An air‐breathing RP Laser Launcher has been proposed as the alternative to conventional chemical launch systems. This paper analytically examines the feasibility of SSTO system powered by RP lasers. The trajectory from the ground to the geosynchronous orbit is computed and the launch cost including laser‐base development is estimated. The engine performance is evaluated by CFD computations and a cycle analysis. The results show that the beam power of 2.3MW per unit initial vehicle mass is optimum to reach a geo‐synchronous transfer orbit, and 3,000 launches are necessary to redeem the cost for laser transmitter.
Analytical Study on Flight Performance of a RP Laser Launcher
BEAMED ENERGY PROPULSION: Third International Symposium on Beamed Energy Propulsion ; 2004 ; Troy, New York (USA)
AIP Conference Proceedings ; 766 , 1 ; 117-127
2005-04-27
11 pages
Conference paper
Electronic Resource
English
Analytical Study on Flight Performance of an Air-Breathing RP Laser Launcher
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