Space Debris Laser Ranging and Tracking

EOS (Electro Optic Systems) is an Australian space surveillance and laser ranging company that operates one of the world’s most capable space debris tracking facilities at Mt. Stromlo Observatory near Canberra, Australia. EOS’s laser systems track orbital objects — both cooperative satellites (via retroreflector-based SLR) and non-cooperative debris — using precision laser ranging at ranges from 200 km to 36,000 km.

The EOS tracking facility uses multiple high-power pulsed lasers (including a 1.8 m telescope and several dedicated laser ranging systems) to measure ranges to space objects with centimeter-level precision. For non-cooperative debris (rocket bodies, dead satellites), EOS developed the technology to detect single-photon returns from tumbling metallic objects in LEO — establishing the only Southern Hemisphere capability for centimeter-class debris ranging at the time.

Beyond tracking, EOS demonstrated laser photon pressure as a debris mitigation tool — shining a low-power continuous-wave laser at a debris object generates a small but non-trivial photon pressure force that can slightly alter its orbit, potentially averting close conjunction events. EOS also provides space domain awareness (SDA) services to the Australian Defence Force and commercial satellite operators, and has partnered with international agencies to contribute observations to the global space situational awareness network.