Time-resolved imaging for the dynamic study of ablative laser propulsion

Time-resolved imaging techniques have been developed and used for a study of plasma dynamics in Ablative Laser Propulsion (ALP), an advanced propulsion technique utilizing the momentum of laser-ablated solid propellants for rocket thrust.; We used a gated Intensified Charge Coupled Device camera to record light emission from laser-induced plasma. The plasma was ignited by 100-ps wide laser pulses, of energy 35 mJ at 532 nm wavelength. The required algorithms for processing 2-D digital images of the plasma and deriving the plasma edge velocities were also developed. The 2-D angular distribution functions for both plasma velocity and emission intensity were deduced from these measurements for the first time. The fitting functions for observed angular distributions were derived for a wide range of elements, such as C (graphite), Al, Si, Cu, Fe, Zn, Sn and Pb. Results show that the specific impulses (I sp) vary between 2.6 x 103 s (carbon) and 1.2 x 103 s (zinc), which are in excellent agreement with previously conducted Force Measurements.; We also developed a digital video imaging (DVI) technique to study the dynamics of a ballistic pendulum driven by TEA CO2 laser pulses. The pulses had 200 ns pulsewidth and 10.6 J energy at 10.6 mum wavelength. The experiment using the DVI technique in the range of pressures from 3.5 mTorr to 1 atmosphere has been developed for the first time. Coupling coefficients (Cm) and mass removal rates as functions of pressure were deduced from these measurements. The technique allowed the addressing of the partition of the energy and momentum between air breakdown and target ablation. The study was performed on Aluminum targets. The partition functions show a sharp transition region between 1.0 and 10 Torr, where the momentum and energy imparted to the target via ablation appear comparable to those due to air breakdown.; Our observations show that currently developing air-breathing laser-propulsion schemes would hardly support launching missions at altitudes exceeding 20 km. Therefore, ALP is the most realistic mode for laser-driven launches, as well as for space propulsion.