 | ** Human planets are defended by UNSC Orbital Defense Platforms, Orbital "Super [=MACs=]" ([[MagneticWeapons Magnetic Accelerator Cannons]]) that fire [[SciFiWritersHaveNoSenseOfScale 3000-ton slugs at up to 4% the speed of light]] at incoming enemy warships. Smaller MAC weapons are mounted on every UNSC warship, and both versions can be turned to fire planetside in a tick. |
| 411 | ** Earth's orbital defense grid is featured in ''VideoGame/Halo2''; the announcement trailer has a debate between a general on the ground wanting those platforms to be used as Kill Sats against the already-landed invasion forces, and the admiral in orbit trying to hold off the Covenant fleet: |
| 412 | --->''"I'm asking you to re-target the orbitals!"\ |
| 413 | "And let '''more''' of them sweep the kill zone? That's insanity! There's nothing more I can do!"'' |
| 414 | ** The expanded universe reveals that the Covenant have their own orbital defense stations, except theirs fire energy beams. |
| 415 | ** In ''VideoGame/HaloWars'', the smaller MAC Gun of the CoolShip ''Spirit of Fire'' can be used as a more conventional, if ad hoc, Kill Sat. On the other hand, Covenant ground forces can call upon their own ships in orbit to deliver plasma bombardment or 'glassing' on their enemy. |
| 416 | ** ''VideoGame/HaloReach'': |
| 417 | *** A MAC strike destroys a Covenant ship this way -- then the Covenant [[FromBadToWorse bring a whole fleet]]: |
| 418 | ---->''"MAC rounds? In atmosphere!?"'' |
| 419 | *** After the ''Grafton'' destroys the Spire, it gets kill-satted by the ''Long Night of Solace''[='s=] energy projector. |
| 420 | *** On a smaller scale, there's the Target Locator for calling down orbital bombardment strikes. |
| 421 | * A miniature variant (Romanov Attack Satellite) appears as a regular enemy in ''VideoGame/HeavyWeapon''. It will fire a death ray downwards, which will [[OneHitKill instantly fry your tank if it hits]], regardless of your shielding. To avoid such a fate, you have to shoot at it to push it away from you. It's also the game's signature enemy. Uniquely for a Kill Sat, it doesn't appear to be travelling in space; rather, the satellite apparently travels through the atmosphere at similar heights to other Red Star aircraft, which raises questions on exactly how it works and if it's even a "satellite", given that a ''tank'' can shoot it down. |
| 422 | * The Toppat Clan's orbital space station in the ''VideoGame/HenryStickminSeries'' contains a large energy weapon called the Supreme Dominance, which they charge up in one path in a last-ditch effort to stop Henry from stealing the Norwegian Emerald. |
| 423 | * In the ''VideoGame/{{Homeworld}}'' series, Low-Orbit [[AtmosphereAbuse Atmospheric Deprivation Weapons]] are war crimes to use, possibly even build. Firing one burns up the target planet's atmosphere, infrastructure and population. |
| 424 | * ''VideoGame/HonkaiImpact3rd'': The previous era of humanity built the Selene satellite, which could fire all the way to the moon and result in an utterly massive explosion that failed to inflict anything permanent on the 14th Herrscher. |
| 425 | * Since the protagonist in ''VideoGame/InFamous'' has attacks that mimic StandardFPSGuns, one these attacks is this in the form of lightning. |
| 426 | * LARS from ''[[VideoGame/Interstate76 Interstate '82]]'', which is possibly the first video game weapon that's more effective in the hands of the player than the AI. |
| 427 | * ''VideoGame/{{Ironsight}}'' features the Zeus, a tactical drone that calls in a beam of concentrated energy to kill enemies once you've scored enough points to call one in. |
| 428 | * In ''VideoGame/JediStarfighter'', one of the protagonists gains access to a giant space laser (actually designed to be fired from the ground at orbiting capital ships, like the ion cannon on Hoth), which can be targeted to vaporize anything. |
| 429 | * ''VideoGame/JustCause2'' of all games has this, while fighting [[spoiler:the Japanese boss]], and you have to dodge it constantly. Sadly for this boss, he's not FriendlyFireproof. |
| 430 | -->'''[[WebAnimation/ZeroPunctuation Yahtzee]]:''' There is one [[SarcasmMode particularly sharp-witted boss]] who attacks you with a satellite missile system ''while standing on the same narrow rooftop''. [[HoistByHisOwnPetard Didn't even need to shoot the bastard]]. [[SelfDisposingVillain It was practically assisted suicide]]. |
| 431 | * ''VideoGame/TheKingOfFighters2000'' has the Zero Cannon, a Kill Sat created by the NESTS group, powered by fight energy, but stolen by the renegade Clone Zero, who desires to use it against them. While it fails to destroy NESTS, it does succeed in nuking Southtown. It's later destroyed by Kula Diamond. |
| 432 | * ''VideoGame/LastAlert'' has the player as a mercenary out to stop a MadScientist from [[TakeOverTheWorld taking over the world]] with one of these. |
| 433 | * ''VideoGame/LikeADragon'': |
| 434 | ** ''VideoGame/YakuzaDeadSouls'' has a "Satellite laser" weapon that players can wield. Hits with it often register as "headshot". |
| 435 | ** In ''VideoGame/YakuzaLikeADragon'', completing the Business Sidequest storyline unlocks the "Essence of Orbital Laser" in which Ichiban presses a BigRedButton on his phone that activates a satellite owned by his MegaCorp to nuke the enemies to oblivion. |
| 436 | ** ''VideoGame/LikeADragonInfiniteWealth'' sees the same ability return as the "Essence of Dondoko Beam" after completing the Dondoko Island Sidequest storyline. It functions the same way, but decorated in the style of Dondoko Island and sponsored by the island's general store. |
| 437 | * ''VideoGame/MachinesWiredForWar'' has an ion cannon that can wipe out almost anything in its (small) blast radius and set fire to anything just outside it. Taking over an enemy base can gain access to their ion cannon. |
| 438 | * ''VideoGame/MagicRampage'': The green lightning bolts in Dungeon 15 and 16 are like this. |
| 439 | * ''Franchise/MegaMan'': |
| 440 | ** ''VideoGame/MegaManX4'': the Final Weapon satellite was such a Kill Sat that Sigma was trying to use to destroy the Earth. |
| 441 | ** In ''VideoGame/MegaManX8'', Optic Sunflower's Earth Crush and Zero's Tenshouha calls a gigantic laser from above. For an EasterEgg, a simulation of the Final Weapon is shown when Sunflower uses it. |
| 442 | ** [=SearchMan=].exe can summmon a small one as his most damaging attack in the ''VideoGame/MegaManBattleNetwork'' series. Unfortunately for him, it's also the easiest of his attacks to avoid, as it'll only fire if [[CrosshairAware its targeting cursor]] touches you, and if it does, it can still be sidestepped. |
| 443 | ** The Ragnarok satellite in ''VideoGame/MegaManZero4'' was built by BigBad Dr. Weil to help destroy all inhabitable places on Earth. [[spoiler:After Craft's HazyFeelTurn and he uses Ragnarok to destroy [[TheEmpire Neo Arcadia]], Dr. Weil then uses it for a ColonyDrop. Zero destroys the satellite, with [[HeroicSacrifice himself still in it]].]] |
| 444 | * A rare heroic example occurs in ''VideoGame/MetalMax Returns''. The only problem is activating the program that allows you to trigger it using your [[ShoutOut BS Controller]]. |
| 445 | * ''VideoGame/MetroidPrime3Corruption'' has one which is used by the good guys to destroy an incoming Leviathan (a living, sentient, evil meteor) before impact. |
| 446 | * ''VideoGame/NeverwinterNights'' added one in the second Expansion Pack with the Epic Spell "Greater Ruin" (though no mention is made of a "Ruin" spell) that includes a beam of earth-shaking golden light striking from above, then tracking across the ground onto target. There is also the "Hammer of the Gods" spell, which causes a large yellow column of holy light to strike the target. "Greater Ruin" also causes holy energy damage. It is likely an upgraded version of "Hammer of the Gods". |
| 447 | * ''VideoGame/NewLegends'' has the main villain, Xao Gon, using a powerful particle beam satellite called the God's Eye as his ultimate Trump card. Said weapon is a forbidden technology whose blueprints were supposedly destroyed, but Xao Gon managed to obtain a backup and have it constructed in his lab underneath the Forbidden City, with the final stage having you and the resistance stopping Xao Gon from using it. [[spoiler:Appropriately enough, Xao Gon would suffer a KarmicDeath when his satellite gets sabotaged -- its first and only shot is the one which vaporizes Xao Gon in the final cutscene.]] |
| 448 | * [[DoubleSubversion Doubly subverted]] in ''VideoGame/TheNewOrderLastDaysofEurope''. Among Hermann Göring's ''[[StupidJetpackHitler wunderwaffen]]'' is a so-called [[ThePowerOfTheSun "Sun Gun"]] satellite. It doesn't work as intended... but it does kill ''someone'' by falling on [[TheyKilledKennyAgain Oskar Dirlewanger]]. |
| 449 | * In ''VideoGame/NinjaBlade'', the UN's backup plan in case [[TheHero Ken]] fails to eradicate [[TheVirus the Alpha Worms]] from Tokyo is to fire an orbital death laser at Japan. |
| 450 | * The fourth boss in ''VideoGame/TheNinjaWarriors1994'' wields a pimp cane that can direct an unseen Kill Sat to fire on your position. |
| 451 | * ''VideoGame/NintendoWars'': |
| 452 | ** ''Advance Wars: Dual Strike'' features a Kill Sat called the Black Onyx on the level ''Crystal Calamity''. Its primary purpose is to create a barrier around [[TheDragon Kindle's]] main source of power -- a large crystal that turns the land into desert while creating energy. The Black Onyx also features a potent laser beam. |
| 453 | ** ''VideoGame/BattalionWars'' features a good guy version -- the Doomsday Weapon used by the Solar Empire to put an end to the Iron Legion in the game's backstory. |
| 454 | * Captain Vladimir, Rank 3 in ''VideoGame/NoMoreHeroes2DesperateStruggle'', has a radio uplink to an old Soviet Union satellite cannon called Volk. It has two functions: a rain of smaller beams that deal good damage, and the "big beam". The big one's a OneHitKill. |
| 455 | * ''VideoGame/ParasiteEve2'' features a Kill Sat that fires what seem to be kinetic projectiles down [[NukeEm on the entire main setting, acting as a last resort when containment looks unlikely]]. ''VideoGame/The3rdBirthday'' features another one, although scaled down, that you get to use several times. |
| 456 | * The first [[LimitBreak Support Character]] you earn in ''VideoGame/PennyArcadeAdventures: On the Rain-slick Precipice of Darkness: [[ColonCancer Episode 2]]'' is a 14-year-old girl with a {{steampunk}} Kill Sat. |
| 457 | * In ''VideoGame/PhantasyStarOnline2'', if a Ranger or a Gunner uses an Assault Rifle, they can use a photon art that has them call down a laser blast from orbit. Holding down the trigger button allows it to deal more damage, but it leaves the player vulnerable to attack, making this AwesomeButImpractical. In ''[[VideoGame/PhantasyStarOnline2NewGenesis New Genesis]]'', the Photon Art is changed into a [[LimitBreak Photon Burst]] when a player uses an Assault Rifle that calls down a laser beam from orbit, and the player is temporarily made invulnerable to attack while its active. |
| 458 | * In ''VideoGame/PhantomDust'', this is one of the many psychic powers you can obtain. Where exactly the laser comes from is never explained. |
| 459 | * In ''VideoGame/PlanescapeTorment'', the Mechanus Cannon is effectively a cross-planar kill sat. The spells Power Word Kill, Meteor Storm Bombardment, and ''Torment'' also have kill sat mechanics with some rather impressive visuals. |
| 460 | * In ''VideoGame/PlanetAlcatraz'', each of the [[PenalColony prison planets]] has an "Orbital security and surveillance complex" hovering in orbit. It is equipped for precision strikes again targets on the ground, on the air or in space. Your mission is to locate the space shuttle in construction, so that it can be destroyed with an orbital strike. Also, if you spill details about your mission to an NPC in Northern City, you get to see an orbital strike killing your team and everyone in the area, resulting in a NonStandardGameOver. |
| 461 | * In ''VideoGame/PlanetSide'', each empire has access to an orbital laser that can annihilate anything outdoors after a short charge-up period. If you hear the distinctive whine of the strike and you aren't in a vehicle or already at a dead sprint, YouAreAlreadyDead. Orbital Strikes can be called in by players that have reached Command Rank 4, and the blast radius gets upgraded at Rank 5. |
| 462 | * In ''VideoGame/PlaystationAllStarsBattleRoyale'', [[VideoGame/ApeEscape Spike]]'s Level 3 [[LimitBreak super move]] involves the use of one of these to wipe out every player on screen. |
| 463 | * ''Franchise/RatchetAndClank'': |
| 464 | ** The Deplanetizer from ''VideoGame/RatchetAndClank2002''. |
| 465 | ** The {{BFG}} of ''VideoGame/RatchetDeadlocked'' is the Harbinger, which scatters targets all over the battlefield, which are then quickly followed by beams of light blasting those spots. |
| 466 | * In ''VideoGame/RazingStorm'', your allies have one, aimed by firing a laser cannon at the target to transmit its location to the satellite. It's used in Stage 3 to destroy the BigBad and his headquarters, as well as to finish off the GiantSpider [[SpiderTank Tank]] boss. |
| 467 | * ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil5'', in a seemingly desperate attempt to fit possibly every trope ever into one game, gave you a Kill Sat to fight one giant boss, that came with an "L.T.D." (short for Laser Targeting Device), which was effectively an empty bazooka with a laser attached to it, a la ''VideoGame/GearsOfWar'''s Hammer of Dawn. It takes a while to lock on, so it's good to have a friend stun the orbs you aiming at (which, by the way, are the giant orbs of a humongous version of [[spoiler:the Uroboros]] you fought four chapters ago). The recharge time is ridiculous, and you can destroy the orbs you're aiming with bullets, but it's great when you [[SugarWiki/MostWonderfulSound hear the three quick beeps letting you know it stopped charging, and you can once again destroy whatever you lock on to]]. |
| 468 | * In ''VideoGame/{{Rimworld}}'', the planet that your colonists are on has several abandoned satellite arrays which can serve this function though only one of the three current types is purpose built for it. Your colonists can activate one of them with one-use targeter items, hacked not to require security credentials from someone who's been dead for centuries. They can be orbital weapons which drop tons of bombs, solar collection satellites which shoot [[KillItWithFire a massive beam of intense heat]] to the target, or weather manipulation satellites which create tornadoes. |
| 469 | * In ''VideoGame/{{Sacred}}'', one sidequest involving a Seraphim researching their history reveals that [[spoiler:the Seraphim are actually genetically engineered cyborg supersoldiers of a space empire. Their ultimate energy beam "spell" is actually them activating one of the empire's Kill Sats that is still in orbit around their world and still fully functional after thousands of years]]. |
| 470 | * ''VideoGame/SDIStrategicDefenseInitiative'' subverts this trope. While you control a Kill Sat, that at the end of each stage goes back to the cargo hold of a space shuttle to be carried elsewhere, you use it to destroy enemy missiles, bases, and ships... in space.[[note]]Well, at most asteroid bases in the Master System version.[[/note]] |
| 471 | * In ''VideoGame/SengokuBasara'', Nohime has this as her LimitBreak, summoning the Oda Mon as beacons with pillars of lights coming from the sky. |
| 472 | * In the GBA version of ''VideoGame/ShiningForce'', the hero gains a spell called "Supernova", which the flavor text implies is a Kill Sat beam. In fact, all magic in the continent is described as being [[{{Magitek}} provided by a satellite]]. |
| 473 | * ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiII'''s Megiddo Arc is a massive superlaser designed to all but eradicate humanity's last strongholds. [[GodIsEvil YHVH]] had it constructed, and he's intent on using it -- ''even against cities explicitly confirmed to be aligned with Him.'' |
| 474 | * ''VideoGame/SidMeiersAlphaCentauri'' features the Orbital Defense Pod, a satellite that serves as a missile defense system. You can also sacrifice the pod to destroy a [[FantasticNuke Planet Buster]] or an enemy satellite. |
| 475 | * If you built a Microwave power station in ''VideoGame/SimCity 2000'', it could occasionally "miss" and rain Kill Sat-like destruction on your helpless citizens. |
| 476 | * ''Franchise/SonicTheHedgehog'': |
| 477 | ** Eggman's orbital station known as the Death Egg. The original was central to ''VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog2'' and ''VideoGame/Sonic3AndKnuckles'', and later games featured other incarnations like the [[VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog4 Death Egg mk. II]] or the [[VideoGame/SonicTheFighters Death Egg II]]. The one in ''VideoGame/SonicBattle'' showed its true power by destroying a star. |
| 478 | ** In ''VideoGame/SonicAdventure2'', the bad guys take control of the Space Colony ARK and threaten to use the Eclipse Cannon (so named because at full power with all seven Chaos Emeralds it can ''pierce stars'') on the populace, demonstrating its power by using it to destroy half of the moon. Fortunately, the heroes managed to short-circuit the system in time to prevent the planet's destruction (what [[ColonyDrop happened afterwards]] is a different story). |
| 479 | ** ''VideoGame/ShadowTheHedgehog'': |
| 480 | *** The game saw the Eclipse Cannon used once again. In several of the routes, the Black Arms take control of it from G.U.N. and fire it down at a city on Earth, wiping it out (thankfully, the city was evacuated). In the Final Story, [[spoiler:it's used to the destroy the Black Comet and the alien menance once and for all, which was apparently the original reason Gerald Robotnik made the cannon before he went crazy.]] |
| 481 | *** The game featured a "Satellite Gun" as one of several rewards for beating the game; this was a targeting beam for what was presumably an orbital laser satellite. There's a significant delay before firing, during which the target often moves away, which is probably why the laser doesn't see more use by the heroes. |
| 482 | ** ''VideoGame/SonicUnleashed'': One of Eggman's satellites is equipped with the Chaos Energy Cannon. After draining [[SuperMode Super Sonic]]'s Chaos Energy, it was used to break the Earth open and [[SealedEvilInACan release Dark Gaia]]. |
| 483 | * In ''VideoGame/{{Spore}}'', you get the "Uber Turret", a fast-moving low-orbit satellite missile platform. It is an inversion in that instead of attacking ground targets (you deploy on your own colonies; not exactly the thing you'd want to blow), it is used to destroy (in a matter of seconds) squadrons of alien invaders that enter your planet's atmosphere. |
| 484 | * In ''VideoGame/SpyHunter2001'', [[EvilInc the Nostra corporation]] aims to cause a [[BigBlackout worldwide power blackout]] with an array of {{EMP}}[=-producing=] satellites known as "[[HorsemenOfTheApocalypse the Four Horsemen]]". |
| 485 | * In ''VideoGame/StarControl II'', this is how the Ur-Quan appears to enslave alien races. Once an alien civilization's starfleet is destroyed, they will send ships into near-orbit as Kill-Sats over the major capitals of their homeworld and threaten death unless they surrender. Except...they still destroy some capitals as a message. As the Earth commander states: "you won't find Buenos Aires" on any new maps... |
| 486 | * ''VideoGame/StarWarsTheOldRepublic''. |
| 487 | ** Imperial Agents have the Orbital Strike skill, calling in a strike from some of the Imperial ships orbiting the planet. |
| 488 | ** In the ''Knights of the Fallen Empire'' ExpansionPack, Arcann built six of these to ensure compliance of conquered planets. |
| 489 | * ''VideoGame/StreetFighterAlpha3'' has this as one use of the Psycho Drive, apparently. Also, Karin Kanzuki's ending has her calling in a family favour and using their own Kill Sat to blow up the Shadaloo base. |
| 490 | * ''VideoGame/SunsetOverdrive'': The Fizzco DSRC, introduced in the Fallen Machines DLC, calls upon one to rain lasers and occasionally satellites on your enemies. |
| 491 | * ''VideoGame/SuperRobotWarsOriginalGeneration'': In ''2nd Original Generations'', one of the optional weapons is this. |
| 492 | * The expansion pack for ''VideoGame/SupremeCommander'' gives these to the UEF. They aren't particularly powerful, but given enough resources, you can use a group of them to pick off enemies with impunity. As a nice touch, if the control station is destroyed, the satellite de-orbits. Straight down at whatever it was targeting. With all the ready-to-explode mass and energy of any experimental. [[OhCrap Did we mention wreckage ignores shields?]] |
| 493 | * The Satellite Rain weapon in ''VideoGame/{{Syndicate}} Wars'' drops a [[AllThereInTheManual tungsten-uranium alloy rod]] which melts into ten "raindrops", each a couple of seconds apart. While it ''can'' level buildings, so does a regular land mine. Just not with half the style. |
| 494 | * In ''VideoGame/{{SYNTHETIK}}'', there are items that can release satellite beams. The G87 "BEAMER" shoots a slowly moving beam, the "Icarus" shoots triple beams at once, and the Legendary-tier "Redline" can unleash a massive orbital beam for a long time. |
| 495 | * ''VideoGame/SystemShock'' has the Tachyon Mining Beam on Tri-Optimum's ''Citadel Station'', in orbit around Saturn. A note says that it can be "easily configured for military usage" on top of the hundreds of other weapons available on the station itself. In-game, the station's AI SHODAN first tries to use this laser to obliterate human cities. You have to disable the laser by blasting it into the Station's shields, but you can also get a glimpse of what happens if it is fired directly. |
| 496 | * [[spoiler:Belcrant]] in ''VideoGame/TalesOfDestiny''. [[spoiler:It was used to fire on the earth to absorb pieces of it to create the Aethersphere.]] |
| 497 | * In ''VideoGame/TargetTerror'', the player can acquire a one-use "SmartBomb" by firing at a miniature Kill Sat that quickly scrolls across the screen at regular intervals. When used, a {{cutscene}} shows a satellite charging and firing into the earth, immediately killing all hostile targets with individual lasers while leaving friendly {{N|onPlayerCharacter}}PCs unharmed, even indoors. |
| 498 | * In Jack's ending in ''Franchise/{{Tekken}} 2'', he is destroyed by a Kill Sat in front of young Jane. In his ''Tekken 3'' ending, he is carrying adult Jane on his shoulder, when Dr. Abel tries to do the same thing, but he protects her and himself with a BeehiveBarrier. |
| 499 | * The heroes in ''VideoGame/TimeCrisis II'' are fighting to foil a plot to launch a nuclear equipped military satellite. A prototype copy of the satellite features as the FinalBoss and is equipped with rockets, a laser and a guy in glasses perching on top with a pistol. |
| 500 | * In ''VideoGame/TransformersWarForCybertron'', [[spoiler:the alternate form of Trypticon is one]]. |
| 501 | * Several of the ''VideoGame/TwistedMetal'' games feature a weapon of this type. |
| 502 | * ''VideoGame/UnrealTournament2003'' and ''[[VideoGame/UnrealTournament2004 2004]]'' have the Ion Cannon, which deals lots of damage in a wide radius, but requires an Ion Painter to designate a target area, and there needs to be a clear line of sight between the target area and, depending on the game, one of the satellites that actually fires the beam (''2003'') or the sky directly above (''2004''). |
| 503 | * ''VideoGame/{{Uprising}}'' has this as a building called Ksat. AwesomeButImpractical, and ''very'' annoying when the Single Player enemy uses it. |
| 504 | * The plot of ''VideoGame/{{Vanquish}}'' is kicked off when Russians hijack the orbital colony of Providence and use its microwave emitter on San Francisco. |
| 505 | * ''VideoGame/VectorThrust'' boasts the EOS-02 MRSA satellite, which uses a scalar-based laser system to OneHitKill most, if not all objects barring other superweapons. While each beam is small, there are [[BeamSpam a lot of satellites]]. The Blackstar UAV is functionally the same, except it's an upscaled Darkstar reconnaissance drone equipped with no less than three microwave lasers on its underbelly for shooting down enemy nuclear missiles before they reach orbit. Nobody's stopping it from pointing these lasers at other things. |
| 506 | * ''VideoGame/WarWind'''s human scientist faction can build armed satellites. |
| 507 | * ''VideoGame/Warzone2100'': |
| 508 | ** The main antagonist ([[AIIsACrapshoot a self-aware computer virus called NEXUS]]) eventually powers up his laser satellites against the player during the semi-final mission as at this point all of his systems are now back online. |
| 509 | ** Just before TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt, the North American Strategic Defense Agency also had access to satellites stuffed with thermonuclear missiles, which NEXUS used to nuke most of humanity all the way to the afterlife. |
| 510 | * In ''VideoGame/WinBack'', the GULF Strategic Weapons System is a top-secret satellite laser owned by the US Government with an unlimited power source and the ability to obliterate any target on Earth with pinpoint accuracy, but it takes several hours to charge between shots. The plot kicks off when one of its two Control Centers is seized by terrorists and it's used on the Center for Space Development, the location of the other Control Center. |
| 511 | * ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft'': |
| 512 | ** Azeroth has 4 Kill Sats in orbit, used by the [[{{Precursors}} Titans]] as orbital defense weapons and named after the Keepers of Ulduar. |
| 513 | ** The final quest in the current starting area for gnomes suggest that the gnomes have some themselves. |
| 514 | * The ''VideoGame/{{X}}'' series features lasertowers and orbital defense stations, which operate like ''Halo's'' [=Super MACs=] in that they're defensive in nature, blowing hostile ships out of the sky. In ''X3: Terran Conflict'' the lasertower is a UselessUsefulSpell since out-of-sector combat mechanics[[note]]used when the player is in another sector[[/note]] negate its main advantage over its targets (superior range). Even in-sector, it can take dozens to bring down a capital ship. Lasertowers got a major buff in ''Albion Prelude'', making them effective defenses. The Torus Aeternal, a [[RingworldPlanet Ringworld]]-esque [[BigDumbObject megastructure]] that wraps around Earth, is a defensive kill sat -- it has enough weaponry to OneHitKill ''any'' ship that deviates from their assigned docking path. The Torus was such a powerful piece of Terran infrastructure that the [[LostColony Argon Federation]] resort to sabotaging it via suicide-bombing in order to invade the Solar System in ''X3: Albion Prelude''. |
| 515 | * In ''VideoGame/XenobladeChronicles2'', the Artifice Siren, commanded by Mythra, is a HumongousMecha floating in space that wields a particle cannon. As part of Mythra's [[spoiler:and, in NewGamePlus as of patch version 1.3.0, Pneuma]] Level IV Blade Special, she calls on Siren to rain lasers from above onto the target (so long as there isn't a roof over the party's head). Its ''targeting ray'' is apparently enough to kill Pyra, when she [[StopOrIShootMyself threatens to do so in order to get Torna to take her without harming the rest of the party]]. |
| 516 | * ''VideoGame/XMenLegends'' gives you super moves for each character. Beast's is "Orbital Bombardment", wherein he magicks a holographic computer from nowhere, presses some buttons and multiple lasers rain down and wipe out all onscreen enemies. Mr. Fantastic gets the same ultimate attack in ''VideoGame/MarvelUltimateAlliance''. |
| 517 | * In ''VideoGame/ZoneOfTheEnders'', BARAM turns Mars' moon, Deimos, into a Kill Sat based on the Urenbeck Catapult, a form of space-compression power slingshot. [[spoiler:Of course, then it turns out the real use is to ''not'' fire it, and let the overload blow a hole in space/time three times the size of the solar system.]] |
| 518 | [[/folder]] |
| 519 | |
| 520 | [[folder:Visual Novels]] |
| 521 | * In ''VisualNovel/{{Snatcher}}'', the Snatchers' final stronghold is destroyed by one of these in the game's climax. It takes out [[spoiler:Random]], too. Painfully, a commenter on LetsPlay/{{Slowbeef}}'s LetsPlay of the game said, "Oh, as if [[spoiler:Random]] [[HarsherInHindsight could be taken out by anything shy of orbital bombardment]]." Ow. |
| 522 | [[/folder]] |
| 523 | |
| 524 | [[folder:Web Animation]] |
| 525 | * ''WebAnimation/BrokenSaints'' features a fanatical CorruptCorporateExecutive who sets up a Kill Sat network [[spoiler:in order to broadcast a signal triggering his vision of Judgment Day]]. It also has the ability to lock on to anywhere on the planet and emit highly-focused [[ShockAndAwe EM pulses]]. |
| 526 | * The "MIR Anti-Nuke Express" of ''WebAnimation/{{Indigen}}'' is an autonomous Earth-orbiting particle cannon which does [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin exactly what its name implies]]. It doesn't mind blasting anything in the target's vicinity along with it, though... until its [[TakeThat suffers a blue screen]]. |
| 527 | [[/folder]] |
| 528 | |
| 529 | [[folder:Webcomics]] |
| 530 | * The RPG-spoof ''Webcomic/{{Adventurers}}'' has a laser-obsessed BigBad who loves nothing more than [[http://www.adventurers-comic.com/d/20030430.html using his orbital-based DeathRay to]] [[PricelessPaperweight toast bread and make sammiches.]] |
| 531 | * In ''Webcomic/TheAdventuresOfDrMcNinja'', Dracula is ''far'' too elegant to bother with something as blunt as an orbital satellite. He uses [[http://drmcninja.com/page.php?pageNum=15&issue=11 Moon]] [[http://drmcninja.com/page.php?pageNum=16&issue=11 Lasers]] instead. |
| 532 | ** Technically, the moon is a satellite. |
| 533 | * A military Kill Sat was fired with great precision at just one person in [[http://antiheroforhire.com/d/20071012.html this strip]] of ''Webcomic/AntiheroForHire''. |
| 534 | * In ''Webcomic/DriveDaveKellett'', it is revealed the Tesskans used some kind of Kill Sat on Berlin, Beijing, and New York City. |
| 535 | * ''Webcomic/ExploitationNow'': |
| 536 | ** The Bad Guy is incinerated by ''[[HoistByHisOwnPetard his own]]'' "defense" satellite after the heroine reprogrammed it to target the building they were both on the roof of. [[http://www.exploitationnow.com/2002-08-12/298 1]], [[http://www.exploitationnow.com/2002-08-14/299 2]], [[http://www.exploitationnow.com/2002-08-17/301 3]] |
| 537 | ** Earlier on, the same character hijacked an old secret Soviet orbital weapons platform to nuke Canada. |
| 538 | * ''Webcomic/ExterminatusNow'', being a combination of ''Franchise/SonicTheHedgehog'' and ''TabletopGame/Warhammer40000'', is ''named'' after the command that field agents of the Mobian Inquisition can use in times of imminent defeat or upon discovering a massive demon incursion to request a direct strike from an orbital weapons platform on their current position -- which means if they don't manage to get far away quickly enough, they too will go out with a bang. This is a ''toned down'' version of the [=WH40K=] Exterminatus... |
| 539 | * In ''Webcomic/TheFarSideofUtopia'', the IDS have The Skyhammer, which is ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin. [[spoiler:Unfortunately for them, it proves no match for Mium.]] |
| 540 | * Gilgamesh Wulfenbach of ''Webcomic/GirlGenius'' made it look like he was directing a kill sat with a handheld scepter. [[spoiler:Subverted when the power source is six large crystals positioned around the city, which fried right before the enemy surrendered.]] |
| 541 | * In ''Webcomic/{{Megatokyo}}'', the Tokyo Police Cataclysm Division used "a high-intensity satellite-based laser" to "neutralize" Ed and his plasma cannon, in [[http://www.megatokyo.com/strip/596 this strip]]. |
| 542 | * ''NSTA'' revolves around the operations of the titular National Satellite Tracking Agency, which manages orbital satellites used for both techno-telepathic [[NinetyPercentOfYourBrain brain-borrowing]] computation and orbital laser strikes. The first strip to introduce the latter functionality involved precision brain surgery by thought-controlled orbital laser. |
| 543 | * In ''Webcomic/RomanticallyApocalyptic'', [[spoiler:The Good Directorate]] possesses (possessed?) at least one of these. |
| 544 | * In ''Webcomic/SchlockMercenary'', Earth has a ring of smartlucent microsatellites around the planet used primarily for climate control (smartlucent as in, they reflect light when and where they're told to). When the Toughs visit Earth in the Delegates and Delegation arc, Schlock wonders what would happen if all the satellites reflected their light at the same spot. [[spoiler:He gets his answer when the ring is hijacked by terrorists faking a civil war: [[https://www.schlockmercenary.com/2014-12-08 a pillar of hot, hull-melting death]], hot enough to melt a building into slag and strong enough that [[https://www.schlockmercenary.com/2014-12-11 it takes Dom Atlantis raising its shields before the beam can be deflected]].]] |
| 545 | * In ''Webcomic/SequentialArt'' Jack launched an orbital laser cannon and used it to destroy a couple buildings, then Art accidentally made it target the tank Jack was driving, and (intentionally) pinned him to it. Later OZBASIC attempted to upload into that satellite. |
| 546 | * In ''Webcomic/SluggyFreelance'': |
| 547 | ** The "Eyes in the Sky" from. In the ghoul-infested world, these "Eyes" were used to [[DeathFromAbove rain destruction down upon attacking ghouls]]. |
| 548 | ** This turns out to be the mysterious [[spoiler:Oasis's]] true nature, an artificially intelligent satellite with {{Invisibility}} that can ignite fires from orbit. It is also the most important element of Dr. Schlock's plans to TakeOverTheWorld, equipping said satellite with a TeleportGun to intimidate or wipe out all opposition. |
| 549 | * The Tower of Babel in ''Webcomic/{{SSDD}}'' is an odd variation in that the satellite is only a mirror designed to redirect the lasers fired from a very large, very phallic looking tower. Apparently previous attempts at orbital weapons were either really large and easy to shoot down, or underpowered. |
| 550 | * Used in [[http://truckbearingkibble.com/comic/2007/07/27/the-hills-are-alive-with-the-sound-of-lasers-part-1-of-2/ This strip about Sound of Music robots]] from ''Truck Bearing Kibble''. |
| 551 | * ''Webcomic/UserFriendly'' is also fond of this trope, in the form of "Crowbar Satellites", which... well, drop crowbars from orbit. When the User Friendly crew were visiting Antarctica, one of the techs living there used a satellite to drop a crowbar on the unfortunate Predator wandering around outside with a soldering iron stuck in his eye (it's a long story), exploding him quite satisfactorily. Pitr (resident evil-genius wannabe) eventually got his own Crowbar Satellite... at least until one of the other techs found the remote and mistook it for a handheld game, wasting all the ammo. |
| 552 | [[/folder]] |
| 553 | |
| 554 | [[folder:Web Originals]] |
| 555 | * Tropers/{{Anonymous}} has a Low Orbit Ion Cannon (a program that helps with their DDOS attacks), [[http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2011/01/two-real-guns-pointed-at-me-how-the-fbi-raided-anonymous.ars which got them noticed by the FBI]] after they attacked sites that were boycotting [=WikiLeaks=]. |
| 556 | * ''Website/SCPFoundation'': |
| 557 | ** [[http://www.scp-wiki.net/scp-923 SCP-923]] is a mind effecting Kill Sat. It makes people AxCrazy, and the effect 'splashes' at higher settings. It reports a maximum output of 238, which gets converted to 'keter' intensity -- and apparently causes effects that ''screw with reality itself''. More worryingly, using it causes wear (and results in lower-intensity settings slowly becoming unavailable). What ''really'' worries the Foundation, though, is [[spoiler:the fact that the Kill Sat says it was built to help protect a site that they never built]]. |
| 558 | ** [[http://www.scp-wiki.net/scp-1514 SCP-1514 ("Star Wars")]]. SCP-1514 is a whole network of xaser killer satellites PoweredByAForsakenChild (and his mother). They are based on the real-life Strategic Defense Initiative or "Star Wars" program. See real-life folder for more information. |
| 559 | ** [[http://www.scp-wiki.net/scp-2578 SCP-2578 ("This Machine Kills Fascists")]] is usually content to act as an extremely localized version, sniping exact (tyrannical) individuals with apparent high-velocity rounds from up in orbit after giving ample warning. It's in the Foundation's best interests to [[LetsGetDangerous not make it come down here]], as [[spoiler:the last time that happened it had a giant quarrel with a Keter-class that ended with everyone in Pyongyang dead, SCP-2578 in need of heavy repairs and the Keter-class in question [[HurlItIntoTheSun flung into the sun]]]]. |
| 560 | [[/folder]] |
| 561 | |
| 562 | [[folder:Web Videos]] |
| 563 | * In ''WebVideo/ToBoldlyFlee'', BigBad the Executor has a Kill Sat that he uses [[spoiler:to (almost) kill WebVideo/ThatSciFiGuy and plans to use it to destroy the Earth]]. |
| 564 | * In ''[[WebVideo/MicrosoftSamReadsFunnyWindowsErrors Microsoft Sam and the War in the Republic of My]]'', the Orbital ROFL-Laser serves as one. In Episode 1, one of its tests was a DisastrousDemonstration, erroneously firing into an unintended target. |
| 565 | * ''WebVideo/MrBeast'': In the "$1 vs. $100,000,000 House" video, a satellite blows up the entire planet with its laser, only for the video to continue on a chunk of the Earth to showcase the $100,000,000 house. |
| 566 | * In ''WebVideo/SuperPowerBeatDown'' episode "Iron Man vs. Optimus Prime", Tony attempts to take out Prime with one of these, [[INamedItVera which he nicknamed "Lucy"]]. Optimus is able to fly up to it and hijack it physically to kill Tony, leading to him to self-destruct it, only for Prime to come down from space on its flaming carcass. [[spoiler:In the normal ending, Prime crushes Tony with it. In the alternate ending, the Endo-Sym Armor saves Tony.]] |
| 567 | [[/folder]] |
| 568 | |
| 569 | [[folder:Western Animation]] |
| 570 | * ''WesternAnimation/AdventuresOfTheGalaxyRangers'': |
| 571 | ** The episode "Queen's Lair" revolves around the Rangers' efforts to take out one of these before [[BigBad The Queen of the Crown]] takes out Earth with it. This actually makes for one of the darker episodes of the series. |
| 572 | ** It's also played for tragedy in "Ghost Station". The Kill Sat is from a lost alien civilization that presumably blew itself to bits. The AI running the station tries holography and other tricks to try and scare the heroes off, then [[HeroicSacrifice prematurely triggers its self-destruct in order to save Earth]]. |
| 573 | * In ''WesternAnimation/BeastWars'', an alien race known as the Vok had built a gigantic death ray (well, a heat ray designed to [[EarthShatteringKaboom detonate all the Energon they'd placed in the crust]]) within a second artificial moon orbiting Earth with the purpose of [[AbusivePrecursors getting rid of the Earth "experiment" if it didn't work out or would cause them problems]]. Said ray was blown up when Optimus Primal attempted a HeroicSacrifice. He got better. |
| 574 | * In ''WesternAnimation/CelebrityDeathmatch'', UsefulNotes/RonaldReagan tries to kill Ayatollah Khomeini with the Franchise/StarWars satellite defense system. The first attempt fails and kills a random audience member instead, but the second attempt succeeds. |
| 575 | * ''WesternAnimation/CodeLyoko'': |
| 576 | ** In one episode, XANA [[EverythingIsOnline hacked into]] a laser satellite, apparently to try to vaporize Yumi... [[DesignatedVictim again]]. |
| 577 | ** The Satellite shows up again in Season 4 episode "Hot Shower" to [[ColonyDrop divert an asteroid from its course]]. |
| 578 | * In the ''WesternAnimation/{{Dilbert}}'' series, Dogbert causes some havoc with one of these. |
| 579 | * The ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}'' episode "[[Recap/FuturamaS4E8CrimesOfTheHot Crimes of the Hot]]" has an unintentional satellite of doom. In an effort to defeat GlobalWarming, Farnsworth's rival Wernstrom creates a giant mirror to reflect the sun's rays. When the giant mirror is knocked off course, it focuses [[SolarPoweredMagnifyingGlass a beam of sunlight on the Earth that incinerates everything in its path]]. EpicFail. Later in the episode, when President of Earth UsefulNotes/RichardNixon lures all the robots in the world to the Galapagos Islands to destroy them,[[note]]The gases they spew being the cause of the greenhouse effect accelerating[[/note]] he has Wernstrom convert his mirror satellite into an {{EMP}} satellite to fire it at the Galapagos and permanently deactivate all the robots. |
| 580 | * In ''WesternAnimation/GIJoeResolute'', Cobra uses a kill sat to blow up [[ThrowAwayCountry Moscow]], successfully, [[DarkerAndEdgier in the first ten minutes of the first episode]]. |
| 581 | * ''WesternAnimation/InvaderZim'' parodies this. When Dib discovers that Zim is weak against water, naturally a water fight ensues. This escalates until Zim builds a giant, orbital water balloon launcher. |
| 582 | * In ''WesternAnimation/Invincible2021'', the [[GovernmentAgencyOfFiction Global Defense Agency]] uses one of these against [[BewareTheSuperman Omni-Man]]. [[NoSell Twice. They only manage to piss him off.]] |
| 583 | -->'''[[DeadpanSnarker Director Cecil]]:''' 400 billion dollars for the world's most expensive nosebleed. |
| 584 | * ''WesternAnimation/JohnnyBravo'' was once fried by one when he started hitting on a random nerd girl. |
| 585 | * ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeague'': |
| 586 | ** In the episode "[[Recap/JusticeLeagueS2E7And8MaidOfHonor Maid of Honor]]", Vandal Savage takes control of a [[ColonyDrop mass driver-equipped]] Kill Sat owned by the kingdom of his intended bride... and is promptly crushed (but not killed, [[GoodThingYouCanHeal thanks to his regenerative powers]]) by a shot from the weapon after his plans are foiled. |
| 587 | ** In ''Unlimited'', the second Watchtower has a more conventinal one of these, which causes the heroes no end of grief when it is hijacked for villainous purposes. Even before that, just the knowledge that they have it on top of being the single largest force of metahumans on the planet causes a lot of people to become very distrustful of the Justice League. They eventually decide that it's [[NoManShouldHaveThisPower too much power for anyone to have]] and decommissioned the gun. It's called the "Binary Fusion Generator", which (while never spoken as such in the show) has a [[{{BFG}} convenient acronym]]. |
| 588 | * A Kill Sat made a short appearance in the ''WesternAnimation/KimPossible'' episode "[[Recap/KimPossibleS1E16KimitationNation Kimitation Nation]]". Drakken attempted to obtain the controls for it, but failed. |
| 589 | * One episode of ''WesternAnimation/MightyDucksTheAnimatedSeries'' featured Dragaunus taking over one such satellite while the ducks dealt with an energy monster he had unleashed. Fortunately, the ducks managed to solve both problems by firing the energy creature at the satellite, destroying both. |
| 590 | * The US President in ''WesternAnimation/RickAndMorty'' uses one of these. He has a watch with a laser pointer which causes the kill sat to fire a beam at his target. |
| 591 | * ''WesternAnimation/RockosModernLife'': |
| 592 | ** The episode "Teed Off" featured a satellite that launched ''[[PianoDrop grand pianos]]''. |
| 593 | ** In "Wacky Deli", [[CrankyNeighbor Ed Bighead]] proposes the use of a more conventional Kill Sat to vaporize Rocko and co. after their cartoon, the eponymous [[SoBadItsGood 'Wacky Deli']], makes executive producer and Ed's child Rachel[[note]][[UsefulNotes/{{Transgender}} who was still still going as Ralph at the time]][[/note]] the target of constant [[{{Flashmob}} mobbing]] by [[LoonyFan fans of the show]]. After Rachel says that she doesn't want to kill Rocko, Ed settles for [[GlobalWarming melting the polar ice caps]] instead to create a wall of water to get rid of Bighead Studios. |
| 594 | * In the ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark'' episode "[[Recap/SouthParkS21E6SonsAWitches Sons a Witches]]", the men in town have an annual witch week, during which one of them, Chip Duncan, uses a spell book to transform into a [[WitchClassic real witch]]. He proceeds to terrorize the town and kidnap children. This is resolved when the kids call their old fourth-grade teacher Mr. Garrison, who had the previous year been elected [[ItMakesSenseInContext President of the United States]]. Mr. Garrison flies to South Park in Air Force One, and tries to talk Chip down. When it fails because Chip claims to be more powerful than ever, Mr. Garrison replies "you wanna see what real power is?" and has a US military space laser incinerate Chip, leaving nothing but dust. The men cheer and then proceed to party with El Presidente. |
| 595 | * In ''WesternAnimation/SpiderMan1981'', Doctor Doom introduces us to a satellite-mounted laser -- the laser part of which was actually a holdover from [[StoryArc an earlier episode]] -- and uses it to play with the Pacific Ring of Fire. As far as the "kill" part, [[spoiler:the satellite turns out to have a surprisingly localized effect when it gets knocked off course, burns a path to his castle and bodily [[HoistByHisOwnPetard vaporizes him]]]]. |
| 596 | * In ''WesternAnimation/{{Spliced}}'', Octocat controls a Kill Sat that she uses on people who annoy her. |
| 597 | * ''WesternAnimation/{{Superfriends}}'': In an episode of ''Galactic Guardians'', Darkseid tries to turn the peaceful Star City into a Kill Sat. When the heroes foil his plan, he is forced to settle for a ColonyDrop. |
| 598 | * PlayedForLaughs in ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitansGo'', when Beast Boy and Cyborg's desperate attempts to [[ThirtyMinutesOrItsFree stall the pizza boy]] ultimately result in using one of these to destroy the whole pizzeria. [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone They quickly realize that they may have gone too far]]. |
| 599 | * In one episode of ''WesternAnimation/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles1987'', Shredder and Krang take control of a satellite armed with a super laser and used it to cut the Technodrome free from the Arctic ice trapping it. However, just as they were finally moving, Bebop and Rockstead get into a scuffle over a comic book, resulting in Bebop falling back against the controls of the laser[[note]][[MaybeMagicMaybeMundane which may or may not have been caused by the Turtles using Wu Wi]][[/note]]. This not only shorted out the controls, preventing them from using the satellite any further, but it also caused the laser to create a hole in the ice in front of the Technodrome, resulting in it ending up at the bottom of the ocean. |
| 600 | * A villainous attempt to build one is a running plot for much of the second season of ''WesternAnimation/ThunderbirdsAreGo''. He does eventually manage to get the thing working, and tries to use it to kill his (even more villainous) boss; it can only fry relatively small areas, and the power is directly proportional to how long it takes to charge, so it's not really a global threat, but it's certainly a problem for the guy he's trying to kill. |
| 601 | * ''WesternAnimation/TransformersPrime'' has established that before he founded MECH, leader Silas was involved in the development of these as part of "Project Damocles", which was believed to be cancelled, but it turned out the prototype had been built, and when [[spoiler:Silas gets transplanted into Breakdown's chassis and joins the Decepticons]], it gets put to use with great effect by Soundwave. |
| 602 | [[/folder]] |
| 603 | |
| 604 | [[folder:Real Life]] |
| 605 | Although the actual deployment of nuclear weapons in space has been prohibited by the 1969 Outer Space Treaty, that hasn't stopped anyone from seriously suggesting it as a way of dealing with people they don't like. |
| 606 | * This kind of thing was commonly bandied about in the [[UsefulNotes/SovietRussiaUkraineAndSoOn Soviet Union]] and [[UsefulNotes/TheNewRussia beyond]]: |
| 607 | ** The [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fractional_Orbital_Bombardment_System Fractional Orbital Bombardment System]] (or "FOBS") was designed to deliver a nuclear warhead (or [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multiple_independently_targetable_reentry_vehicle several]]) by mimicking a satellite's orbital path. The Soviet brass was not too enamored by it because it would have been ''too'' effective -- it would bypass any early-warning system and make for a very effective decapitation strike, thereby eliminating the prospect of MutuallyAssuredDestruction. And without mutually assured destruction, the Soviet Union's enemies would be more likely to throw a preemptive nuclear strike at the country, which would not be very good for the people who lived there. The fear around FOBS led to the SALT II treaty in 1979 specifically prohibiting development, testing, or deployment of any such technology. |
| 608 | ** The Almaz-class military space station OPS-2/''Salyut 3'' sported a 23 mm self-defense gun (in FixedForwardFacingWeapon fashion) that was tested successfully on another satellite. The intent here was probably taking out potential American Kill Sats. Had any subsequent Almaz outposts been commissioned, they would have carried missiles instead. |
| 609 | ** The [[http://www.astronautix.com/craft/polyus.html Polyus]]/Skif-D was an advanced weapons satellite that would have sported a megawatt laser -- key word being "would", because the only time they tried to launch an unarmed test platform, they had to launch it upside-down (for structural load reasons), and when it spun to fire its engines, it spun too far and plowed straight into the ocean. Officially (and [[HanlonsRazor most likely]]) it was a programming error, but some people believe that [[MakeItLookLikeAnAccident it was deliberately sabotaged]] in order to end the disastrous ongoing space weapons arms race. |
| 610 | ** Kaskad was a missile-based equivalent to the Polyus. That never got off the ground, but they did plan to test it on six refitted Progress cargo drones, which were already on the assembly line by the time the Soviet Union fell. |
| 611 | ** ''Sputnik 1'', the first ever artificial satellite, was not a Kill Sat, but many people were afraid that it was thanks to [[RedScare the political climate at the time]], or more specifically that the launch vehicles could be repurposed to launch nuclear warheads. |
| 612 | ** In the late 1990s, the Russian government proposed a sort of "peaceful" Kill Sat -- a network of mirror satellites that would redirect sunlight onto subpolar regions (''i.e.'' Siberia) during winter, to improve agriculture and cut down on electrical lighting during the polar winter. They quietly dropped the project due to costs, but there's enough interest in it to make it a proposed alternative to {{terraform}} Mars, as this could (at least in theory) counteract the lack of atmosphere that makes Mars as cold as Hell. |
| 613 | * This kind of thing was also bandied about in the United States to counteract the DirtyCommunists: |
| 614 | ** [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_Horizon Project Horizon]] was a 1950s feasibility study into a joint scientific/military lunar expedition which included a proposal to install nuclear missiles on the Moon as an invulnerable strategic reserve. The base would have been equipped with [[UsefulNotes/SuperiorFirepowerTacticalNukes Davy Crockett low-yield nukes]] and [[LandMineGoesClick claymore mines]] specifically designed to puncture spacesuits. The proposal died quietly after someone pointed out that the missiles would take at least three days to reach Earth, by which time [[TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt the war would be over]]. |
| 615 | ** The [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strategic_Defense_Initiative "Strategic Defense Initiative"]] or SDI, a [[UsefulNotes/RonaldReagan Reagan-era]] proposal commonly referred to as "Star Wars", was a way to ramp up the U.S. defense against a possible Soviet strike by launching it from space. It never got past the experimental stage, was widely seen as a waste of money, and was shelved in the last years of the Cold War, but it did include a few Kill Sat-like proposals, in addition to just firing missiles from space: |
| 616 | *** The "Kinetic Bombardment System" (commonly nicknamed "Rods from God") is meant to fire not missiles, but 20-meter-long tungsten rods. Their kinetic energy from their fall, plus the plasma sheth created by [[ReentryScare reentry into Earth's atmosphere]], would give the weapon the force of a nuclear explosion. It could even penetrate nuclear shelters through sheer momentum. But it wasn't radioactive, which meant ''(a)'' no fallout and ''(b)'' it's [[LoopholeAbuse not covered by the 1969 Outer Space Treaty]]. It's still on the drawing board, having survived SDI as a way of discreetly dealing with hardened terrorist bunkers. |
| 617 | *** The little brother to "Rods from God" was "[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brilliant_Pebbles Brilliant Pebbles]]", a fleet of small satellites that would detect and then attack incoming Soviet ICBM's. Technical problems and the end of the UsefulNotes/ColdWar led to it's cancellation. |
| 618 | *** SDI also planned a pop-up one-shot X-ray laser satellite, powered by a nuke and (at least in theory) able to toast an area as wide as a football field. It was tested only once, and the result was inconclusive, but it serendipitously fueled the development of plenty of other technologies (many of them civil). This one was directly referenced in ''Manga/ShamanKing'', as Hao calls the Kill Sat in question as SDI X-ray laser. It may also have been an inspiration for the ''Film/{{Goldeneye}}'' example. |
| 619 | ** In the late 1960s, the "Lenticular Reentry Vehicle" was a proposed manned version. It was essentially a large nuclear-powered FlyingSaucer that would have been carried into orbit by booster rockets and covertly loitered in orbit with a payload of four nukes which it could launch as a revenge weapon. The status of the project remains classified, but its ''existence'' is not, and that implies that it's possible that this thing was fully functional at one point -- but likely not, if only because it probably would have cost a lot of money. |
| 620 | * In fact, it's OlderThanTheyThink: ThoseWackyNazis proposed [[http://www.damninteresting.com/the-third-reichs-diabolical-orbiting-superweapon a version]], with the original design being from 1929. They called theirs the ''Sonnengewehr'' or "Sun Gun", and it would have been a giant space-borne parabolic mirror designed to burn down cities from space. This, naturally, never got off the ground, much like the Nazis' [[StupidJetpackHitler other absurd technological proposals]]. |
| 621 | * The Nicoll-Dyson Laser is essentially a DysonSphere of Kill Sats. It would use the same basic principle -- ''i.e.'' surround the sun with a shell of satellites to collect its energy -- but rather than simply harness the energy, it would focus it into a single laser beam whose initial width would equal the size of the satellites' orbits and whose effective range could be ''millions of light years''. Its "designer" is not a scientist or engineer, but rather sci-fi blogger and fan-writer James Nicoll, who admits it's [[AwesomeButImpractical not feasible in real life]] and just uses it as a plot point. |
| 622 | * The inversion of the Kill Sat is more common than the straight example; it's called an [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-satellite_weapon anti-satellite weapon]] or ASAT. While these, too, can contain anything from ordinary missiles to nuclear warheads, they're aimed at other satellites and not at Earth. They could still be just as destructive, though, especially given how much of our cool information technology runs on satellites. It ''is'' the safest way to dispose of an obsolete satellite (because the alternative is dropping it on Earth with all the flaming debris that entails), but it does leave debris in orbit which could still hit other satellites and cause big problems (''i.e.'' ''Film/{{Gravity}}'' in real life).[[note]]The worst-case scenario is known as the "[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kessler_syndrome Kessler cascade]]", where debris hits satellites and creates more debris, and in the end space becomes completely inaccessible for several years.[[/note]] The Soviets have [[http://www.astronautix.com/craft/isa.htm had one]] since 1968 (although early versions were more ''kamikaze''-style satellites designed to [[RammingAlwaysWorks crash directly into]] U.S. Kill Sats), the Americans since 1985, and the Chinese since 2007 -- and the Chinese also ''used'' theirs, to much criticism internationally (and forcing the International Space Station to change its orbit ''twice''). |
| 623 | * United States Representative Marjorie Taylor Green seems to think that, instead of human-caused climate change, a more likely explanation for recent wildfires was a [[https://nymag.com/intelligencer/article/marjorie-taylor-greene-qanon-wildfires-space-laser-rothschild-execute.html "Jewish Space Laser"]]. |
| 624 | [[/folder]] |
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