Re:Nuclear Pulse Propulsion – Orion and Beyond (2000) [pdf]
by jharohit on Friday October 14, 2016 @12:51AM
(#12706203)
Plus, mass driver approach is not the only way to use lasers right? Light can remotely power systems, heat solid propellants to extremely high temperature thus getting better thrusts, etc. So the technology, if scaled up correctly, can be used for large scale transport systems too.
[ Parent
| on HN ]
Re:Nuclear Pulse Propulsion – Orion and Beyond (2000) [pdf]
by simonh on Friday October 14, 2016 @05:05AM
(#12706890)
They could be useful for some specific applications, but lasers have very limited effective range as power delivery systems when you're looking at the interplanetary scale. Unless you have very large collectors that is.
For example, for the lunar laser ranging experiment they use telescopes to direct the beam at the moon, but the beam is still 6.5 km wide at the moon's surface.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lunar_Laser_Ranging_experiment