Secrecy is often carried to extremes, not just by the military. Sometimes, there are good reasons for it, such as information that could reveal a possible vulnerability in a weapons system. Other times, I get the feeling that some info is classified to cover someone's ass.

I don't know the criteria that the Laser Clearing House (LCH) uses to determine whether a laser will come too close to a satellite. Off hand, I know that there is always a degree of uncertainty in any satellite's position when derived from an element set. This spherical error probable is based on the type of propagation used (standard or special), the age of the element set, and variables like solar activity. This might account for a fair amount of the required separation between your laser target and satellites. It isn't just spy sats that they're worried about. For each satellite, there is probably a threshold for vulnerability to laser illumination. It isn't just that some sensors can be damaged if the radiated power is high enough. I wouldn't be surprised if some satellites are vulnerable to dazzle in their earth sensors. That can cause real problems.

As for your last question, an emphatic NO. I don't have access to that security compartment yet. I hope to get access next year, but even then, unless I have a specific need to know, they won't tell me. We will be working LCH issues next year, so perhaps I'll have a need to know. Even if they do tell me, I couldn't tell you without having to kill you first. Sorry.