Proposal Number: ECS-0741616 Proposal Title: SGER: A New Approach to Space Debris Elinination PI Name: Suckewer, Szymon PI Institution: Princeton University
Objective
The main objective of this project is to investigate, by computer simulations, the most efficient way to remove small debris and to prepare the basis for a large project on small debris removal in space.
Intellectual Merit
The PI will combine computer algorithms currently available at Princeton in order to model the laser beam-debris interaction. The research will concentrate on computer calculations of generation thrust on debris in space by ultra-short and very high intensity laser pulses and long pulses of powerful fiber laser.
Broader Impacts
In 1997 the Project ORION was established by Air Force to assess the possibility of eliminating small size debris (< 10 cm) from space, by shooting a laser beam from the ground at individual debris. Such debris, being "invisible" for navigation devices, may be catastrophic for space vehicles during collision with them. The required laser beam energy was estimated to be in the range of 20 kJ per pulse with extremely low beam divergence (~ 1urad) in order for laser beam to provide adequate intensity on debris at distance ~ 1000 km from the Earth. This project will investigate the use of lasers orbiting in space to eliminate small debris by "kicking them off" of their orbits into lower orbits for the debris to burn up in the atmosphere. It will include research on comparing the efficiency of low energy ultrashort pulse laser and recently developed high power fiber laser for debris elimination. The PI will also investigate the advantages of using lasers located in space in comparison with ground base lasers.
