This is not what people think it is. It isn't a delta V or a distance solution - we simply aren't that precise unfortunately. The relative velocities are enor

This is not what people think it is. It isn't a delta V or a distance solution - we simply aren't that precise unfortunately. The relative velocities are enormous, the inverse square law distances (lasers are not perfectly collimated, just highly collimated) and opportunity for reflections unacceptable. You do this after you've pulled alongside the object via SEP and ion thrusters, and you sit there ablating the surface with your lightweight pulsed laser from a few hundred meters away in formation, for weeks/months. That saves you chemical propellant proportional to the task, and it saves you enormous mass and complexity in grappling, derotating, and otherwise securing an uncooperative rotating body.