Ablative collision avoidance for space debris in the Low Earth Orbit by a single multi-kJ pulse from a ground-based laser

Kurzfassung

We analyze the conceptual idea whether already a single high energy laser pulse, emitted from a laser station on ground, might cause material ablation at the surface of a debris object generating recoil for a sufficiently high velocity change to allow for space debris collision avoidance. In our simulations we assess laser beam propagation through the turbulent atmosphere as well as laser interaction with debris targets of unknown shape and material. The results are discussed in terms of debris displacement, momentum transfer uncertainty, success probability, and limitations due to debris size, mass, and the required laser fluence at the target.