Laser Highways

The Laser Highway

The Laser Highway is not a single installation but a growing transportation network. Massive laser stations project energy across space to specially designed spacecraft equipped with light sails and thermal absorption systems. Rather than carrying all of the fuel required for acceleration, these vessels receive much of their energy from the Highway itself, dramatically reducing transportation costs and increasing payload capacity.

Like railroads, shipping lanes, or air traffic corridors before it, the Laser Highway consists of multiple connected segments linked by transfer stations, orbital hubs, and navigation authorities. Ships enter a corridor, accelerate under beam power, then transfer to the next leg of the network or continue under their own propulsion.

The first operational segment, connecting Luna to Earth-Moon L1, entered service only recently and immediately transformed cislunar transportation.

Luna-L1 Directed Energy Corridor

Corporate Name: Laser Highway Segment One

Common Name: The L1L

The L1L is already treated almost like a railroad, not a laser. The important thing is the traffic. By 2158 you might hear:

"L1L traffic is down 8% this quarter."

"The Tycho strike delayed L1L maintenance."

"Atlas closed the L1L for six hours."

"A ship missed its L1L insertion window."