Mid-term opportunities to launch a high-power spaceborne laser are highly restricted due to technical, economic and political issues of it`s design, satellite deployment and system performance. The key technologies, providing the midterm development of a preproduction prototype of a spaceborne laser for small scale debris removal from the low-Earth orbits, are analyzed. A novel approach of nuclear power supplying of the spaceborne laser is presented. It is claimed that nuclear power supplying and electric jet engine technologies implemented in a spacecraft with an onboard laser would provide not only all the energetic requirements, but also orbital maneuvering strong capabilities. The latter would ensure more consistent follow-on rendezvous conditions with space objects, and hence, more efficient low orbital debris removal scenarios.
Nuclear powered spaceborne laser for orbital debris removal
XXII International Symposium on High Power Laser Systems and Applications ; 2018 ; Frascati,Italy
Proc. SPIE ; 11042
2019-01-03
Conference paper
Electronic Resource
English
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