Laser scientists control the experiment from a safe distance inside a control room filled with monitors (and snacks). The poster on the back wall shows a complete diagram of the 240-by-40-foot experiment. If all goes according to the Navy's plan, one day they'll be operating their laser from a ship. By 2016, Boeing is scheduled to transfer its free electron laser technology from Jefferson Laboratory and other participating labs, in order to demonstrate a 100-kilowatt prototype that is compatible with operation on a ship. After that, plans will begin to design something that will actually go out to sea.