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NASA to shoot lasers at space debris

Eavesdropper
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Over 200,000 objects of space garbage orbit the earth. It is becoming more cluttered and more hazardous every day. There is a new solution. Unlike the Russia POD space debris collector, NASA plans to fire a 5kW laser at orbiting objects to help clear up the problem. Shooting the objects repeatedly, NASA assumes, will reduce the risk of upcoming conjunctions. In other words, get the objects to fall into the atmosphere and burn up.
 
NASA Scientist, Donald Kessler, predicted that collisions between two pieces of space debris could trigger further catastrophic events. In January 2009 this prediction came true. Chinese military tested a satellite destroying weapon called the Fengyun 1C, soon after the Cosmos 2251 and Iridium 33 satellites experienced collisions. Over 60% of debris threats can now be traced back to those two incidents.
 
Before there is more civilian space travel, I hope this laser or the Russian POD are operational.
 
Eavesdropper
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  • And here everyone said that President Reagan was a fool for dumping money into his Star Wars programs for laser defence.  It is nice to see that some of that research and technology might actually be used for a good purpose.

    The power rating sounds about right to hit the smaller objects with just enough energy to slow them down into a faster decaying orbit.  This approach might work!

    Thanks

    DAB

  • in reply to DAB

    It might be more cost effective if the laser was shot from space, as opposed to the earthen bound concept from this NASA idea. So, if the star wars program actually created anything worthwhile, then it could easily be used now.

     

    I read that the star wars program was easily defeated by a simulation of the enemy throwing hundreds of "dummy" missles into orbit. A few of the actual ordinance was still able to hit their targets. It is now called the Strategic Defense Initiative Organization (SDIO). And it is not a ambitious as Reagan probably imagined.

     

    I would still prefer to be a "space garbage collector."

     

    E

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  • in reply to Eavesdropper

    Actually the logistics make a ground based system more achievable.  Besides, the atmosphere is not near the problem some think it is to delivering energy on a target in low earth orbit.  If you put it in space, you have to take the power system, harden everything, launch it, keep the optics aligned and cleaned, etc.

     

    Much easier to do on the ground.

     

    DAB