2024-02-03 13:04:35
There are more and more space debris in orbit. A Japanese company offers a new method to get rid of it: the laser. Futura explains this new method to you.
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According to ESA, the European Space Agency, there are in space nearly 36,500 pieces of debris larger than 10 centimeters, nearly a million pieces of debris measuring between 1 and 10 centimeters, and nearly 130 million micro-debris (size between 1 millimeter and 1 centimeter). They all pose a real risk to the satellites we depend on. Several companies offer dangerous debris capture and de-orbit services. The Japanese company Sky Perfect Jsat has just opened a subsidiary which offers a solution using laser.
5 unusual ways to get rid of space junk
Focus on debris in full spin
Several methods already exist to catch space debris (very complex operation): robotic robotic arm, magnetic capture, harpooning, etc. Sky Perfect Jsat, which operates a fleet of 17 satellites, launched its subsidiary Orbital Lasers to find a solution for rotating debris.
New method for capturing debris remotely in orbit. © Sky Perfect Jsat
The method is as follows: a satellite approaches the debris and shoots it with a laser whose range would reach 100 meters, the laser must burn and erode the outer layer of the debris and reduce its spinspin. Once its rotation is slowed, the debris becomes captureable. It is either grabbed or pushed in order to execute a controlled atmospheric reentry.
Premier vol en 2029
The Orbital Lasers solution will be developed from 2025 to be flight tested in 2029. It is therefore a complementary solution to those already known which makes it possible to tackle debris whose rotation makes any approach dangerous.
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