A sensitive optical detector is required to locate objects as small as 1 cm at 1500 km range. A high altitude site minimizes turbulence correction, interference from nonlinear optical effects, and absorption. We discuss the effect of nonlinear optical processes in the atmosphere as boundaries on propagation, and how to choose system parameters to guarantee optimum conversion of laser energy to target momentum. Figure 1 Estimated number of debris vs. size 1. It is possible to shield against objects smaller than 1.5 cm.
Larger objects are few, and can be seen and avoided.
There is still substantial uncertainty amounting to factors of 3 or 4 in the 1 to 20-cm flux because only the 7900 objects larger than 10 cm have been catalogued. A pernicious aspect of the debris arises from the possibility that collisions between these objects will produce many smaller objects. Protecting the Space Environment Space is a commons. This last and most pristine frontier is being polluted. 2.2 Insurance policy Presently, the users of space have mostly decided to assess the threat of space debris in terms of their individual assets.