Awesome thread!
Just a point for Cannnon followers. The v2.2 timeline implies that there were some orbital space stations or "laboratories".
Under the 1999 timeline "Even scientific stations in the antarctic,and orbiting space laboratories, are abandoned as the war drags on."
I can't remember if this sentence exists in V1 or V2.0.
I guess we can assume that the USA has a space station, perhaps keeping or revamping Skylab? Or maybe the "free" nations got an early start on the International Space Station.
I am kind of partial to the MIRACL laser which RN7 mentioned, since it was operational during the timeline and was used in a successful ASAT test in 1997.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MIRACL
Although out of the timeline, I thought the YAL-1 was an interesting concept.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/YAL-1