A conceptual laser launch system of a spherical vehicle propelled by a doughnut-shaped laser beam is expected to accelerate the spherical vehicle continuously to the orbit velocity along a laser beam. Once lateral offset between the axis of the laser beam and the center of the sphere is generated, lateral force is generated to recede the offset. In this study, a pulsed Neodymium-doped Yttrium Aluminum Garnet laser beam of a doughnut-shaped cross section is focused on a 10-mm-diameter aluminum sphere. The impulse components, parallel and lateral to the laser beam, are first investigated experimentally using a pendulum method. As a result, the ratio of the doughnut beam radius to the target radius is found to have a major impact on the impulse. For a relatively small value of at 0.56, at atmospheric pressure, the impulse is enhanced due to the focusing of the toroidal blast wave, whereas the shock focusing effect is negligible for a larger value of at 0.86. On the other hand, must be larger than 0.83 to generate the restoring lateral force.
Impulse Generation and Stabilization Performance of a Doughnut–Spherical Laser Launch System
Journal of Propulsion and Power ; 35 , 6 ; 1057-1064
2019-08-09
8 pages
Aufsatz (Zeitschrift)
Elektronische Ressource
Englisch
Large Impulse Launch Using 300-J CO~2 TEA Laser
British Library Conference Proceedings | 2005
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