This brief note is about Beamed Energy Propulsion (BEP), which is, actually, a rocket science. However, you dont have to be a rocket scientist in order to understand what it is about, it is simple and I will explain it to you in next few paragraphs.
Rocket science is of course about rockets. What is so special about rockets? Motion on Earth is based on pushing from the environment, wherever the motion takes place. For example, cars use wheels to push from the pavement, birds use wings to push from air, and so on. Space is empty, so in order to fly in space every rocket has to use reaction principle, i.e. burn fuel, form exhaust gases and push from that exhaust in opposite direction. There is no air in space, so if you need to burn fuel, you have to carry burning agent together with the fuel onboard. Hence rockets has to carry onboard their fuel (hydrogen), oxidizer (oxygen) and everything that needed to burn hydrogen and keep the motion in desired direction (rocket engine).
Rockets cargo space is very expensive. Why? Because with so many elements onboard: fuel, oxidizer, cryogenics, tanks, lines, you name it, there is a small (and very expensive room) for the payload. If we could only find a way to separate the heavy energy source from the rocket, the gain in efficiency of such rocket will be tremendous.
Energy can be delivered to the rocket from remote external source using light or, say, laser, x-ray, microwave high-power beams. With its mirrors, rocket will collect and focus that beams on its "fuel". Any solid matter can be a fuel. When high-power beam of photons is focused on a solid material, the material evaporates and ionizes instantaneously. The energy density in focused high-power beam exceeds hundreds to millions times one in the heat of burning hydrogen. Thus, beam-driven rocket will remain a rocket, it will be pushing from its own exhaust, but the energy of this exhaust is much higher, and the rocket itself is much lighter, comparing to hydrogen burners.
Beam-driven rocket is equipped with beam-collecting optics (i.e. mirrors) and some relatively lightweight solid fuel. That is it: no more tanks, oxidizer, cryogenics, nozzles, lines, - the rest will be cargo. Such rocket will be a subject of 4P Principle, formulated by the founder of laser propulsion, Arthur Kantrowitz: Payload, Propellants and Photons, Period!
So, what is efficiency gain of beam-driven rocket vs. hydrogen burning rocket? Hydrogen burners cost us $10,000 per pound of a payload delivered to low earth orbit. Scientifically-proven calculations have shown that the price of space delivery per pound drops to minute $100 for laser-driven rockets: a hundredfold, revolutionary change in cost!
The most developed today branch of BEP is called laser propulsion, it is based on energy transfer with high-power laser beams. The next in development is microwave propulsion, followed by barely explored BEP with x-rays and particles. The number of in-lab demonstrations of BEP grows every year, and the time of actual demonstration of beam-driven space rocket is getting closer. No question, there is still a lot of work ahead on development of BEP systems, but one thing is clear, they have a great future. - 15437
Rocket science is of course about rockets. What is so special about rockets? Motion on Earth is based on pushing from the environment, wherever the motion takes place. For example, cars use wheels to push from the pavement, birds use wings to push from air, and so on. Space is empty, so in order to fly in space every rocket has to use reaction principle, i.e. burn fuel, form exhaust gases and push from that exhaust in opposite direction. There is no air in space, so if you need to burn fuel, you have to carry burning agent together with the fuel onboard. Hence rockets has to carry onboard their fuel (hydrogen), oxidizer (oxygen) and everything that needed to burn hydrogen and keep the motion in desired direction (rocket engine).
Rockets cargo space is very expensive. Why? Because with so many elements onboard: fuel, oxidizer, cryogenics, tanks, lines, you name it, there is a small (and very expensive room) for the payload. If we could only find a way to separate the heavy energy source from the rocket, the gain in efficiency of such rocket will be tremendous.
Energy can be delivered to the rocket from remote external source using light or, say, laser, x-ray, microwave high-power beams. With its mirrors, rocket will collect and focus that beams on its "fuel". Any solid matter can be a fuel. When high-power beam of photons is focused on a solid material, the material evaporates and ionizes instantaneously. The energy density in focused high-power beam exceeds hundreds to millions times one in the heat of burning hydrogen. Thus, beam-driven rocket will remain a rocket, it will be pushing from its own exhaust, but the energy of this exhaust is much higher, and the rocket itself is much lighter, comparing to hydrogen burners.
Beam-driven rocket is equipped with beam-collecting optics (i.e. mirrors) and some relatively lightweight solid fuel. That is it: no more tanks, oxidizer, cryogenics, nozzles, lines, - the rest will be cargo. Such rocket will be a subject of 4P Principle, formulated by the founder of laser propulsion, Arthur Kantrowitz: Payload, Propellants and Photons, Period!
So, what is efficiency gain of beam-driven rocket vs. hydrogen burning rocket? Hydrogen burners cost us $10,000 per pound of a payload delivered to low earth orbit. Scientifically-proven calculations have shown that the price of space delivery per pound drops to minute $100 for laser-driven rockets: a hundredfold, revolutionary change in cost!
The most developed today branch of BEP is called laser propulsion, it is based on energy transfer with high-power laser beams. The next in development is microwave propulsion, followed by barely explored BEP with x-rays and particles. The number of in-lab demonstrations of BEP grows every year, and the time of actual demonstration of beam-driven space rocket is getting closer. No question, there is still a lot of work ahead on development of BEP systems, but one thing is clear, they have a great future. - 15437
About the Author:
Andrew Pakhomov is founder and president of American Institute of Beamed Energy Propulsion, a nonprofit scientific organization serving to development and popularization of this space technology of the future AIBEP He is also associate professor of physics at University of Alabama in Huntsville. To find more about modern state of beamed energy propulsion, please visit official site of AIBEP.
