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Status of the Ablative Laser Propulsion StudiesWe present a short review of our laser-propulsion research as well as some of the current results of the Ablative Laser Propulsion (ALP) studies currently underway at the University of Alabama in Huntsville. It has been shown that direct surface ablation of a solid material produces high specific impulse (Isp) at relatively high energy conversion efficiency (20 - 40%). We detail measurements of specific impulse, thrust and coupling coefficients for elemental target materials both with single and with double pulse laser shots. We also present measurements taken using three independent methods for determination of Isp. The three methods produce consistent values from ion time-of-flight technique, impulse measurements and imaging of the expansion front of plasma plume. We present a demonstration of our ALP lightcraft, a small free-flying micro-vehicle that is propelled by ablation. For ALP lightcraft we use a subscale thin shell of nickel replicated over a diamond turned mandrel that produces a highly polished self-focusing, truncated at the focus parabolic mirror. The mass of the lightcraft is 54 mg and it is driven by 100-ps wide, 35-mJ laser pulses at 532 nm wavelength. This is an ongoing research. We also present the latest work on laserdriven micro-thrusters and detail some the near term goals of our program.
Document ID
20040082397
Acquisition Source
Marshall Space Flight Center
Document Type
Conference Paper
Authors
Herren, Kenneth A.
(NASA Marshall Space Flight Center Huntsville, AL, United States)
Lin, Jun
(Alabama Univ. Huntsville, AL, United States)
Cohen, Tinothy
(Alabama Univ. Huntsville, AL, United States)
Pakhomov, Andrew V.
(Alabama Univ. Huntsville, AL, United States)
Thompson, M. Shane
(Information Systems Labs., Inc. Brownsboro, AL, United States)
Date Acquired
August 21, 2013
Publication Date
January 1, 2004
Subject Category
Spacecraft Propulsion And Power
Meeting Information
Meeting: NASA JPL-MSFC 15th Advanced Space Propulsion Workshop
Location: Pasadena, CA
Country: United States
Start Date: June 15, 2004
End Date: June 17, 2004
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Work of the US Gov. Public Use Permitted.

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