ExtremeTech has an article suggesting the International Space Station may add a Laser "CAN-non" in coming years.
The business end of the proposed laser system would be a Coherent Amplification Network (CAN) laser that can focus a single powerful beam on a piece of debris. The laser would vaporize the surface of the target, causing a plume of plasma to push the object away from the station and toward the atmosphere.
This is still just a proposal, but a test version of the laser might be deployed to the station in a few years.
The Extreme Universe Space Observatory (EUSO) is scheduled to be installed on Japan's ISS module in 2017. This is not by design a space-junk-killing piece of equipment. It's intended to monitor the atmosphere for ultraviolet emissions caused by cosmic rays.
However it might serve as an experimental platform for testing (at much lower power) the capability of slight deflections of orbiting space junk.
We discussed the general problem of space junk here on Soylent News at the beginning of the month.
(Score: 3, Funny) by GreatAuntAnesthesia on Tuesday May 19 2015, @10:16AM
Godammit. It's been nearly twenty years, but I still can't see / hear the word 'laser' without mentally adding finger quotes and Dr Evil's voice. I think I need professional help. In my defence, TFA does sound kind of bond-villainesque.
Also: Magma.
(Score: 2) by kaszz on Tuesday May 19 2015, @11:04AM
Perhaps you were thinking on Hugo Drax and his Moonraker [wikipedia.org] space station equipped with nerve gas and laser weapons.. ;-)
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday May 19 2015, @11:37AM
Or even http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Pink_Panther_Strikes_Again [wikipedia.org]
(Score: 3, Funny) by Thexalon on Tuesday May 19 2015, @01:42PM
At the very least, I'm reasonably certain this laser needs to have a speaker that makes it go "pew pew pew" whenever somebody is firing it.
The only thing that stops a bad guy with a compiler is a good guy with a compiler.
(Score: 2) by mcgrew on Tuesday May 19 2015, @07:33PM
It would only be "bond-villainesque" if it was pointed TOWARD the ISS
mcgrewbooks.com mcgrew.info nooze.org