Flight experiments on energy scaling for in-space laser propulsion

Abstract

As a preparatory study on space-borne laser propulsion, flight experiments with a parabolic thruster are carried out on an air-cushion table. The thruster is mounted like a sail on a puck allowing for laser-driven motion in three degrees of freedom (3 DOF) in artificial weightlessness. Momentum coupling is derived from point explosion theory for various parabolic thruster geometries with respect to energy scaling issues. The experimental data are compared with theoretical predictions. Vertical free flights allow for a comparison of both measurement techniques. Experimental results of air-breakdown threshold and POM ablation inside the thruster are compared with fluence data from beam propagation modeling.