China wants to clean Earth’s orbit by blasting space junk with giant lasers

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Mankind has done a remarkably efficient job of covering the Earth with garbage and clutter, so it should come as no surprise to learn that we’re doing the same thing up in space. The Earth’s orbit is full of old satellites that have been unused for years, as well as all sorts of other “space junk” that has accumulated since man first began exploring space. Other natural objects have collected in the Earth’s orbit as well, drawn in by gravitational pull. There is much debate over how troublesome this space junk can be, but one thing is certain: The issue will only get worse if left unchecked.

So researchers at the Air Force Engineering University in China have published a paper titled “Impacts of orbital elements of space-based laser station on small scale space debris removal.” As the name suggests, the scientists’ paper explores the impact of using a giant laser to blow apart space debris.

“This paper investigated the impacts of orbital elements of space-based laser station on small scale space debris removal by numerical simulation,” the researchers wrote in their abstract. “The orbital momentum models of small scale space debris and space-based laser station were established. The velocity variation of the space debris ablating by the space-based laser station was analyzed, and the orbit maneuver of the space debris irradiated by laser station was modeled and studied. The variations of orbital parameters of the space debris orbit respectively without and with irradiation of high-power pulsed laser were simulated and analyzed, and the impacts of the inclination and right ascension of ascending node (RAAN) of the space-based laser station on debris removal were analyzed and discussed.” – READ MORE

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When you look up at the night sky all you see is stars and maybe a distant planet or two, but there’s actually a whole lot of garbage floating around in Earth’s orbit. The space around our planet is filled with satellites — both functional and long dead — and many of the defunct pieces of hardware have collided with one another, creating even more individual pieces of harmful debris. Now, the problem has gotten so bad that the International Space Station has been forced to install a sensor to detect when it gets hit with bits and pieces of artificial space junk.

The new sensor, which is called simply the Space Debris Sensor (or SDS for short), is designed to monitor any impacts caused by the smaller, untraceable bits of space junk that are simply too tiny for NASA to monitor. The SDS is firmly mounted on the exterior of the International Space Station, where it will remain for up to three years, giving scientists an idea of just how much garbage is colliding with the orbiting laboratory on a regular basis.

“The front layer of the Space Debris Sensor is a thin film of Kapton with acoustic sensors and a grid of resistive wires,” NASA explains. “These acoustic sensors measure the time and location of a penetrating impact, while a change in resistance on the grid when lines are broken provide a size estimate of the hole.”

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