In this presentation I will highlight the relevance of understanding and monitoring the dynamical behavior of orbital debris. Specifically, I will focus on the estimation of an extended state vector containing orbital information as well as attitude related information such as the tumbling rate and orientation of the main rotation axis. I will highlight the usage of optical observations for the update of the aforementioned state vector. Finally, an example of a different application using the same concepts will be provided for laser time transfer using spent rocket bodies as the relaying space segment.