Artur Kantrowitz, a prominent American scientist of late twentieth century, died in age of 95 in New York City on November 29, 2008. Founder of Avco Everett Research Labs, professor of Dartmouth College, champion of Science Court and versatile inventor, he will be always remembered. In this short note I just like to say a word about one of his greatest ideas and contributions to society, which will benefit future generations of our planet. I am talking about his role in founding of laser propulsion.
It is rocket science, but forget the silly clich: the idea of laser propulsion is simple. Modern space rockets are too heavy, inefficient, and dangerous, because they have to carry their fuel and oxidizer onboard. On average they cost us $10,000 per pound of a payload delivered to low earth orbit. If someone could find a way to separate the energy source from a rocket, which will eliminate all fuel-related burden, the gain in rocket efficiency will be enormous.
The energy can be delivered with powerful laser beams! Believe it or not, the original idea was published in 1924 by Konstantin Tsiolkovsky, the space scientist and great visionary, who preceded his own times for at least on half-century. Tsiolkovsky pointed out that energy can be delivered to a space rocket by means of tight light beams (laser was invented 35 years later). The idea of light-beaming energy to a rocket that could be just a dream in 1924, was refined, formulated and delivered by Arthur Kantrowitz as a precise scientific concept of laser propuslion.
In 1972 Kantrowitz published a paper Propulsion to orbit by ground based lasers, with a genius idea: to launch light satellites right from the ground to space with high-power laser beams. In this the vehicle will be just straddling the tip of the beam. When laser beam is focused on a solid surface, it has enough power to vaporize and ionize almost anything with energy release much higher than hydrogen burning, used in modern space rockets. So, comparing to chemical rockets, laser propulsion uses the same rocket principle, excepting much more energetic exhaust and much lighter vehicle structure: no tanks, fuel lines, etc. leaving a lot of room for a payload.
Payload, Propellant, Photons, Period! " 4P Principle introduced by Kantrowitz was an essence of laser propulsion. Laser-driven vehicles will consist of lightweight focusing optics (mirrors), modest amount of solid ablative propellant and the rest: the rest will be payload! No more fuel, cryogenics, tanks, combustion chambers. As a result, scientifically-proven calculations have shown that the price of space delivery per pound will drop from $10,000 (hydrogen "burning rockets) to a modest $100 (laser-driven rockets): a hundredfold, revolutionary change in price!
The original paper of Kantrowitz was like a first milestone at the beginning of a long way, a scientific quest for beamed-energy propulsion. Kantrowitz not mere wrote a fundamental paper, he started the first in the world research program on laser propulsion at Avco Everett Research Labs. Decade later new research projects followed the cause and two decades later first laser-driven vehicles were launched into air (but not to space yet). New countries: Russia, Japan, Germany, China opened their own research programs and hundreds of researchers joined the field. New forms for beamed-energy propulsion were found, such as microwave propulsion. Hundreds of people work on this field today, the work is in progress, there is still a lot to do. Remarkably, this field was opened by one man, Arthur Kantrowitz, and he will be always remembered for that. - 16459
It is rocket science, but forget the silly clich: the idea of laser propulsion is simple. Modern space rockets are too heavy, inefficient, and dangerous, because they have to carry their fuel and oxidizer onboard. On average they cost us $10,000 per pound of a payload delivered to low earth orbit. If someone could find a way to separate the energy source from a rocket, which will eliminate all fuel-related burden, the gain in rocket efficiency will be enormous.
The energy can be delivered with powerful laser beams! Believe it or not, the original idea was published in 1924 by Konstantin Tsiolkovsky, the space scientist and great visionary, who preceded his own times for at least on half-century. Tsiolkovsky pointed out that energy can be delivered to a space rocket by means of tight light beams (laser was invented 35 years later). The idea of light-beaming energy to a rocket that could be just a dream in 1924, was refined, formulated and delivered by Arthur Kantrowitz as a precise scientific concept of laser propuslion.
In 1972 Kantrowitz published a paper Propulsion to orbit by ground based lasers, with a genius idea: to launch light satellites right from the ground to space with high-power laser beams. In this the vehicle will be just straddling the tip of the beam. When laser beam is focused on a solid surface, it has enough power to vaporize and ionize almost anything with energy release much higher than hydrogen burning, used in modern space rockets. So, comparing to chemical rockets, laser propulsion uses the same rocket principle, excepting much more energetic exhaust and much lighter vehicle structure: no tanks, fuel lines, etc. leaving a lot of room for a payload.
Payload, Propellant, Photons, Period! " 4P Principle introduced by Kantrowitz was an essence of laser propulsion. Laser-driven vehicles will consist of lightweight focusing optics (mirrors), modest amount of solid ablative propellant and the rest: the rest will be payload! No more fuel, cryogenics, tanks, combustion chambers. As a result, scientifically-proven calculations have shown that the price of space delivery per pound will drop from $10,000 (hydrogen "burning rockets) to a modest $100 (laser-driven rockets): a hundredfold, revolutionary change in price!
The original paper of Kantrowitz was like a first milestone at the beginning of a long way, a scientific quest for beamed-energy propulsion. Kantrowitz not mere wrote a fundamental paper, he started the first in the world research program on laser propulsion at Avco Everett Research Labs. Decade later new research projects followed the cause and two decades later first laser-driven vehicles were launched into air (but not to space yet). New countries: Russia, Japan, Germany, China opened their own research programs and hundreds of researchers joined the field. New forms for beamed-energy propulsion were found, such as microwave propulsion. Hundreds of people work on this field today, the work is in progress, there is still a lot to do. Remarkably, this field was opened by one man, Arthur Kantrowitz, and he will be always remembered for that. - 16459
About the Author:
Dr. Andrew Pakhomov is founder and president of American Institute of Beamed Energy Propulsion, a nonprofit society serving to development and popularization of this advanced space technology AIBEP He is also associate professor of physics at University of Alabama in Huntsville. To read more about Prof. Kantrowitz and fascinating field of laser propulsion, please visit official web site of AIBEP.
