It’s getting crowded up in space: More than 500,000 pie*ces of debris orbit the Earth. Most of the orbital debris is man-made objects that no longer serve a purpose (old satellites, rockets, and mission-related debris).
These objects travel at speeds up to 17,500 mph. At this speed, a relatively small piece of debris —even tiny paint flecks— can do some major damage to a satellite or a spacecraft. In fact, a number of space shuttle windows have been replaced because of damage caused by flecks of paint.
Here’s how it would work: EUSO, a new Japanese space telescope, would spot the debris using it’s powerful optics and wide field of view. This telescope could be combined with a high-energy laser system known as CAN.
CAN’s plasma pulse could hit the debris and slow it down — so much so that it falls out of orbit and burns up in the Earth’s atmosphere.
Article:http://motherboard.vice.com/read/astronomers-want-to-blast-space-junk-by-strapping-a-laser-to-a-telescope
These objects travel at speeds up to 17,500 mph. At this speed, a relatively small piece of debris —even tiny paint flecks— can do some major damage to a satellite or a spacecraft. In fact, a number of space shuttle windows have been replaced because of damage caused by flecks of paint.
Here’s how it would work: EUSO, a new Japanese space telescope, would spot the debris using it’s powerful optics and wide field of view. This telescope could be combined with a high-energy laser system known as CAN.
CAN’s plasma pulse could hit the debris and slow it down — so much so that it falls out of orbit and burns up in the Earth’s atmosphere.
Article:http://motherboard.vice.com/read/astronomers-want-to-blast-space-junk-by-strapping-a-laser-to-a-telescope
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