Orbital Debris Mitigation Using Minimum Uncertainty Optical States [Point of View]

A large amount of space debris has already accumulated in near-Earth space at an alarming rate. If scientists and engineers still cannot figure out a way to clean up the accumulating junk in space, some of this debris will likely fall into the Earth´s atmosphere. This article discusses an option for cleaning up this space debris based on minimum uncertainty optical states. In this concept, these states are formed routinely as specific spatial and temporal distribution of light generated by optically adjusted lasers from the International Space Station (ISS), and is transmitted to a microsatellite as a minimum uncertainty spatial mode. The transmitted power is then converted to a train of minimum uncertainty space-time pulses at nearby microsatellite and is used to push space debris away from the ISS. However, the suggested experiment requires the installation of a state-of-the-art laser on the Kibo facility, which is now found on the ISS. This laser facility can provide adequate power and cooling capabilities, as well as a location for the laser, the optics, and the pointing and tracking required in performing the experiment. Though potential problems are expected to arise in implementing this experiment, the possibility of mitigating this orbital debris to keep the Earth´s path into space open is still good news. It will be up to engineers and scientists to use these tools wisely and in a timely manner.