orbital mirrors make very poor weapons because Conservation of Etendue means you fundamentally cannot concentrate very high unless your fill factor is very high (which would require millions of tons in orbit). Lasers are far more effective as weapons as a single aperture launched on a single rocket is sufficient to get high concentration. Microwaves also.
replyThe military application would just be illumination.
You don't need to go "very high", 80C is more than enough to wreak havoc.
replyI'm sure that's attainable with a few hundred sats.
Can someone do the math?
Is it ever, ever going to be cheaper or easier or more effective than just launching a missile? Seems...unlikely just on the face of it.
replyAre missiles better than bullets?
replyAre bullets better than knives?
Each thing has its own place.
Not every possible thing has real situations where it's better. There are legitimately terrible solutions to problems, that are dominated by better ones in every situation.
replyLike this, for example.