With every satellite launch, we see an increase in debris orbiting around the earth. It’s not just debris from the satellite launches but also defunct satellites, 500,000 of them are orbiting the earth creating a deadly threat for active orbiting vehicles. In the past, NASA has concocted different ways for tackling this nuisance but this time Japan's Riken research institute has thought of a new way that is not just utilitarian but also ultra-cool. A proposal has been submitted by scientists from RIKEN, University of California, IZEST EcolePolytechnique, University of Paris and University of Torino that talks about a laser mounted on the International Space Station that shall monitor and destroy space debris out of earth’s orbit. The system that will require no assistance from ground control consists of EUSO’s infrared telescope and a CAN laser.
EUSO
Extreme Universe Space Observatory or EUSO developed by Japan's Riken research institute has a telescope that is currently being used to detect ultraviolet light emitted produced by ultra-high-energy cosmic rays entering the Earth's atmosphere at night. The Japanese researchers believe that since this system has wide field of view and powerful optics it can be modified to detect high-velocity debris fragments at twilight. The second part of the proposed system requires a fibre optic CAN laser that is found in particle accelerators. Once the telescope identifies the debris, even the ones with diameters of 1cm, it can fire powerful laser pulses that cause a phenomenon called as plasma ablation that will heat the object and turn it into plasma. This shall push the disintegrated debris into earth’s atmosphere that shall obliterate it instantly.
In the proposal that has been published in the Acta Astronautica journal states that the implementation shall take place in two phases. The first phase shall be a proof-of-concept test on the International Space Station with a 20cm version of the EUSO telescope and a laser with 100 fibres. If that goes according to plan a full scale version shall be installed on the ISS that shall consist of a three-meter EUSO telescope and a laser with 10,000 fibres that will be capable of obliterating debris in a range of 100 kilometres. The researchers have also chalked out an additional plan which shall consist of a free flying satellite in the polar orbit that will have a range of 800 kilometres.
For more information on this development, you can read the journal link mentioned in the above paragraph or its coverage on Science Daily and Engadget.
EUSO
Extreme Universe Space Observatory or EUSO developed by Japan's Riken research institute has a telescope that is currently being used to detect ultraviolet light emitted produced by ultra-high-energy cosmic rays entering the Earth's atmosphere at night. The Japanese researchers believe that since this system has wide field of view and powerful optics it can be modified to detect high-velocity debris fragments at twilight. The second part of the proposed system requires a fibre optic CAN laser that is found in particle accelerators. Once the telescope identifies the debris, even the ones with diameters of 1cm, it can fire powerful laser pulses that cause a phenomenon called as plasma ablation that will heat the object and turn it into plasma. This shall push the disintegrated debris into earth’s atmosphere that shall obliterate it instantly.
In the proposal that has been published in the Acta Astronautica journal states that the implementation shall take place in two phases. The first phase shall be a proof-of-concept test on the International Space Station with a 20cm version of the EUSO telescope and a laser with 100 fibres. If that goes according to plan a full scale version shall be installed on the ISS that shall consist of a three-meter EUSO telescope and a laser with 10,000 fibres that will be capable of obliterating debris in a range of 100 kilometres. The researchers have also chalked out an additional plan which shall consist of a free flying satellite in the polar orbit that will have a range of 800 kilometres.
For more information on this development, you can read the journal link mentioned in the above paragraph or its coverage on Science Daily and Engadget.
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