U.S. scientists test laser-powered rocket
WASHINGTON (Reuter) -- U.S. government space scientists have
launched a miniature rocket using a ground-based laser beam for
propulsion, the Advanced Space Transportation Program (ASTP)
said Tuesday.
The scientists, working at White Sands Missile Range in New
Mexico, aimed a 10 kilowatt pulsed carbon dioxide laser at the
"launch vehicle" and raised it seven feet off the ground,
spokeswoman June Malone said.
The object, which is about four inches in diameter and
weighs about two ounces, has a reflector at the rear to
concentrate the heat. This heats the air, which then blasts out
of a nozzle, she added.
The latest test was the first of its kind in free flight. In
previous tests the rocket was suspended from a wire.
Malone quoted the scientists as saying the energy of the
laser beam did dissipate with distance from the source. "But
ground-based energy is cheap," she added.
The program, a joint venture between the Marshall Space
Flight Center in Hunstville, Alabama, and the Phillips
Laboratory at Kirtland Air Force Base in New Mexico, is
examining a variety of unconventional propulsion systems.
In the next experiment, the miniature rocket will have a
more sophisticated guidance system for steering it.
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