Laser broom

Space researchers have proposed that a laser broom may help mitigate Kessler syndrome, a runaway cascade of collision events between orbiting objects.

A laser broom is intended to be used at a high power to penetrate through the atmosphere and ablate material from the targeted debris.

Research into this field reveal the precise physical constraints required, noting the significant relevance to the space debris's orientation and resultant trajectory of the ablated object.

[15][16] In 2015, Japanese researchers proposed adding laser broom capabilities to the Extreme Universe Space Observatory telescope, to be launched to the ISS in 2017.

[17][18][19][5] In 2014, the European CLEANSPACE project published a report studying a global architecture of debris tracking and removal laser stations.