Lightcraft Propulsion Technology for Low Cost Access to Space

Abstract

A dream held by most rocket scientists over the past 50 years has been the achievement of low cost, routine access to space. Many science fiction stories are based on the assumption that spaceflight will become as common as driving your car to the local market. The Space Shuttle has made spaceflight by reusable vehicles somewhat routine, but it still costs nearly $10,000 per kilogram to launch a payload into low Earth orbit (LEO).

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jan 01, 1998
Accession Number
ADA386358

Entities

People

  • Franklin Mead Jr.
  • Leik Myrabo
  • Patrick Carrick

Organizations

  • United States Department of the Air Force

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Space
  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Air Force
  • Air Force Research Laboratories
  • Astronautics
  • Carbon Dioxide Lasers
  • Communication Systems
  • Earth Orbits
  • Laser Beams
  • Laser Pulses
  • Lasers
  • Low Earth Orbits
  • Propellants
  • Pulsed Lasers
  • Space Shuttles
  • Spacecraft
  • Test Facilities
  • Vehicles
  • Wire Guidance

Fields of Study

  • Physics

Readers

  • Database Systems and Applications
  • Educational Psychology
  • Space Exploration and Orbital Mechanics.

Technology Areas

  • Space
  • Space - Orbital Debris