![[VIDEO] ESA Unveils OMLET System That Fires High-Power Lasers To Stop Orbital Collisions](https://www.ufofeed.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/Geostationary_orbit_pillars-1536x864.jpg "[VIDEO] ESA Unveils OMLET System That Fires High-Power Lasers To Stop Orbital Collisions")
Fuel is precious in orbit. Every avoidance manoeuvre costs operators money and shortens a satellite’s life. Now the European Space Agency is advancing a radically different answer: move the debris, not the spacecraft.
The project is called OMLET, which stands for Orbit Maintenance via Laser MomEntum Transfer. From the ground, powerful laser pulses would deliver tiny nudges to pieces of space junk drifting through low Earth orbit. The force is minute. In the vacuum of space, that is enough.
A slight change in velocity, applied early, can shift a fragment just far enough to prevent a high-speed collision.
From Tracking To Active Defence
ESA already tracks debris with extraordinary precision. At its Izaña laser ranging station in Tenerife, engineers measure the position of orbiting objects down to millimetres. Until now, that capability has focused on monitoring.
OMLET pushes beyond observation into intervention.
The concept has progressed from feasibility study into Phase A/B1 design and definition under ESA’s Space Safety Programme. An international consortium led by the German Aerospace Centre’s Institute of Technical Physics is refining the system architecture, assessing laser power requirements, adaptive optics performance and targeting accuracy.
The leap is significant. Instead of commanding satellites to burn fuel and swerve, a ground-based installation would apply photon pressure directly to non-manoeuvrable debris.
How Light Moves Metal
It sounds implausible. Light has no mass. Yet photons carry momentum. When concentrated into a high-power beam and held steadily on a small object, they impart force.
Engineers pair the laser with precision pointing systems and adaptive optics to counter atmospheric distortion. Without correction, turbulence would scatter the beam. With it, energy remains tightly focused hundreds of kilometres above Earth.
ESA summarises the principle simply: “a slight trajectory adjustment” can “reduce the probability of conjunction or even prevent collisions.”
Thermal effects on debris, airspace safety coordination and strict governance frameworks remain central engineering and regulatory hurdles. No one wants a solution that introduces new risks.
Why Orbital Safety Now Matters More Than Ever
Low Earth orbit is congested and growing busier. Communications, navigation and weather forecasting depend on functioning satellites. A single major impact can generate thousands of fragments, multiplying future threats in a cascading chain reaction known as the Kessler Syndrome.
For countries expanding their satellite fleets and planning human spaceflight missions, collision risk is no abstract scenario. It is operational reality.
Ground-based laser nudging offers a scalable approach. No extra fuel aboard satellites. No new propulsion modules. Just controlled, calculated pushes delivered from Earth.
If OMLET succeeds, Europe will have transformed lasers from passive tracking tools into active guardians of the orbital environment, and taken a decisive step towards keeping space usable for decades to come.
Published by Kerry Harrison
Kerry’s been writing professionally for over 14 years, after graduating with a First Class Honours Degree in Multimedia Journalism from Canterbury Christ Church University. She joined Orbital Today in 2022. She covers everything from UK launch updates to how the wider space ecosystem is evolving. She enjoys digging into the detail and explaining complex topics in a way that feels straightforward. Before writing about space, Kerry spent years working with cybersecurity companies. She’s written a lot about threat intelligence, data protection, and how cyber and space are increasingly overlapping, whether that’s satellite security or national defence. With a strong background in tech writing, she’s used to making tricky, technical subjects more approachable. That mix of innovation, complexity, and real-world impact is what keeps her interested in the space sector.