Laser rocket soars to record heights

17 Jun 2002

A 10 kW pulsed carbon dioxide laser has launched a small rocket called a Lightcraft to an altitude of 71 m - a new world best.
Apart from setting a new altitude record, the rocket also achieved a world-best flight time of 12.7 s. In another milestone, the launch was "open air" for the first time - in all previous launches, a black plywood board stopped the rocket en route for safety reasons.

The 51 g, 12 cm diameter Lightcraft is propelled skyward when the laser beam hits a parabolic condensing reflector on its underside. This ablates a thin plastic coating, sending the craft upwards.Leik Myrabo, chief executive of US laser-launching company Lightcraft Technologies and inventor of the system, says that the altitude that the rocket attained could be doubled on the next set of tests.The company is aiming to become the provider of the cheapest microsatellite launch services. Myrabo says that using a laser launch pad rather than conventional rockets would cut the price of launching microsatellites to one-fiftieth of the current cost.

Tests will continue at the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico, US, next year.