Minimum Safe Distances for DE-STAR Space Lasers

Abstract

The prospect of phased laser arrays in space has received considerable attention in recent years, with applications to both planetary defence and space exploration. The most detailed investigation conducted into such a design is that of the DE-STAR phased array, standing for $\textbf{D}$irected $\textbf{E}$nergy $\textbf{S}$ystems for $\textbf{T}$argeting of $\textbf{A}$steroids and explo$\textbf{R}$ation. DE-STAR is a square modular design which exploits the energy created by banks of solar cells in space to generate and amplify the power of a laser beam. A specific DE-STAR design is expressed as DE-STAR n, where 'n' (typically in the range 0 - 4) equates to the log to base 10 of the side, in metres, of a square bank of lasers. With a DE-STAR 4 structure (10 km $\times$ 10 km square) capable of generating a laser beam on the order of tens of gigawatts, clearly there is the potential for such an asset to be deployed as a weapon by targeting locations on Earth. This naturally leads to the question of what effective ways can this possible misuse be removed or at least mitigated, to ensure these powerful space lasers can only be used for their intended purpose, and never malevolent reasons. One solution would be to locate the DE-STAR far enough away so that the laser flux at Earth would be too low. Results indicate that given they should lie 1 au from the Sun, there are feasible locations for DE-STAR 0-2 arrays where there is no danger to Earth. For DE-STAR 4-5, such is their power, safety measures other than those considered here would have to be adopted. Positions in the Solar System where the DE-STAR lasers have no direct line-of-sight with Earth tend to be unstable, and would require regular corrections using an on-board propulsion system, or preferably using push-back from the laser itself.