Laser broom

Laser broom

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. [cite web |url=http://www.astronomycafe.net/qadir/q1697.html |title=Where can I get information about orbiting space junk? |publisher=Astronomy Cafe |work=Ask the Astronomer - Archive of Astronomy Questions and Answers |author=Dr Sten Odenwald |date=1997 |accessdate=2007-03-26] The space shuttle routinely shows evidence of (very) small impacts upon post-flight inspection. [cite web |url=http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/planetearth/space_junk_000901.html |title=Orbiting Junk Continues to Threaten International Space Station |publisher=space.com/ |accessdate=2008-02-03]

Proposed initial trials will use low power because of concerns about inadvertently contravening an international weapons treaty banning laser weapons in space. The laser broom is intended to be used at high enough power to punch through the atmosphere with enough remaining power to ablate material from the debris for several minutes. This would provide thrust to alter its orbit, dropping the perigee into the upper atmosphere, increasing drag so that the debris would eventually burn up on reentry.

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).

ee also

* Outer Space Treaty

References

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

External links

* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/884256.stm BBC News report on Laser broom]
* [http://www.abc.net.au/science/news/stories/s164735.htm Space Station gets high tech broom] ABC
* [http://www.spacedaily.com/news/debris-00a.html NASA Hopes Laser Broom Will Help Clean Up Space Debris] Agence France-Presse story via SpaceDaily
* [http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/planetearth/space_junk_000901.html Orbiting Junk Continues to Threaten International Space Station] Space.com
* [http://www.newscientist.com/channel/space/space-shuttle/mg16722521.200 Shuttle to test space junk broom] New Scientist
* [http://www.seds.org/spaceviews/9707/articles.html SpaceViews July 1997: Articles] [http://www.seds.org/spaceviews/9707/articles.html#1 ORION: A Solution to the Orbital Debris Problem] by Claude Phipps


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужна курсовая?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Space debris — populations seen from outside geosynchronous orbit (GEO). Note the two primary debris fields, the ring of objects in GEO, and the cloud of objects in low earth orbit (LEO) …   Wikipedia

  • Ablation cascade — is a term used for a possible catastrophic orbital event. The event could be triggered by the explosive destruction of a satellite. The resulting debris, with its wide variety of velocities, would impact other satellites. If enough of these… …   Wikipedia

  • Beam-powered propulsion — is a class of spacecraft propulsion mechanisms that use energy beamed to the spacecraft from a remote power plant. Most designs are rocket engines where the energy is provided by the beam, and is used to superheat propellant that then provides… …   Wikipedia

  • List of aerospace engineering topics — This page aims to list all articles related to the specific discipline of aerospace engineering. For a broad overview of engineering, see List of engineering topics. For biographies, see List of engineers.compactTOC NOTOC AAblation cascade… …   Wikipedia

  • Débris spatial — Test destiné à simuler l impact d un débris spatial dans un véhicule en orbite au centre de recherche de la NASA Un débris spatial, dans le domaine de l astronautique, est l objet résiduaire d une mission spatiale, se trouvant sur orbite[1] …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Orion — may refer to: Orion (mythology) Contents 1 Astronomy 2 Places 3 Buildings …   Wikipedia

  • Low Earth orbit — An orbiting cannon ball showing various sub orbital and orbital possibilities …   Wikipedia

  • Kessler Syndrome — The Kessler Syndrome is a scenario, proposed by NASA consultant Donald J. Kessler, in which the volume of space debris in Low Earth Orbit is so high that objects in orbit are frequently struck by debris, creating even more debris and a greater… …   Wikipedia

  • Project Orion — may refer to: Project Orion (nuclear propulsion) was an engineering design study of spacecraft powered by nuclear pulse propulsion Project Orion within the Constellation program to create the Orion (spacecraft) to replace the US Space Shuttle… …   Wikipedia

  • Space elevator safety — There are many safety issues associated with the construction and operation of a space elevator. A space elevator would present a considerable navigational hazard, both to aircraft and spacecraft. Aircraft could be dealt with by means of simple… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
… Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”