Ground-Based Laser Irradiation of Small-Scale Space Debris
Y-W. Fang, S-H. Zhao, L-W. Yang, Y. Wang, Y. Liu and G-W. Zheng
The aim here was to address the influence rules in small-scale space debris with different laser pulse width and power density by simulation and experiment. A dynamic model of ground-based laser irradiating small-scale space debris was established to simulate the relation between speed increment and different power density, and the request of effective laser working time was obtained for typical power density. Further, the waveforms and arriving positions of shock wave propagation with different laser pulse widths were analysed, and the distributed rules of impulse coupling coefficient with different laser pulse widths and power densities were investigated by comparing the numerical simulation and experimental results. Finally, the orbit status of small-scale space debris and removing effect were described. The results indicated that the pulse number increases with the increase of altitude, and the remaining debris mass decreases obviously with the increase of pulse number and orbit.
Keywords: CO2 laser, space debris, ground-based laser, irradiation, small-scale, dynamic model, shock wave propagation