China proposes blasting space debris with lasers
Chinese researchers have proposed using space-based lasers for breaking large-sized space junk into smaller pieces, claimed to make them potentially less harmful. NASA estimates over 7.5 lakh pieces of old satellite and rocket debris smaller than 1 cm exist in Earth's orbit. However, only 22,000 are tracked, travelling at speeds above 27,000 kmph which can harm satellites and manned missions.