Over the past century, the number of satellites has increased rapidly, making it more and more difficult to address the problem of space junk. A Japanese business is currently preparing to shoot space trash with a laser.
Space trash is a significant problem. New opportunities arose with the arrival of the Space Age, allowing humanity to begin exploring the last frontier. However, as the number of satellites increased dramatically over the past century, it became more difficult to address the problem of space debris. A Japanese business is currently planning to shoot down space trash with a laser.
Let us first define space debris.
When referring to the remains of retired satellites that are still in Earth’s orbit, the term “space junk” is most frequently used. There are currently thousands of these satellites floating “aimlessly” above Earth as a result of the actual “skeletons” of the most sophisticated devices ever created by humans packing into Earth’s orbit.
Functional satellites are at danger from these satellites and other broken equipment. Since satellites can move at hundreds of kilometers per minute, a collision with a dead satellite can seriously harm the newer one.
A Japanese business called EX-Fusion, with its headquarters in Osaka, is preparing to launch a service that will clear space debris fragments. And it intends to use a laser beam launched from the ground to assist it in doing so.
Although there are a number of other Japanese companies in the running, EX-Fusion distinguishes itself from its rivals with its grounded strategy.
A memorandum of agreement was reached between EX-Fusion and EOS Space Syatems, an Australian business with technology for detecting space debris, in October of last year.
What is the plan then?
The laser will be installed by EX-Fusion in an observatory close to Canberra. Operating this observatory is EOS Space. Initially, the laser will be configured to target space junk with a diameter of less than 10 cm. This size and smaller space debris is difficult to find.
In the second phase, both businesses will power up the laser beam to be shot from Earth’s surface in an attempt to remove space trash. The goal is to aim the space debris in the opposite direction from which it is currently traveling, causing it to progressively lose speed until it reaches Earth’s atmosphere and burns up.
