Electric Optic Systems (Australia) has developed an automated laser system that detects and blocks debris floating in space colliding with spacecraft and satellites moving in Earth's orbit. .
Illustration.Source: Internet
The system is installed at Mount Stromlo Observatory in Canberra, with five million AUD funding from Australian Government funding, attracting the attention of scientists around the world.
With this system, Earth-launched lasers can locate and track debris as small as 10cm in diameter, effectively protecting astronauts and satellites.
CEO of Electric Optic Systems, Craig Smith, said the technology was developed based on current radar systems. Thus, scientists can monitor the movement of debris in space with very high precision to predict whether they will collide with other objects.
According to Smith, there are currently about 200,000 debris with a diameter of less than 1cm and 500,000 debris of a diameter of 1cm or more are "drifting" in orbit. The problem is that they are moving at about 30,000 km / hr and can cause terrible shocks if collided with other objects.
Australian scientists believe that this system will maximize efficiency if used in conjunction with a tracking station network located in strategic locations around the world.