Space debris removal by non-destructive orbit modification using ground-based high-power lasers

Abstract

Accelerated deterioration of ecosystems naturally expands situational awareness from sustainability efforts towards emergency response. While this holds true for, e.g., climate change, the current evolution of Earth’s orbital environment develops into a status demanding for short-term action far beyond sustainability measures for space debris mitigation. Possibly not being the most relevant option for space sustainability efforts, high-power lasers might nonetheless play a significant role in response to the increasing number of known debris objects. Lasers, however, with a perception ranging from well-known everyday life applications via technology optimism and weaponization efforts up to visionary propulsion concepts, demand for a thoughtful assessment of their beneficial as well as their destructive potential regarding thermo-mechanical interaction with space debris. In our work we present a holistic approach to realistically assess conceivable contributions of ground-based highpower laser technology for mitigation of the space debris situation in the low Earth orbit. Departing from experimental work on laser-induced momentum coupling, our simulations cover aspects of beam transmission like atmospheric extinction, turbulence compensation, and beam pointing jitter. Laser-matter interaction is computed considering different generic target shapes, various target materials as well as the dependency of thermo-mechanical coupling on the incident laser fluence. Moreover, estimates are derived on the debris remediation performance of a repetitive 100 kJ laser system for perigee lowering to achieve atmospheric burnup after multiple laser station overpasses. The related laser irradiation constraints for operational safety are explored in terms of the target’s thermo-mechanical integrity throughout the entire orbit modification maneuver.