The Aerospace Corporation successfully completed hypervelocity testing of its space debris detection lidar instrument at NASA’s White Sands Test Facility in March 2026. This testing demonstrated the instrument’s ability to detect millimeter and sub-millimeter debris, ranging from 0.1 to 1 mm, traveling at low Earth orbital velocities between 4 and 7.2 km/s. These results, along with other advancements, enabled the system to progress from Technology Readiness Level (TRL) 3 to TRL 5.
One of the standout features of The Aerospace Corporation’s lidar system is its compact, adaptable, and low-power design. It operates independently of sunlight and requires no physical contact, all within a 12U form factor and 25 kg. Its versatility extends beyond orbital debris, as it can characterize lunar and Martian dust as well as micrometeoroids. This powerful new technology is expected to be very affordable, with flight units projected to be in the single-digit millions, which has attracted interest from the US Department of War.
The Aerospace Corporation team is analyzing test data from the hypervelocity experiment and presented its findings and future research plans at the recent HELIOTECH/Orbital Flight Symposium (Day 2, September 1, “Space Debris Detection and Characterization Using an In-situ Lidar Sensor Platform”). The team also plans to present at the International Astronautical Congress in October 2026.
NASA Artificial Intelligence (AI) Usage Disclosure: This article was created with assistance from AI (ChatGSFC) to summarize content from multiple sources. The resulting article has been reviewed and edited by the author team.