ISS Could be Armed with a Laser Gun to Shoot at Space Junk

Earth orbiting junk is a major concern for space agencies which are yet to find a viable solution. That could however change if the laser shooting mooted by Japanese researchers is tested.

Researchers at Riken research institute have suggested using a laser gun mounted on International Space Station (ISS) to fire at debris and decimate it. Once powdered, the debris would burn away during earth re-entry. A paper recently published in the journal Acta Astronautica detailed proof of concept and the full-scale version.

"Proof of principle demonstration of the detection by a mini-EUSO telescope and operation of 100-fibre CAN laser technology as an ISS based prototype," researchers wrote.

The actual setup could comprise the super-wide infrared Extreme Universe Space Observatory that could track objects with in 100 kilometers. A 10,000 fiber laser could fire at the debris.

Researchers also suggested a free-flying setup in polar orbit where most of the 3,000 tons of space junk is flying.

"The free-flyer mission dedicated to debris remediation in a polar orbit with the altitude near 800 km. The integration of the two novel technologies aboard the ISS amounts to a novel approach as an immediate response to the serious space debris problem with the existing platform of ISS," researchers wrote.