According to the Tech Times article Russia Constructing Powerful 'Space Laser' To Remove Some 500,000 Junk Items Orbiting The Earth:
Russia is still making its mark in space and it is doing so by taking an initiative to tackle one of the growing problems that are orbiting the Earth.
What Did The Russian Space Agency Announce?
On June 11, researchers at the Scientific and Industrial Corporation "Precision Instrument Systems" (NPK SPP), a group within the Russian space agency Roscosmos, announced the creation of a laser cannon that will shoot down space debris that is currently orbiting the Earth. The laser cannon is going to be roughly 3 meters long.
"The scientists intend to use the massive soon-to-be-built telescope at the Altay Optical-Laser Center and convert it into a laser cannon," a source from Roscosmos told Sputnik News. "The device is expected to be powered by a solid-state generator, though the project team has yet to choose which model to use."
Sputnik News claimed that a report was sent to the Russian Academy of Sciences about the laser cannon. However, according to ResearchGate's system on June 12, it doesn't appear to have been published yet.
That's interesting, but I'm particularly interested in the graphic that appears in this article, as well as in the video seen in the Fox News video.
Question: What is the origin of and who is the artist who created this image appearing in an article about a Russian space laser? Is this classic SF art or something more recent? A reverse image search shows this image appearing in perhaps hundreds of different articles, but so far all I find is that they all cite Wikimedia Commons. So far I haven't found it there so I am still having trouble tracking down the original source and artist.
below: "Russian scientists with Roscosmos are working on a laser cannon that will shoot down space debris. There are over 500,000 pieces of space junk orbiting the Earth. ( Edward L. Cooper | Wikimedia Commons )"