NASA Considers Moving Space Debris With Lasers
Posted by Ryan on March 15th, 2011
Remember all those pieces of space debris just floating around the Earth with nowhere to go and all day to get there? Remember when we were introduced to the term Zombiesat? Well now NASA is researching new ideas for using lasers to prevent space debris from colliding and making even more space debris. Unlike previous plans that involved military grade lasers for vaporizing debris, this new idea focuses on using commercially available industrial lasers to slightly move debris pieces that are about to impact. While this will not work on the biggest pieces of debris, it is estimated that it could eliminate up to half of all collisions.
“There’s not a lot of argument that this is going to screw us if we don’t do something,” said NASA engineer Creon Levit. “Right now it’s at the tipping point… and it just keeps getting worse.”
[WIRED]
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March 15th, 2011 at 6:11 pm
I think we need to find a way to solve all of the world’s problems using lasers, simply because they are so awesome.
March 19th, 2011 at 2:21 am
When I read this article, I had a sudden image of missile command but in reverse.
http://i1-linux.softpedia-static.com/screenshots/Missile-Command_3.gif