Active satellites have the ability to maneuver to avoid collision with other space objects. Unfortunately the majority of objects in space are debris objects that do not have the ability to maneuver. In the future the population of debris objects will grow and the probability of collision will increase. This paper will provide details on plans to use a ground based laser with uplink adaptive optics compensation to apply photon pressure to debris objects and maneuver them out of harm’s way. This work is ongoing at the Space Environment Research Centre at Mt. Stromlo Australia with collaborative efforts from Lockheed Martin, Electro-Optics Systems Inc. and the Australian National University.

Date Published: 19 September 2016
PDF: 5 pages
Proc. SPIE 9979, Laser Communication and Propagation through the Atmosphere and Oceans V, 99790J (19 September 2016); doi: 10.1117/12.2240634

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 9979:
Laser Communication and Propagation through the Atmosphere and Oceans V
Alexander M. J. van Eijk; Christopher C. Davis; Stephen M. Hammel, Editor(s)