With a large telescope and state-of-the-art laser technology, the Johannes Kepler Observatory aims to locate and identify space debris in space as accurately as possible. This information is essential to avoid collisions of active satellites and space missions with debris.
The research unit in Empfingen in the German state of Baden-Württemberg was inaugurated on Wednesday. The facility of the German Aerospace Center (DLR), which costs about 2.5 million euros, will play a central role in efforts to increase security in space, explains DLR chief executive Anke Kaysser-Pyzalla.
According to DLR, the telescope is the largest of its kind in Europe for observing objects in orbit. The mirror has a diameter of 1.75 meters. It stands in a 15-meter-tall round tower with a revolving dome and can rotate up to six degrees per second and view space debris (photo below).
The focus of the researchers is mainly on objects located between 400 and 2000 kilometers from Earth.
Source: Krone
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