Propulsion Utilizing Laser-Driven Ponderomotive Fields for Deep-Space Missions
- Ohio Aerospace Institute, NASA GRCMS 16-1 Cleveland, OH 44135 216-433-9622 (United States)
The generation of large amplitude electric fields in plasmas by high-power lasers has been studied for several years in the context of high-energy particle acceleration. Fields on the order of GeV/m are generated in the plasma wake of the laser by non-linear ponderomotive forces. The laser fields generate longitudinal and translational electron plasma waves with phase velocities close to the speed of light. These fields and velocities offer the potential to revolutionize spacecraft propulsion, leading to extended deep space robotic probes. Based on these initial calculations, plasma acceleration by means of laser-induced ponderomotive forces appears to offer significant potential for spacecraft propulsion. Relatively high-efficiencies appear possible with proper beam conditioning, resulting in an order of magnitude more thrust than alternative concepts for high I{sub SP} (>10{sup 5} s) and elimination of the primary life-limiting erosion phenomena associated with conventional electric propulsion systems. Ponderomotive propulsion readily lends itself to beamed power which might overcome some of the constraints of power-limited propulsion concepts. A preliminary assessment of the impact of these propulsion systems for several promising configurations on mission architectures has been conducted. Emphasizing interstellar and interstellar-precursor applications, performance and technical requirements are identified for a number of missions. The use of in-situ plasma and gas for propellant is evaluated as well.
- OSTI ID:
- 21293369
- Journal Information:
- AIP Conference Proceedings, Vol. 1103, Issue 1; Conference: SPESIF-2009: International technical forum on space, propulsion and energy sciences, Huntsville, AL (United States), 24-26 Feb 2009; Other Information: DOI: 10.1063/1.3115493; (c) 2009 American Institute of Physics; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0094-243X
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Similar Records
A Review of Laser Ablation Propulsion
ESCORT: A Pratt and Whitney nuclear thermal propulsion and power system for manned mars missions