Russia Calls For Space Defense System

It'll be useful against Klingons, too

AS RUSSIAN authorities search for remnants of the space object that startled residents of the Chelyabinsk region, scientists said its shockwave was a loud warning they hoped would inspire action to prevent potential catastrophes.

''When a small piece of rock would fall on the Earth 100 years ago, it could have caused minimal damage and would have stayed largely undetected, but Friday's accident fully demonstrated how vulnerable the technological civilisation of today has become,'' said Vladimir Lipunov, head of the Space Monitoring Laboratory with Moscow State University.

''It is high time Russia should start investing heavily in building an advanced space danger monitoring and warning system and a system capable of destroying such super bombs falling on us,'' he said.