Laser Propulsion in Space: Fundamentals, Technology, and Future Missions takes readers on a comprehensive journey from a theoretical overview of the fundamentals of laser ablation to a review of current projects involving high-power CW fiber lasers and their ongoing and potential applications. Written by experts in the field, the mathematically sound excursus also features graphics depicting the equations’ results and case studies with worked-out examples, making this book an invaluable reference source for students, researchers, and professional engineers in a number of complementary fields.
Table of Contents
1 Basic theory of laser propulsion2 Breakthrough Starshot program overview
3 Starshot system model
4 Space situational awareness: the potential role of lasers in long-term sustainability of space operations
5 State of the art in high-power lasers
6 High-power laser engines
7 Large scale directed energy
8 The ways to improve momentum and kinetic efficiency of laser propulsion
9 Laser-driven, In-Tube Accelerator (LITA)
10 Fly by light demos & prizes
11 The dual-use dilemma and high-energy systems in space
