A plan to eliminate space junk has emerged

A Japanese start-up company has come up with a plan to destroy space junk using a laser designed for nuclear fusion energy.

Osaka-based company X-Fusion plans to tackle the problem of orbital debris with a new idea by building the world’s most powerful laser.

The Diode Pumped Solid State (DPSS) laser was designed to blast a pellet of hydrogen fuel with a very powerful beam to initiate a fusion reaction (this is exactly the process that occurs naturally on the Sun).

Through this process, the company realized that the technology might be used to eliminate space debris around Earth without sending lasers into space.

Kazuki Matsu, the company’s chief executive, said that lasers used to destroy space debris are less powerful than nuclear fusion, but they face similar technical problems, such as controlling them with special mirrors.

The Japanese startup has already signed an MoU with Australian space junk detection company EOS Space Systems.

The X-Fusion company will initially target space debris smaller than 10 centimeters, which was previously impossible for ground-based lasers.

The beam will be used to slow down space debris until it slows down enough to fall and burn up in Earth’s atmosphere.