Japan can implement new technology for the destruction of space debris. A local company has developed a method destroy satellite and rocket debris with a laser beam. While other countries are exploring this possibility, the Asians are planning to launch them from Earth.
According to a report from NikkeiJapanese startup EX-Fusion will use its experience in developing laser technologies to remove space debris. Company will place a powerful laser inside the observatory to track and remove debris in orbit. Lightning will be a tool since the Earth’s atmosphere will be responsible for their destruction.
Ex-Fusion has signed a memorandum of understanding with EOS Space Systems, an Australian weapons company. EOS will use its tracking systems to track space debris smaller than 10cm.
The plan is divided into three stages. The first is find the space debris that needs to be destroyed using the tracker. Once tracked, the observatory will periodically shoot debris from the direction opposite to its path. The goal is reduce speed to allow debris to enter the atmosphere and disintegrate before reaching land.
EOS has experience destroying flying objects using a laser. A defense company has developed a High Energy Laser (HEL) weapon capable of neutralizing drones within a 4 km radius. HEL reaches a power level of 54 kW and can operate continuously without time limits. Another device is the Titanis, a system for disabling individual or group drones using a combination of laser and 7.62 mm cannon.
How will space debris be removed using lasers?
James Bennett, CEO of EOS Space, said eliminating space debris requires a different approach than using drones. Anti-flying object systems use fiber lasers, a technology used in the manufacturing sector to cut metal with high precision.
In the case of space debris a diode-pumped solid-state laser will be used (DPSL), which hits the surface of a hydrogen fuel pellet, causing a nuclear fusion reaction. Engineers They will periodically fire a beam at pieces smaller than 10cm. to force them into the atmosphere and cause them to burn up.
“In recent years, there has been a significant increase in the amount of space debris around the Earth, which threatens to cause catastrophic collisions with valuable space objects that are essential to modern life on Earth,” Ex-Fusion noted. “One strategy to mitigate the space debris problem is to use ground-based optical stations equipped with high-power laser systems to remove space debris or change their orbit to avoid these catastrophic collisions.”
The agreement between Ex-Fusion and EOS Space is for 12 months, during which the technology will be tested at an observatory in Canberra, Australia. According to the Asian company, Detecting and destroying small debris using lasers has always been a challenge..
Ex-Fusion aims to establish the first commercial laser fusion power plant. The new company has raised $13 million in a funding round that will help it build out its capacity and develop its first reactors.
Source: Hiper Textual
