Why are they not experimenting with using photon momentum from a laser to push debris into the atmosphere? It seems ideal for small high-velocity garbage. Perhaps that's too close to weaponizing a spacecraft?
This is to say nothing of the propellant required to transfer the laser-zapper spacecraft into the same orbit as its target garbage.
(Or, for a more speculative take, here: https://childrenofadeadearth.wordpress.com/2016/07/02/the-ph...)
"This event was the largest recorded creation of space debris in history with more than 2,000 pieces of trackable size (golf ball size and larger) officially cataloged in the immediate aftermath, and an estimated 150,000 debris particles.[24][25] As of October 2016, a total of 3,438 pieces of debris had been detected, with 571 decayed and 2,867 still in orbit nine years after the incident."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2007_Chinese_anti-satellite_mi...
That being said, they are researching the use of lasers to clean up space debris: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S003040261...