Experimental Investigation and Numerical Simulation of Air-Breathing Mode for Laser Propulsion

Laser propulsion is a new concept technique of propulsion and will have important application in future space technology. There are two main driving types: the air-breathing mode and the rocket ablation mode. Vertical flight experiments have been carried out with a simple paraboloid type lightcraft in the air-breathing mode by TEA-CO₂ laser. In simulation a new model is used for LSD/LSC wave, the result shows that the momentum coupling coefficient increases with the increase of the pulse energy.