A laser-based lightsail craft is proposed in which the laser beam is operated in a multi-bounce mode, such that after first striking the lightsail, the beam is reflected back to a source reflector where it is again directed to the lightsail. Recent developments in nearly ideal reflectors permit more than 1000 bounces, which reduce the laser power requirements by a factor of 1000 as compared to conventional laser-based lightsail proposals. Using the multi-bounce lightsail approach coupled with lasers operating in the power range of 100 MW to 1 GW, the details of a mission to Mars requiring only a sub-100 day transit, and an orbital transfer vehicle designed to transport cargo between Phobos and Deimos are examined.
Multi-bounce laser-based sails
Space Technology and Applications International Forum - 2001 ; 2001 ; Albuquerque, New Mexico
AIP Conference Proceedings ; 552 , 1 ; 397-401
2001-02-02
5 pages
Conference paper
Electronic Resource
English
Multi-Bounce Laser-Based Sails
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