Inside sci-fi plan to blow up space junk with lasers, sending the debris crashing to Earth

A JAPANESE space team has revealed how they plan to use powerful lasers to blast junk from space.

The team at SKY Perfect JSAT Corp has spent years developing their world's first laser cannons that could solve the growing problem of debris in Earth's atmosphere.

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It is claimed that these revolutionary lasers will be powerful enough to disrupt the way pieces of trash orbit the Earth.

SKY Perfect JSAT Corp's new venture, called Orbital Lasers, has said that these laser beams can vaporize part of the surface of any space junk.

By vaporizing some of the surface of the debris, they can then determine the direction in which it orbits the Earth.

Still focused on the debris, the lasers can then direct the beams to slowly guide the debris toward Earth.

If you do this in a careful and controlled manner, the debris will reportedly burn up as it reaches Earth's atmosphere.

Orbital Lasers claim that their project is the safest way to deal with space debris because it avoids physical contact with other objects.

Because the debris slowly enters our planet's atmosphere, where it immediately burns up, it is harmless and no longer a problem.

The project was officially launched on January 30 in Tokyo, where it said the first lasers will be ready for sale in 2025.

“The issue of space debris is now considered an environmental problem as important as global warming and marine plastic pollution,” Orbital Lasers said in a statement.

“SKY Perfect JSAT and Orbital Lasers address this concern seriously and strive to contribute to the improvement of a sustainable space environment.

“This milestone follows the announcement in June 2020 to design and develop the payload of the world's first space debris removal satellite using laser technology, in collaboration with the Institute of Physical and Chemical Research (RIKEN).

“As a result of these advances, a startup has emerged from SKY Perfect JSAT.”

The group added: “Orbital Lasers will not only focus on the removal of space debris, but also aims to further utilize and develop its laser technologies.

“By integrating space-based LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) technology into satellites, the company aims to become the world's first commercial provider of high-precision ground surface information through the use of Satellite LiDAR.”

The European Space Agency (ESA) has said that more than a million pieces of debris from discarded parts of satellites and spacecraft are orbiting the Earth.

Late last year, a UN report revealed that about 75 percent of objects in Earth's orbit are “junk.”

If this space debris collides with important satellites, it could have negative consequences for society.

The report explains: “Given that these objects are moving at speeds of more than 25,000 kilometers per hour, even the smallest debris can cause significant damage.

“Every piece of debris becomes an obstacle in the orbital 'highway,' making it increasingly difficult for functional satellites to avoid collisions.”

Space experts and enthusiastic researchers have been trying to find a solution to the problem for years, but to no avail.

Some startups envision methods using satellites with robotic arms or devices with wires that can scoop up debris.

In 2018, a space team from Britain tried to grab a defunct satellite using a giant net. A year later they used a harpoon.

Although both attempts were successful, these methods are limited to removing larger pieces of debris.

To date, there has been no viable implementation of potential solutions to the problem.

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