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fencethe900th t1_ixmp7g3 wrote

Reply to comment by Routine_Shine_1921 in Space travel Shielding by Actual-Macaroon8240

Lasers can be aimed.

The larger the cross section the more objects you'd need to deflect, but also the more space you have for something like a nuclear reactor. If it's in orbit of a planet and small then it could be in the protection of larger stations on the ground or in orbit.

Orbital speeds are practically stationary compared to the speed of light, and lasers can be aimed incredibly fast.

I'm not sure how a laser array would be heavier than shielding. A Whipple shield would be lighter but if you're getting serious about shielding it's probably because you have to shield against some serious objects.

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Routine_Shine_1921 t1_ixmr45e wrote

I mention this in another comment. I was answer OPs question, where he went for actual shielding, as in passive shielding. Which is basically impossible.

If you're instead going for detecting and tracking debris, and then aiming a laser at it, it's a different story. It's equally hard, and basically impossible with current technology once you take into account the size and mass of such a laser and its power requirements.

The point is that, if you can do this, then you don't need shielding. Same about the "serious objects" you talk about. If you have detected debris large enough to be detected, enough time in advance to point a laser at it, then you've detected it enough time in advance to maneuver and avoid it entirely. Shielding is precisely about smaller objects that you don't know about until they hit you.

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fencethe900th t1_ixn84jb wrote

Shifting a relatively small object with a laser is much easier than shifting an entire spaceship. Right now shielding is for small things, but not forever. Isaac Arthur has some really good videos dealing with this and other topics.

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