Vertically launched missiles are not a new idea. By the late 20th Century, many navies on Earth developed verticle launchers for missiles, and occasionally cannon shells, due to the flexibility of vertical launching. A Vertically launched missile can attack targets on any trajectory, allowing a single launcher to effectively cover a broad area of space. A 50-cell Vertical Launch System can also discharge all of its missiles, each independantly targetted, in less than one minute. Little, if any, change in the ship's spacial orientation is required to bring the weapons to bear.