Removing orbital debris with lasers |
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Authors: | Claude R Phipps Kevin L Baker Stephen B Libby Duane A Liedahl Scot S Olivier Lyn D Pleasance Alexander Rubenchik James E Trebes E Victor George Bogdan Marcovici James P Reilly Michael T Valley |
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Institution: | 1. Photonic Associates, LLC, Santa Fe, NM 87508, USA;2. Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, CA 94550, USA;3. Centech, Carlsbad, CA 92011, USA;4. System Engineering Associates, El Segundo, CA 90245, USA;5. Northeast Science and Technology, Williamsburg, VA 23188, USA;6. Applied Systems and Material Science Department, Sandia National Laboratories, Albuquerque, NM 87185-0549, USA |
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Abstract: | Orbital debris in low Earth orbit (LEO) are now sufficiently dense that the use of LEO space is threatened by runaway collision cascading. A problem predicted more than thirty years ago, the threat from debris larger than about 1 cm demands serious attention. A promising proposed solution uses a high power pulsed laser system on the Earth to make plasma jets on the objects, slowing them slightly, and causing them to re-enter and burn up in the atmosphere. In this paper, we reassess this approach in light of recent advances in low-cost, light-weight modular design for large mirrors, calculations of laser-induced orbit changes and in design of repetitive, multi-kilojoules lasers, that build on inertial fusion research. These advances now suggest that laser orbital debris removal (LODR) is the most cost-effective way to mitigate the debris problem. No other solutions have been proposed that address the whole problem of large and small debris. A LODR system will have multiple uses beyond debris removal. International cooperation will be essential for building and operating such a system. |
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Keywords: | Space debris Laser ablation Orbital debris removal Adaptive optics Segmented mirror design Phase conjugation |
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