China proves a cut above with world-first precision laser experiment in space

China’s space scientists have become the first to carry out precision laser cutting in orbit, slicing a piece of “large-scale equipment” with a robotic arm fixed to the outside the Tiangong space station.

The official Science and Technology Daily reported on Wednesday that millimetre-scale cuts were made by a laser maintenance device operated remotely from “hundreds of kilometres away”.

Precision laser cutting involves focusing a beam of light to slice or melt material with extreme accuracy, a difficult and risky process in orbit.