Photonic Laser Thruster Propels Simulated Spacecraft

Описание: Photonic Laser Thruster (PLT) is a pure photon laser thruster that generates amplified photon thrust rather than expulsion of laser heated propellant as in ablative or plasma laser propulsion. This video shows the April 2015 demonstration of PLT to successfully accelerate a 450 gram (~1 lb.) spacecraft simulator with pure laser light for the first time in history. The video also shows how the amplified photon thrust was measured.

Conducted in a Class 1,000 cleanroom at Y.K. Bae Corporation, the PLT demonstration amplified photon power 400-times to achieve photon thrust up to 1.1 milliNewtons by bouncing photons several hundred times between two laser mirrors. The amplified photon thrust successfully propelled a gliding platform along a 2 meter frictionless air track, simulating zero-gravity.

The PLT demonstration simulated beaming thrust between vehicles, which also included slowing and stopping the simulator. Benefits of a PLT spacecraft system include a dramatic reduction in fuel consumption in a wide range of space applications, such as orbit adjustments, drag compensation, and rendezvous and docking. The thrust-beaming capability of PLT further enables a distributed multivehicle approach, a revolutionary departure from the “all-in-one” single-spacecraft approach.

The project was funded by a Phase II grant of NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts (NIAC), which funds the most promising ideas for the next generation NASA space missions.

For more information, please visit www.ykbcorp.com.