Laser broom
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A laser broom is a proposed ground-based laser beam-powered propulsion system whose purpose is to sweep space debris out of the path of the International Space Station.
It is designed to target debris between 1 and 10 cm in diameter. Even small-sized debris can cause considerable damage in extremely high-speed collisions.[1] The space shuttle routinely shows evidence of (very) small impacts upon post-flight inspection.[2]
Proposed initial trials will use low power because of concerns about inadvertently contravening an international weapons treaty banning laser weapons in space.
One laser broom project is named Project Orion, not to be confused with the spacecraft propulsion project named Project Orion (nuclear propulsion) or NASA's Orion spacecraft (or CEV).
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[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ Dr Sten Odenwald (1997). Where can I get information about orbiting space junk?. Ask the Astronomer - Archive of Astronomy Questions and Answers. Astronomy Cafe. Retrieved on 2007-03-26.
- ^ Orbiting Junk Continues to Threaten International Space Station. space.com/. Retrieved on 2008-02-03.
[edit] Further reading
- 2000 Earth Orbital Debris - NASA Research on Satellite and Spacecraft Effects by World Spaceflight News, CD-ROM: 862 pages ISBN 1-893472-28-0
[edit] External links
- BBC News report on Laser broom
- Space Station gets high tech broom ABC
- NASA Hopes Laser Broom Will Help Clean Up Space Debris Agence France-Presse story via SpaceDaily
- Orbiting Junk Continues to Threaten International Space Station Space.com
- Shuttle to test space junk broom New Scientist
- SpaceViews July 1997: Articles ORION: A Solution to the Orbital Debris Problem by Claude Phipps
