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World Record Flights of Beam-Riding Rocket Lightcraft: Demonstration of "Disruptive" Propulsion Technology

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World Record Flights of Beam-Riding Rocket Lightcraft: Demonstration of (c)2001 American Institute of Aeronautics & Astronautics or Published with Permission of Author(s) and/or Author(s)' Sponsoring Organization. AIAA A01-34448 AIAA 2001-3798 World Record Flights of Beam-Riding Rocket Lightcraft: Demonstration of "Disruptive" Propulsion Technology Leik N. Myrabo Llghtcraft Technologies, Incorporated Bennington 0520T V , 1 37th AIAA/ASME/SAE/ASEE Joint Propulsion Conference 8-11 July 2001 Salt Lake CityT U , For permission to copy or to republish, contact the copyright owner named on the first page. AIAA-helr Fo d copyright, writ AIAo et A Permissions Department, 1801 Alexander Bell Drive, Suite 500, Reston 20191-4344, ,VA . (c)2001 American Institute of Aeronautics & Astronautics or Published with Permission of Author(s) and/or Author(s)' Sponsoring Organization. AIAA 01-3798 WORLD RECORD FLIGHTS OF BEAM-RIDING ROCKET LIGHTCRAFT: DEMONSTRATIO "DISRUPTIVEF NO " PROPULSION TECHNOLOGY Leik N. Myrabo* Lightcraft Technologies, Incorporated Bennington, VT 05201 Abstract unmanne d mannean d d aerospacecraft designed O Octoben2 r 2000 12.2-ca , m diameter, to ride "Highways of Light." Simply expressed, 50.6-gram laser-boosted rocket Lightcraft flew to I believeLT s that only beamed energy propulsion altitudw ne a e recor f 71-metero d s (233-ftt a ) holds the promise of radically reducing the cost White Sands Missile Range (WSMRw Ne n i ) of space acces nexe th 100y tsb n i 5-1X 0 years, Mexico. The PLVTS 10-kW pulsed carbon and ultimately by 1000X within 15-25 years. dioxide laser, locateHige th hn do Energ y Laser The establishment of an energy beam highway to Systems Test Facility (HELSTF) powered the space will simultaneously increas reliabilite eth y record flightwhicf o other x o wels si h a ,tw s a sl- and safet f manneo y d suborbita d orbitaan l l reached 48.4-m (159-ft) and 56-m (184-ft). flight incrediblo t s y high levels t leasa , t equao t l These were the first outdoor vertical, spin- airline operations today, or better. stabilized flights of laser Lightcraft to be performed with assigned launch windows Highways of Light secured from NORAD, wit e cooperatiohth f no This vision of the future depends upon WSMR range control - to avoid illuminating significant investments into an energy-beaming LEO satellites and/or low flying aircraft. Besides infrastructure (lase d microwavean r ) that large nearly doublin e previougth s altitude recorf o d number f inexpensivo s e Lightcraf n rideca t . 39 meters (128-ft) set on 9 July '99, the Model Today's expendable, and partially-reuseable #200 Lightcraft simultaneously demonstratee dth launch systems with their on-board power plants longest laser-powered free-flight, and the greatest cae considereb n d "infrastructure poor,n i " 'air time' (i.e., launch-to-landing/recovery). comparison e near-terth r Fo m. nano-satellite Wit a hmodes t investmen f undeo t a millior n launch application (i.e., 1-10 kg payloads), the dollars a strin, f ever-increasino g g Lightcraft technology and affordability of 1-10 megawatt- altitude records have bee t ove pasne se th r t four class commercial power-beaming lasers is year - sincs firse eth t Apri3 fligh2 n lo t 1997. certainly close at hand. In contrast, the several This embryonic, propulsion concept embodies hundred-megawatt to one billion watt energy- "disruptive technology" that promiseo t s beamers of the future, needed for manned radically transform our ideas about global flight Lightcraft (e.g., payload f 100-100so a 0 e kg)ar , transportation and space launch systems, over the a stretc f o t h bi today e musW o .tt learw nho nex years5 t2 1o 5t . build these powerful laser and/or microwave sources, economically. At present, they are only INTRODUCTION within financial reac f nationaho l governments, and perhaps some very large multi-national Lightcraft Technologies, Inc. (LTI) is corporations. launching a revolution in low-cost space access, However, once fully mature "Highways promotinf beameo e us de energgth y transmitted of Light" are eventually in place, the global from remote power-plants o propet , l vehicles transport system will be unbelievably aroun e plane5 minutes4 th d n i tn suborbita o l inexpensiv rideo t s .u safd Laser ean efo r and/or trajectories, or right into orbit - without staging. microwave source hundredn so f orbitinso g solar LTI intends to develop and manufacture such power stations, linked in a space power "grid," will transmit completely "green" energy for Earth's flight transportation needs (Refs. 1-3). * AIAA Senior Member A large flee f smalo t l Lightcraft (e.g.3 , Copyrigh 200 © tL.N y 1b . Myrabo. Publishee th y db American Institut Aeronauticf eo Astronauticsd san , Inc., passengers)2 1 o t , flying sub-orbital trajectories with permission. might eventually replace conventional jumbojets and high speed civil transports. Lightcraft could 1 American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (c)2001 American Institute of Aeronautics & Astronautics or Published with Permission of Author(s) and/or Author(s)' Sponsoring Organization. give highly personalized service, that woule db structural weigh r Lightcraftfo t s opposea , o t d hard to beat - 'called' to a local neighborhood more conventional flight platforms - in both 'Lightport' like we call for a cab today. Such suborbita orbitad an l l launch applications. Ultra- vehicles could transport passengers half way energetic flight trajectories are altogether feasible around the globe in 45 minutes, at hypersonic with Lightcraft technology. speeds, where most of the flight is outside the atmosphere. Competitive Energetic Sources? This is the ambitious LTI company Three other "on-board" super energetic vision o ultimatelT : y enable affordable orbital, sources have been proposed for future trans- and suborbital flights around the planet, for a atmospheric aerospacecraft: a) nuclear fission, space-faring society. b) fusion (once someone figures out how to do it), and c) antimatter. However these energetic LTI Company Overview sources produce high levels of ionizing radiation, Lightcraft Technologies was and will likely requir metri0 10 radiation ea cto n incorporate e solth er purposdfo f developineo g shield for manned operations. The potential for beamed energy propulsion into a commercial catastrophic accidents with these source eves si r reality I defineLT . Lightcrafa s flighy an ts a t present, and clearly, a tank of antimatter is a platform, airborne vehicle, or spacecraft virtual bomb waitin o offg . o t g Althougn a h designed for propulsion by a beam of light - be it existing technology, nuclear rockets would spew microwav r lasere authoeo Th Dead . an r n Ing, fission products into the atmosphere, trailing an were the first to coin the word "Lightcraft" in exhaust clou f radioactivdo y e "falloutwa e th l "al their 1985 boo Futuree kTh of Flight (Ref) 4 . orbit o exactlt t No . y "green" propulsion. Lightcraft Technologies, Inc. is an emerging technology based business, developing Lightcraft Engines & Power Plants innovative advanced flight propulsion powerd an o distincTw t categorie f o Beames d application f o long-ters m significancr fo e Energy Propulsion (BEP) technologn i e ar y industry and society. Presently, LTI is forming evidence for Lightcraft engines: 1) simple laser- strategic partnerships withe th other n i s thermal or microwave thermal engines, and, 2) energy/utility, transportation d aerospacan , e more complex laser-electric r o microwave, - industrie o acceleratt s e applicatioth e f suco n h electric engines e 'BEP-thermaTh . r engines innovative technologies in the first five years of must only absor e beameth b d electromagnetic the 21st Century s seekini I LT g. discourse with power directly into the working propellant. other like-minded entrepreneurs, financiers, Clearly e morth , e sophisticated 'BEP-electric' marketers, and institutions with vision - to engines must first conver e captureth t d beam identif people yth wilo elwh likely plaroley yke s power into electricity, before the in this technological drama as it unfolds over the magnetohydrodynamie Th . it c e engineus n ca s nexyear w decadesd fe t san . latter categor f "BEP-electricyo " engines holds the greatest promise for evolving hyper-energetic "DISRUPTIVE" TECHNOLOGY manned Lightcraft in the next 15-20 years. Most beamed-energy propulsion systems will likely Air and space transportation systems exploi atmosphere th t r momentuefo m exchange undergo remarkable transformations when o improvt e engine efficiency radically beyond massive quantitie f o "weightlesss " that of today's chemical rockets. The matrix of electromagnetic power can be beamed directly to feasible engine/optics/vehicle configurations i s vehicla flightn ei . This qualifie s "disruptivea s " near infinita pulo f t e t of l(e.g. bu e Ref , se ,5) . technology at its best. Principally, the craft Lightcrafnew t design successfully will require becomes unburdened from havin e o lift gth t the close integration of widely different energy source for its propulsion system. engineering disciplines. Lightcraft engine design Compared e witlimiteth h d energeticf o s is a formidable exercise in interdisciplinary chemical fuels (i.e., kilojoule kilogramr spe ) used design. by today's turbomachines and rockets, beamed t whaBu t abou e difficultth t f o y 100-folo t - energ10 pacn da yca increasn ki n ei designing the requisite power-beaming the same "fuel" tank. Such has been the goal of technology, taking for example, high power HEDM (high energy density materials) research lasers eass i t understano yI t ? commerciay dwh l for the past decade, but thus far, none have ground-base r space-baseo d d lasers woule b d appeared.
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