2. Fig. 1: LEO Space
Debris density (not
size) mapping for
2009.
Courtesy of NASA
3. •Since the launch of the first satellite in 1957, 4.900
launches have placed into orbit more than 6.600
satellites of which 3.600 are still in Space with a
fraction of only 1.000 still operational today.
• Total amount of these 3.600 satellites still in
Space = 6,500 Tones, most of them are not intact
anymore. US Space Surveillance Network is
tracking regularly > 23,000 space objects including
sizes of 5-10 cm in LEO and 30-100 cm in
Geostationary Orbit (GEO).
DEBRIS STATISTICS (I)
4. DEBRIS STATISTICS (II)
• No operational system in to protect against the
approximately 150,000 objects that are in the
range of 1-10 cm in size.
• A hypervelocity collision between a 5 cm.
diameter tennis ball and a satellite will probably
reduce that satellite into orbital debris.
• With the current level of orbital debris and the
sizes of satellites, the probability is that there will
be ONE COLLISION PER YEAR and the loss could
amount to Billions of USD.
5. • No one project cannot redress this problem. Nor
is it economically practical to shield each
spacecraft and give it maneuvering capabilities.
• Since satellites typically cost several hundred
million and given the half billion price tags on
shuttle and Titan launchers, the investment is
relatively small given the potential losses of
rockets.
• An elegant, cost effective, and feasible
approach is TO USE LASER TECHNOLOGY to
solve this problem.
DEBRIS STATISTICS (III)
6. • The removal of the Space Debris accumulated in the last
70 years in the orbit ranges is one of the most important
ones in Space Science and Technology at global level.
•This is a global problem and will involve an international
effort coordinated by the United Nations
• The solution proposed here involves the so - called SPACE
LASER DEBRIS REMOVAL (SLDR) method and relies on the
use of the state of the art type of fiber laser – Coherent
Amplification Network (CAN or ICAN) laser – and the
facilities of CETAL 1 PW laser developed on Magurele
Platform.
CONCLUSIONS:
HOW TO PROCEED FURTHER?
7. LASER – BASED METHODS FOR SPACE DEBRIS REMOVAL
• CAN BE DIVIDED INTO 3 GENERAL CATEGORIES
1. Lowest Intensities below the ablation threshold
• lasers to be used to divert debris through light pressure
• Laser momentum transfer efficiency 4…5 orders of magnitude les than
pulsed laser ablation
• Effects comparable to uncertain effects of sunlight and space weather
• Do not effectively address the debris growth problem
2. Higher laser intensity, can consider CW laser ablation, but:
• Slow heating and decay of CW thrust on tumbling debris
• Ablation jet whose average momentul contribution cancels itself
• CW heating causes messy melt ejection rather than clean jet formation
• CW lasers can’t reach the required intensity on the target at the ranges
involved w/o a very small illumination spot size = unacceptable large mirror
3. THIS IS WHY WE HAVE CHOSEN
FOR OUR PROJECT
THE PULSED LASERS!
8. METHODS FOR REMOVAL LEO SPACE DEBRIS (II)
1. METHODS:
• ”THE FISHING NET”
• “THE CATCHER’S MITT”
• ROBOTIC AND ELECTROMECHANICAL CAPTURE
• EXPANDING FOAM
• GROUND – BASED LASER DEBRIS REMOVAL – GLDR
• SPACEBORN LASER DEBRIS REMOVAL – SLDR
2. SLDR versus GLDR
• INITIALLY SLDR CONSIDERED LESS FLEXIBLE REQUIRING FAST
MOVING PARTS FOR TRACKING/TARGETING THE DEBRIS
WHICH RAISED ITS COSTS WAY ABOVE THE LIMITS
• DUE TO DEVELOPMENT OF ICAN TECHNOLOGY, SLDR
METHOD HAS STARTED TO GAIN OVER THE GLDR METHOD
9. Fig. 2 : An inverse linear dependence exists between the pulse duration of coherent
light emission and the laser intensity for over 18 orders of magnitude. This range spans
a number of different physical regimes involving non-linear laser interactions from:
molecular, bound atomic electron, relativistic plasma, ultra-relativistic, and finally the
vacuum. Experimental data - blue areas, simulation or theory - red areas.
10. • Weaknesses of the actual high – intensity lasers: low
average power, low repetition rate and low efficiency
• A novel laser architecture called ICAN - International
Coherent Amplification Network, has been proposed
recently by G. Mourou based on fiber-lasers [4,5] that
has the potential to solve this problem.
• Romanian ELI - NP’s scientific case has stimulated a
number of countries such as the USA, Japan, China,
and Russia to consider building ELI-type
infrastructures.
HIGH POWER LASERS - TRENDS
11. THE ICAN LASER ARCHITECTURE (Fig. 3)
• ICAN LASER RELIES ON THE AMPLIFICATION OF LIGHT INTO
PROGRESSIVELY LARGER BUNCHES OF OPTICAL FIBERS UNDER
CONTROLLED COHERENCE CONDITIONS
• ITS OUTPUT IS THE COHERENT SUPER-POSITION OF LASER
BEAMS FROM THE LAST BUNCH OF FIBERS
• BY CONTROLLING THE COHERENCE, ICAN CAN ACHIEVE FS
LASER PULSES OF PW ICAN USE AS A SLDR DEVICE – 2 RELEVANT
CHARACTERISTICS:
ITS POWER AND SIZE CAN BE TAILORED BY TAILORING THE
NUMBER OF FIBERS
ITS BEAM CAN BE RAPIDLY MOVED IN A TRANSVERSE PLANE
WITHOUT REQUIRING ANY MECHANICALLY MOVING PARTS
• ICAN ARCHITECTURE: An initial pulse from a seed laser (1) is
stretched and split into many fibres and channels (2). Each channel
is amplified in several stages (2-4), with the final stages producing
pulses of 1 mJ at a high repetition rate (5). All channels are
combined coherently, compressed and focused (6) to produce a
pulse with energy >10 J at repetition rate of 10 kHz (7).
•
12. Fig. 4: The concept is fitted to a space-based mission. Here the efficient
system is powered by a solar array and the amplified beam from the
combined array of fibers is expanded via a telescope to aperture. This
enables focusing to large distances L > 100km controlled by the phase
array. Reflected light from the debris is also collected by the telescope
which enables precise diagnostics for its size and velocity.
ICAN CONCEPT FOR ORBITAL DEBRIS REMOVAL
13. OUR PROJECT (I)
1. OBJECT: the design and evaluation – in the sense of Design of
Experiment (DoE), a method used by both ESA and NASA in space
mission development – of the model of an ICAN SLDR system for
LEO space debris (1-10 cm in size) removal and of a methodology for
testing the model validity.
2. DIFFICULTY ELEMENTS & LIMITATIONS: the correct and detailed
evaluation of the effects of the laser radiation on the debris material
that lead to the subsequent deorbiting of the latter.
• All actual G/SLDR modeling assumed as main effect leading to the
deorbiting of debris is the micro-jetting due to laser ablation of the
debris material, caused by the simple absorption of a certain
amount of the laser power by the debris material.
• All quantitative estimations take aluminum as the reference space
debris material.
14. OUR PROJECT (II)
• Space debris is not all metallic and rather made of all types of
metals from aluminium to stainless steel and titanium, glass,
organic materials and polymers ranging from polycarbonate to
Mylar and Kevlar (satellite protection against debris!), frozen
rocket fuel etc.
• All these types of debris are most of the time frozen solid way
below the temperature of liquid nitrogen, and hence extremely
brittle. Under these circumstances, a powerful enough laser pulse
can actually break them into smaller pieces instead of vaporizing
material from their surface
• due to the highly undesirable thermal shock associated with local
absorption, most pieces of space debris have highly irregular shapes
and surfaces, introducing significant negative impact on the
efficiency of deorbiting micro-jetting.
15. OUR PROJECT (III)
• Project will also propose the design of a highly precise customized
experimental setup for the quantitative evaluation of the ICAN SLDR
system model, which will be implemented in the future at the state of
the art CETAL facility of NILPRP.
3. OBJECTIVES: the main goal is the design of an ICAN SLDR model & of
an instrument for quantitative evaluation of this model
3.1. Modeling the laser radiation-matter interaction for space debris
removal purposes - 2 main goals:
a. classification and properties of orbital debris to be removed in LEO by
altitude, size and material type
b. development of the model of laser radiation-matter interaction for
space debris removal purposes. developing a model taking into account,
momentum transfer, spin-orbital momentum redistribution, ablation,
debris material response under intense local thermal stresses caused by
laser irradiation in cryogenic conditions and the effects of shape and
surface irregularity on these phenomena and on the removal efficiency.
16. OUR PROJECT (IV)
3.2. Identification of the optimal ICAN SLDR configuration
a. Identification of optimal operational parameters of ICAN
laser (e.g. spectral range, pulse duration, repetition rates, power
requirements etc.) for high debris removal efficiency operation.
b. Identification of the optimal ICAN SLDR operational strategy
identifying the optimal orbital positioning strategy and the
requirements and constraints for an efficient debris targeting
and firing solution.
3.3. Design of the experimental setup for the quantitative
evaluation of the ICAN SLDR model to be implemented in the
future at the CETAL facility - three main goals, namely:
a. The design of a customized laser irradiation system including
a regular ICAN laser together with appropriate transfer optics
17. OUR PROJECT (IV)
b. The design of a cryo-vacuum high precision balance for the
quantitative testing of the model developed, housed in a UHV
cryogenic chamber and able to accommodate for testing
relevant materials samples in accordance with the classification
4. IMPACT OF THE PROJECT:
4.1. The results can constitute the theoretical basis for the design
of a space mission - satellite based or on the International Space
Station – to test the entire SLDR mission concept
4.2. could have an important contribution to bring the ICAN
technology and its applications to Romania
4.3. further enhance the scientific and technology capabilities of
the CETAL facility of the NILPRP, raising its international
visibility and status as an international spear-point in high power
laser technology and applications
18. 4.4. could have a significant contribution to the CLARA project
which intends to establish in Magurele a Key – Enabling
Technologies Cluster - The European Center of Excellence in
lasers, radiation and their applications, including those to Space
and Security, one of the major domains of the Horizons 202
OUR PROJECT (V)
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