The Carnak space cannon was a 23rd century space station in orbit of the planet Carnak.
History and specifics[]
The installation was an orbital mass driver equipped with reverse polarity projectors and a cloaking device. It was capable of firing a stream of negatively polarized meteoroids that were undetectable by scanners. It also had a series of mounted thrusters for shifting its orbital position. The cannon served as Carnak's primary means of planetary defense. It was several times the size of a Constitution-class starship.
In 2267, while exploring Sector G-5, the USS Enterprise was damaged by a sudden meteoroid storm. Because they weren't detected, the meteors hulled the ship in six places. Subsequent investigation led to the discovery of the space station, but with deflector shields up, a second barrage caused far less damage. Unknowingly, the starship was headed directly for the cloaked station, and it was forced to fire thrusters to avoid a collision. Neutronic particle emissions from the Enterprise were able to penetrate the station's cloak, but the Enterprise became caught in the gravity well of the planet and was forced to land. (TOS comic: "Where Giants Tread")