-lrb- cnn -rrb- tobacco companies including philip morris and r.j. reynolds filed suit this week against the food and drug administration alleging that the fda is violating the companies ' free speech rights . in march , the fda issued guidance that if significant changes are made to a product 's label , like color or a logo , the product requires new approval from the administration . this holds true even if the product was previously approved . the suit , filed in u.s. district court in washington , argues that those guidelines go too far and are too vague . they violate the first amendment because they pre-emptively restrict free speech and exceed the scope of the tobacco control act , the companies claim . the fda 's actions , the suit says , do not advance a substantial government interest . the plaintiffs also include u.s. smokeless tobacco co. , american snuff co. , santa fe natural tobacco co. and lorillard tobacco co. . fda spokesman michael felberbaum said the administration does not comment on litigation . a laser could be mounted on the international space station and used to shoot down pieces of space debris in earth orbit , says a new paper . the system would use a telescope already mounted on the station to find and target pieces of debris up to 62 miles -lrb- 100km -rrb- away . powerful pulses from the laser would then push space junk into earth 's atmosphere , where it would burn up . tokyo researchers have proposed a laser system to attach to the iss . it would be used to shoot down pieces of debris in earth orbit -lrb- artist 's illustration shown -rrb- . the system would have a range of 62 miles -lrb- 100km -rrb- and could target things less than 0.4 inches -lrb- 1cm -rrb- in size . the paper , by researchers at the riken research institute in tokyo , was published in acta astronautica . their system would use the extreme universe space observatory 's -lrb- euso -rrb- super-wide-field telescope on japan 's kibo experiment module on the iss . cnn 's debra goldschmidt contributed to this report . the laser , meanwhile , use bundles of optical fibres to produce powerful laser pulses - capable of both high power and high frequency , although exact figures were not given . since the first object , sputnik 1 , was launched into space 53 years ago , mankind has created a swarm of hundreds of thousands of items of debris . the rubbish circling the planet comes from old rockets , abandoned satellites and missile shrapnel . there are around 22,000 objects in orbit that are big enough for officials on the ground to track and countless more smaller ones that could do damage to human-carrying spaceships and valuable satellites . one major source of debris in the past was a chinese anti-satellite missile test in 2007 that left an estimated 150,000 pieces of junk in the atmosphere . accidental events have also contributed to the problem . in 2009 for instance there was a major crash between a u.s. communications satellite and a defunct russian military probe over siberia . combining these two instruments would create a system that could deorbit space debris down to the size of 0.4 inches -lrb- one centimetre -rrb- . the impact of the laser beam on debris would create a force that reduced its velocity , causing it to fall into earth 's atmosphere and burn up . the group plans to deploy a small proof-of-concept experiment on the iss , with a small , eight-inch -lrb- 20-centimetre -rrb- version of the euso telescope and a laser with 100 fibres . ` if that goes well , we plan to install a full-scale version on the iss , incorporating a three-meter -lsb- 10ft -rsb- telescope and a laser with 10,000 fibres , giving it the ability to deorbit debris with a range of approximately 100 kilometers -lsb- 62 miles -rsb- , ' said lead researcher dr toshikazu ebisuzaki . looking further into the future , the team said they could have a ` free-flyer ' mission not attached to iss in another orbit to shoot down debris . for example , such a system could be deployed in polar orbit at an altitude of about 500 miles -lrb- 800km -rrb- , ` where the greatest concentration of debris is found , ' according to dr ebisuzaki . without going into specifics , the team says their proposal could remove ` most ' of the centimetre-sized debris in earth orbit within five years of operation . mailonline has asked the researchers to explain how often the laser would fire , and what its maximum capacity in terms of debris-size to deorbit would be . the technology bears some similarities to the death star - shown - used to devastating effect in the original star wars trilogy . without going into specifics , the team says their proposal could remove ` most ' of the centimetre-sized debris in earth orbit within five years of operation . the paper , by researchers at the riken research institute in tokyo , was published in acta astronautica . their system would use the extreme universe space observatory 's -lrb- euso -rrb- super-wide-field telescope on japan 's kibo experiment module on the iss -lrb- shown -rrb- . the euso telescope was originally planned to detect ultraviolet light from air showers produced by ultra-high energy cosmic rays . but the researchers realised they could put it to another use - the removal of space debris . the fibre-powered laser , meanwhile , was originally developed to power particle accelerators - but again another use for it was found . space debris , which is continuously accumulating as a result of human space activities , consists of artificial objects orbiting the earth . the number of objects nearly doubled from 2000 to 2014 and they have become a major obstacle to space development . the total mass of space debris is calculated to be about 3,000 tons . it consists of derelict satellites , rocket bodies and parts , and small fragments produced by collisions between debris . ` we may finally have a way to stop the headache of rapidly growing space debris that endangers space activities , ' added dr ebisuzaki .
companies including philip morris and r.j. reynolds in suit alleging violation of free speech . in march , the fda issued guidance about changes to tobacco product labels . if significant changes are made to a product 's label , like color or a logo , the product requires new approval .
-lrb- cnn -rrb- tobacco companies including philip morris and r.j. reynolds filed suit this week against the food and drug administration alleging that the fda is violating the companies ' free speech rights . in march , the fda issued guidance that if significant changes are made to a product 's label , like color or a logo , the product requires new approval from the administration . this holds true even if the product was previously approved . the suit , filed in u.s. district court in washington , argues that those guidelines go too far and are too vague . they violate the first amendment because they pre-emptively restrict free speech and exceed the scope of the tobacco control act , the companies claim . the fda 's actions , the suit says , do not advance a substantial government interest . the plaintiffs also include u.s. smokeless tobacco co. , american snuff co. , santa fe natural tobacco co. and lorillard tobacco co. . fda spokesman michael felberbaum said the administration does not comment on litigation . a laser could be mounted on the international space station and used to shoot down pieces of space debris in earth orbit , says a new paper . the system would use a telescope already mounted on the station to find and target pieces of debris up to 62 miles -lrb- 100km -rrb- away . powerful pulses from the laser would then push space junk into earth 's atmosphere , where it would burn up . tokyo researchers have proposed a laser system to attach to the iss . it would be used to shoot down pieces of debris in earth orbit -lrb- artist 's illustration shown -rrb- . the system would have a range of 62 miles -lrb- 100km -rrb- and could target things less than 0.4 inches -lrb- 1cm -rrb- in size . the paper , by researchers at the riken research institute in tokyo , was published in acta astronautica . their system would use the extreme universe space observatory 's -lrb- euso -rrb- super-wide-field telescope on japan 's kibo experiment module on the iss . cnn 's debra goldschmidt contributed to this report . the laser , meanwhile , use bundles of optical fibres to produce powerful laser pulses - capable of both high power and high frequency , although exact figures were not given . since the first object , sputnik 1 , was launched into space 53 years ago , mankind has created a swarm of hundreds of thousands of items of debris . the rubbish circling the planet comes from old rockets , abandoned satellites and missile shrapnel . there are around 22,000 objects in orbit that are big enough for officials on the ground to track and countless more smaller ones that could do damage to human-carrying spaceships and valuable satellites . one major source of debris in the past was a chinese anti-satellite missile test in 2007 that left an estimated 150,000 pieces of junk in the atmosphere . accidental events have also contributed to the problem . in 2009 for instance there was a major crash between a u.s. communications satellite and a defunct russian military probe over siberia . combining these two instruments would create a system that could deorbit space debris down to the size of 0.4 inches -lrb- one centimetre -rrb- . the impact of the laser beam on debris would create a force that reduced its velocity , causing it to fall into earth 's atmosphere and burn up . the group plans to deploy a small proof-of-concept experiment on the iss , with a small , eight-inch -lrb- 20-centimetre -rrb- version of the euso telescope and a laser with 100 fibres . ` if that goes well , we plan to install a full-scale version on the iss , incorporating a three-meter -lsb- 10ft -rsb- telescope and a laser with 10,000 fibres , giving it the ability to deorbit debris with a range of approximately 100 kilometers -lsb- 62 miles -rsb- , ' said lead researcher dr toshikazu ebisuzaki . looking further into the future , the team said they could have a ` free-flyer ' mission not attached to iss in another orbit to shoot down debris . for example , such a system could be deployed in polar orbit at an altitude of about 500 miles -lrb- 800km -rrb- , ` where the greatest concentration of debris is found , ' according to dr ebisuzaki . without going into specifics , the team says their proposal could remove ` most ' tons . it consists of derelict satellites , rocket bodies and parts , and small fragments produced by collisions between debris . ` we may finally have a way to stop the headache of rapidly growing space debris that endangers space activities , ' added dr ebisuzaki .
-lrb- cnn -rrb- tobacco companies including philip morris and r.j. reynolds filed suit this week against the food and drug administration alleging that the fda is violating the companies ' free speech rights . in march , the fda issued guidance that if significant changes are made to a product 's label , like color or a logo , the product requires new approval from the administration . this holds true even if the product was previously approved . the suit , filed in u.s. district court in washington , argues that those guidelines go too far and are too vague . they violate the first amendment because they pre-emptively restrict free speech and exceed the scope of the tobacco control act , the companies claim . the fda 's actions , the suit says , do not advance a substantial government interest . the plaintiffs also include u.s. smokeless tobacco co. , american snuff co. , santa fe natural tobacco co. and lorillard tobacco co. . fda spokesman michael felberbaum said the administration does not comment on litigation . a laser could be mounted on the international space station and used to shoot down pieces of space debris in earth orbit , says a new paper . the system would use a telescope already mounted on the station to find and target pieces of debris up to 62 miles -lrb- 100km -rrb- away . powerful pulses from the laser would then push space junk into earth 's atmosphere , where it would burn up . tokyo researchers have proposed a laser system to attach to the iss . it would be used to shoot down pieces of debris in earth orbit -lrb- artist 's illustration shown -rrb- . the system would have a range of 62 miles -lrb- 100km -rrb- and could target things less than 0.4 inches -lrb- 1cm -rrb- in size . the paper , by researchers at the riken research institute in tokyo , was published in acta astronautica . their system would use the extreme universe space observatory 's -lrb- euso -rrb- super-wide-field telescope on japan 's kibo experiment module on the iss . cnn 's debra goldschmidt contributed to this report . the laser , meanwhile , use bundles of optical fibres to produce powerful laser pulses - capable of both high power and high frequency , although exact figures were not given . since the first object , sputnik 1 , was launched into space 53 years ago , mankind has created a swarm of hundreds of thousands of items of debris . the rubbish circling the planet comes from old rockets , abandoned satellites and missile shrapnel . there are around 22,000 objects in orbit that are big enough for officials on the ground to track and countless more smaller ones that could do damage to human-carrying spaceships and valuable satellites . one major source of debris in the past was a chinese anti-satellite missile test in 2007 that left an estimated 150,000 pieces of junk in the atmosphere . accidental events have also contributed to the problem . in 2009 for instance there was a major crash between a u.s. communications satellite and a defunct russian military probe over siberia . combining these two instruments would create a system that could deorbit space debris down to the size of 0.4 inches -lrb- one centimetre -rrb- . the impact of the laser beam on debris would create a force that reduced its velocity , causing it to fall into earth 's atmosphere and burn up . the group plans to deploy a small proof-of-concept experiment on the iss , with a small , eight-inch -lrb- 20-centimetre -rrb- version of the euso telescope and a laser with 100 fibres . ` if that goes well , we plan to install a full-scale version on the iss , incorporating a three-meter -lsb- 10ft -rsb- telescope and a laser with 10,000 fibres , giving it the ability to deorbit debris with a range of approximately 100 kilometers -lsb- 62 miles -rsb- , ' said lead researcher dr toshikazu ebisuzaki . looking further into the future , the team said they could have a ` free-flyer ' mission not attached to iss in another orbit to shoot down debris . for example , such a system could be deployed in polar orbit at an altitude of about 500 miles -lrb- 800km -rrb- , ` where the greatest concentration of debris is found , ' according to dr ebisuzaki . without going into specifics , the team says their proposal could remove ` most ' 's kibo experiment module on the iss -lrb- shown -rrb- . the euso telescope was originally planned to detect ultraviolet light from air showers produced by ultra-high energy cosmic rays . but the researchers realised they could put it to another use - the removal of space debris . the fibre-powered laser , meanwhile , was originally developed to power particle accelerators - but again another use for it was found . space debris , which is continuously accumulating as a result of human space activities , consists of artificial objects orbiting the earth . the number of objects nearly doubled from 2000 to 2014 and they have become a major obstacle to space development . the total mass of space debris is calculated to be about 3,000 tons . it consists of derelict satellites , rocket bodies and parts , and small fragments produced by collisions between debris . ` we may finally have a way to stop the headache of rapidly growing space debris that endangers space activities , ' added dr ebisuzaki .
-lrb- cnn -rrb- tobacco companies including philip morris r.j. reynolds filed this the food and drug administration alleging the fda the companies ' free speech rights. in march, the fda issued guidance if significant changes a product 's label like color a logo requires new approval the administration this holds even the product previously approved. the suit, filed washington argues those guidelines go too they violate because pre exceed the tobacco control act, the companies claim the fda 's actions, the suit says do advance a substantial government interest the plaintiffs also include u.s. smokeless tobacco co. , american snuff co. , santa fe natural tobacco co. and lorillard tobacco co. . fda spokesman michael felberbaum the administration does litigation. a laser could mounted the international space station shoot pieces earth orbit, says. the system would use a telescope already mounted find target pieces up to 62 miles -lrb- 100km -rrb- away. powerful pulses from the laser would then push space junk earth 's atmosphere, where burn. tokyo researchers proposed a laser system attach the iss. it would used shoot pieces debris earth orbit -lrb- artist 's illustration shown -rrb-. the system would a range 62 miles -lrb- 100km and could target things less inches in size. the paper, by researchers the riken research institute tokyo was acta astronautica their system would use the extreme universe space observatory 's -lrb- euso -rrb- super-wide-field telescope on japan 's kibo experiment module on the iss. cnn 's debra goldschmidt contributed. the laser, meanwhile use bundles optical fibres produce powerful laser pulses - capable both high power, although exact figures were since the first object, sputnik 1 launched into 53, mankind created a swarm items debris. the rubbish circling comes old rockets, abandoned satellites missile shrapnel there around 22,000 objects orbit that big officials on track countless do damage human-carrying spaceships valuable satellites. one major source debris the past was a chinese anti-satellite missile test 2007 junk. accidental events have also contributed. in 2009 for instance there a major crash between a u.s. communications satellite a defunct russian military probe over siberia. combining these two instruments would deorbit space debris down 0.4 inches -lrb- one centimetre -rrb-. the impact the laser beam debris would create a force reduced, causing fall earth 's atmosphere burn. the group plans deploy small proof experiment the iss, with a small, eight-inch -lrb- 20-centimetre -rrb- version the euso telescope and with 100 fibres. ` if that goes, we plan install on the iss, incorporating a three-meter -lsb- 10ft -rsb- telescope a laser with 10,000 fibres, giving deorbit debris with approximately 100 kilometers -lsb- 62, ' said lead researcher dr toshikazu ebisuzaki looking further, the team said could a ` free-flyer ' mission not attached iss in another orbit to shoot debris. for example, such a system deployed polar orbit at -lrb- 800km -rrb-, ` where the greatest concentration debris, ' according dr ebisuzaki without going, the team says their proposal could remove ` most ' the centimetre-sized debris earth orbit within of operation mailonline has asked the researchers explain often the laser would fire, its maximum capacity in terms debris-size to deorbit the technology bears some similarities the death star - shown - used devastating effect the original star wars trilogy. without going, the team says their proposal could remove ` most ' the centimetre-sized debris earth orbit within of operation the paper, by researchers the riken research institute tokyo was acta astronautica their system would use the extreme universe space observatory 's -lrb- euso -rrb- super-wide-field telescope on japan 's kibo experiment module on the iss -lrb- shown. the euso telescope originally planned detect ultraviolet light air showers produced. but the researchers realised put the removal space debris. the fibre-powered laser, meanwhile was originally power particle accelerators - again another use found. space debris, which continuously accumulating as human space activities consists artificial objects orbiting. the number objects nearly they a major obstacle space development. the total mass space debris calculated. it consists derelict satellites, rocket bodies parts, small fragments produced collisions debris. ` we may finally stop the headache rapidly growing space debris endangers space activities, ' added dr ebisuzaki.
-lrb- cnn -rrb- tobacco companies including philip morris and r.j. reynolds filed suit this week against the food and drug administration alleging that the fda is violating the companies ' free speech rights . in march , the fda issued guidance that if significant changes are made to a product 's label , like color or a logo , the product requires new approval from the administration . this holds true even if the product was previously approved . the suit , filed in u.s. district court in washington , argues that those guidelines go too far and are too vague . they violate the first amendment because they pre-emptively restrict free speech and exceed the scope of the tobacco control act , the companies claim . the fda 's actions , the suit says , do not advance a substantial government interest . the plaintiffs also include u.s. smokeless tobacco co. , american snuff co. , santa fe natural tobacco co. and lorillard tobacco co. . fda spokesman michael felberbaum said the administration does not comment on litigation . a laser could be mounted on the international space station and used to shoot down pieces of space debris in earth orbit , says a new paper . the system would use a telescope already mounted on the station to find and target pieces of debris up to 62 miles -lrb- 100km -rrb- away . powerful pulses from the laser would then push space junk into earth 's atmosphere , where it would burn up . tokyo researchers have proposed a laser system to attach to the iss . it would be used to shoot down pieces of debris in earth orbit -lrb- artist 's illustration shown -rrb- . the system would have a range of 62 miles -lrb- 100km -rrb- and could target things less than 0.4 inches -lrb- 1cm -rrb- in size . the paper , by researchers at the riken research institute in tokyo , was published in acta astronautica . their system would use the extreme universe space observatory 's -lrb- euso -rrb- super-wide-field telescope on japan 's kibo experiment module on the iss . cnn 's debra goldschmidt contributed to this report . the laser , meanwhile , use bundles of optical fibres to produce powerful laser pulses - capable of both high power and high frequency , although exact figures were not given . since the first object , sputnik 1 , was launched into space 53 years ago , mankind has created a swarm of hundreds of thousands of items of debris . the rubbish circling the planet comes from old rockets , abandoned satellites and missile shrapnel . there are around 22,000 objects in orbit that are big enough for officials on the ground to track and countless more smaller ones that could do damage to human-carrying spaceships and valuable satellites . one major source of debris in the past was a chinese anti-satellite missile test in 2007 that left an estimated 150,000 pieces of junk in the atmosphere . accidental events have also tons . it consists of derelict satellites , rocket bodies and parts , and small fragments produced by collisions between debris . ` we may finally have a way to stop the headache of rapidly growing space debris that endangers space activities , ' added dr ebisuzaki .
 The FDA is taking action against tobacco companies, including Philip Morris and RJ Reynolds, alleging that they violated free speech rights by restricting marketing practices. The agency claims that the companies' labeling and advertising restrictions are too vague and could lead to confusion among consumers. The lawsuit was filed in US District Court in Washington, DC.