Abstract
Abstract : In 1996, the Air Force Research Laboratory's Propulsion Division at Edwards AFB initiated a program that had as its main objective to launch a laser-propelled vehicle into a suborbital trajectory within a period of 5 years in order to demonstrate the concept and its attractive features. The concept is a nanosatellite in which the laser propulsion engine and satellite hardware are intimately shared. The Lightcraft Technology Demonstration Program was planned in three phases. Phase I, Lightcraft Concept Demonstration, was to demonstrate the feasibility of the basic concept. This phase ended in December 1998. Phase II, Lightcraft Vertical Launches to Extreme Altitudes, was initiated in January 1999, and is a five-year effort designed to extend Lightcraft flights in sounding rocket trajectories to 30 km with a 100 kW CO2 laser. Phase III, Lightcraft Dual Mode Vehicle, is a two year effort designed to launch the first laser-propelled vehicle, fully functional, into space. This phase will require the construction of a megawatt class CO2 laser with appropriate optics to meet the power beam propagation requirements.
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