International Space Station may get laser cannon to vaporize orbital debris - Polidicks

[QUOTE]The International Space Station (ISS) has been forced to alter trajectory numerous times over the years, but not for any scientific of logistical reason — it was necessary to avoid collisions with space junk. The day of simply stepping out of the way could be coming to an end, though. Researchers from Japan’s Riken Computational Astrophysics Laboratory have proposed a system that could blast dangerous space debris out of the sky before it comes close to the ISS. Scientists estimate there are nearly 3,000 tons of space junk in orbit of the Earth. These are pieces of rocket boosters, decoupling rings, and smaller objects like screws or paint chips. Many of these objects have very low mass, but they can be moving upwards of 20,000 miles per hour relative to the station. That can mean a lot of impact energy. Anything larger than 0.4 inches is considered to be dangerous to the ISS, and even a single breach of the station’s hull could mean big trouble. [/QUOTE] [url]http://www.extremetech.com/extreme/205899-international-space-station-may-get-laser-cannon-to-vaporize-orbital-debris[/url]

This is how the end begins

All of our sci-fi dreams get more and more real by the day

Forgive a reference to video games but the ace combat series has orbital anti asteroid laser systems like the Arkbird and OLDS. My dreams are becoming reality

[quote]International Space Station may get Death Star[/quote] Fixed

Well hopefully it's not just the one laser. If you're dealing with OUR level of space junk, you'll need multiple blasters to clear the field out of your way.

[QUOTE=ironman17;47755898]Well hopefully it's not just the one laser. If you're dealing with OUR level of space junk, you'll need multiple blasters to clear the field out of your way.[/QUOTE] As the article notes it's not going to incinerate debris, it'll basically just be pushing junk out of the way until it's on a safe trajectory. The laser isn't the new technology, what they're talking about is a lot weaker than the proposed laser satellites from Reagan's Star Wars era. What's cool is that they can repurpose an observation platform to spot and track debris. I'm curious as to whether it will be able to see stuff like paint chips and other tiny fragments that could still cause substantial damage.

[QUOTE=ironman17;47755898]Well hopefully it's not just the one laser. If you're dealing with OUR level of space junk, you'll need multiple blasters to clear the field out of your way.[/QUOTE] There's really not that much debris per surface area. You're talking the entire surface area of the Earth that debris is distributed around.

[QUOTE=Lord Xenoyia;47755850]This is how the end begins[/QUOTE] Well the soviets already tried it once and it didn't spell the end, though Mir did always lack the power to use it even if it had made it to orbit

[QUOTE=Lord Xenoyia;47755850]This is how the end begins[/QUOTE] The end of "not the awesome future."

What about the danger of Kessler Syndrome? Or are they just planning to break up whatever junk comes close down to manageable pieces so the ISS's buffer/micrometeorite panels can absorb it?

[QUOTE=LoneWolf_Recon;47756304]What about the danger of Kessler Syndrome? Or are they just planning to break up whatever junk comes close down to manageable pieces so the ISS's buffer/micrometeorite panels can absorb it?[/QUOTE] [quote]The business end of the proposed laser system would be a Coherent Amplification Network (CAN) laser that can focus a single powerful beam on a piece of debris. The laser would vaporize the surface of the target, [b]causing a plume of plasma to push the object away from the station and toward the atmosphere[/b]. The full-scale version of this system would use a 100,000-watt ultraviolet CAN laser capable of firing 10,000 pulses per second. That would give it a range of about 60 miles, which should be more than enough distance to keep the station safe.[/quote]

Damn, I wish I could take a hit from this vaporizer.

I thought that the iss was supposed to get decommissioned soon or something

Until a vilain from James Bond takes over it and destroys London.

[QUOTE]That would give it a[B] range of about 60 miles[/B], which should be more than enough distance to keep the station safe.[/QUOTE] so at orbital speeds that's uhhhh, anywhere between 5-10 seconds to react? Not to forget that larger debris will need exponentially more force to redirect, making that window even smaller If they actually hope to hit incoming debris there better be some hella good targeting systems

[QUOTE=Karmah;47756715]I thought that the iss was supposed to get decommissioned soon or something[/QUOTE] It's funded up to 2024.

[QUOTE=X-tra;47756750]Until a vilain from James Bond takes over it and destroys London.[/QUOTE] [media]http://youtu.be/xMxVBY70dPU[/media]

Now we just have to convince Congress that this laser can be made 800 times bigger, put on Mars, and used to vaporize crap back here on Earth. Instant Mars mission funding. (Feel free to replace "Mars" with any object/mass of your choosing)

I keep reading the article as "ISIS gets laser cannon."

[QUOTE=ScottyWired;47756929]so at orbital speeds that's uhhhh, anywhere between 5-10 seconds to react? Not to forget that larger debris will need exponentially more force to redirect, making that window even smaller If they actually hope to hit incoming debris there better be some hella good targeting systems[/QUOTE] They will likely continue to dodge space debris for awhile but as they get near objects try to blast them towards earth, keeping them out of the way for the future.