Laser That Shoots Down Space Debris
The orbit is full of debris. The company EOS came with a solution that can be built here on Earth. They built a laser system on Mount Stromlo in Canberra that can target and hit space debris with a laser beam.
Credit: EOS-AUS.com
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Most of you know that the Earth’s orbit is full of dangerous debris and that we do need to clean it up. But cleaning up in space is complicated and requires cool new ideas and technologies. The Australian company EOS Space Systems decided on a terrestrial approach. After seven years of effort, they built a laser system at the Mount Stromlo Observatory in Canberra that will shoot down space debris from orbit.
The company EOS wasn’t alone in their work. They worked with the Australian National University, the American company Lockheed Martin, and the Japanese Institute of Communications and Technology. Ben Greene thinks this is a major breakthrough in space technologies.
The system has two lasers at its disposal. The first is bright orange and can easily be seen with the naked eye. Its beam passes the atmosphere and targets space debris. The second laser is “invisible” yet much more powerful. Once the first laser targets the debris, the second laser tries to push the debris to a different orbit.
Experts estimate that there are roughly 130,000,000 pieces of orbital debris. Mostly these are just tiny fragments but some are quite large. The risks associated with space debris are constantly rising and we are running out of excuses of why not to deal with it. And Australians are especially feeling this problem because they are quite reliant on space technologies using them commonly in banking, navigation, agriculture, or even logistics.
The system itself is a unique laser system tuned to fair well in the fight against space debris. It is continuously mapping the atmosphere above and constantly adjusting the laser beam that fires into orbit. The creators even think the technology could find other uses such as communication with probes or even colonies (once we get them) further out in the Solar system.
Also, the team at Mount Stromlo isn’t inexperienced when it comes to space debris. For several years already they are observing it. But until now that’s all they were – observers. Now they have active means with the tools that will allow us to change the orbit of space debris and neutralize it. For the future, they are expecting to have technologies that will annihilate the debris in orbit directly with powerful laser pulses.
The project is passionately supported by the former minister for industry, science, and technology, now the minister of home affairs Karen Andrews who describes herself as a space junkie. She says satellites are required for Australia and that we need to do all we can to further develop and protect them.
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