An Australian company is pioneering laser technology to solve the growing problem of space junk at the fraction of the time and cost of European proposals.

This week's space debris conference in Europe warned that because of the many objects orbiting Earth, it is just a matter of time before there are collisions between satellites and space junk.

Space junk collisions have potentially devastating repercussions for communications and security.

The ESA (European Space Agency) wants getting rid of space junk to be a top priority for governments, militaries and the many commercial enterprises who need safe and reliable satellites to run their businesses and help us run our modern lives.

A range of potential removal methods was displayed at the conference, from giant space nets and harpoons to ion thrusters, but the removal of space junk would cost billions of dollars and is years away from being developed.

But EOS Space Systems, which is backed by NASA (National Aeronautical and Space Administration) and has been partly funded by the Australian Government, is experimenting with laser technology as an alternative to preventing the collisions in space.

The company's CEO Craig Smith says blasting space junk with lasers could be a viable alternative to costly satellite removal of space junk, and hopes that the method will be up and running within two to three years.

"We've been developing tracking systems using lasers for some years, so we can actually track very small objects with a laser rangefinder to very high accuracy," Mr Smith said.

"By ramping up the power, photons in the light beam have momentum and energy and can transfer that momentum to the target.

"And if we put enough of those photons on the target, we can very slightly change the velocity.

"If you allow that velocity to change over a period of perhaps 24 hours, then you can get actually a 100-metre shift in the location of an object to deflect it from colliding with another space debris object."

Shooting lasers

What is space junk? Also known as space debris, orbital debris and space waste

Also known as space debris, orbital debris and space waste Defunct objects in orbit around Earth

Defunct objects in orbit around Earth Can be anything from spent rocket stages, old satellites or remains of collisions

Can be anything from spent rocket stages, old satellites or remains of collisions Scientists estimate there are nearly 30,000 objects larger than a fist in Earth's orbit

Scientists estimate there are nearly 30,000 objects larger than a fist in Earth's orbit Collisions with space junk can have potentially devastating effects on communications and security

Collisions with space junk can have potentially devastating effects on communications and security Five to ten pieces of space junk need to be removed every year

Five to ten pieces of space junk need to be removed every year It costs billions of dollars to remove Source: ABC/Wikipedia

Mr Smith says their plan - which essentially is to shoot high-energy lasers at space debris to move them out of harm's way - is a more practical, cost-effective and timely.

"You can't really destroy it unless you can bring it down into the Earth's orbit and burn it up," Mr Smith said.

"If you have a bigger laser beam and cut things in half, all you do is create more debris.

"The European concept is to go up there with a big satellite to capture a satellite... [but] then any solution for the space debris involves building another satellite and launching it up there.

"We're trying to be a little more subtle and cost-effective in what we do by using a laser from the ground just to stop collisions happening, rather than having to go up with a very, very expensive rendezvous mission."

According to Mr Smith the amount of energy required to shoot a strong enough laser beam to reach the space junk is less than that required to light up a football stadium.

"It's not a huge amount of energy. It's way less than you would put into the lights in a football stadium, for example," he said.

"It's just very focused. In a football stadium, the light's going everywhere to illuminate everything.

"We want to illuminate a one-metre patch of the sky to a high intensity.

"The key to it all is being able to track things very accurately in the first place, otherwise you can't possibly land a one-metre-wide laser beam on a target if you can't track it to better than a metre."

Mr Smith said while it does not solve the root of the problem of space congestion, it was a suitable alternative.

"The trouble is all the capture programs are many, many years off and billions of dollars in expense," he said.

"If we can make the photon pressure nudging work, then you actually don't need to de-orbit stuff because you can actually stop the collisions from happening.

"So it actually is a solution - it's just a different one from the one people have thought about."