Three sets of laser propulsion experiments have been conducted in South Africa. The first, on the MLIS kilowatt CO2 laser at Pelindaba, gave a surprisingly good result but could not be repeated after the laser chain was dismantled when South Africa’s uranium isotope programme was closed. The second, conducted with a kilowatt CO2 laser module, produced unexpectedly weak propulsion. The reasons for the discrepancy between the two experiments are given. In the third experiment, hybrid solar and laser propulsion was tested: laser momentum coupling was enhanced as a result of generation of a dusty plasma by the concentrated solar energy.
Reference:
Michaelis, MM, et al. 2006. Laser propulsion activity in South Africa. South African Journal of Science, vol. 102, pp 296-300
Michaelis, M., Forbes, A., Klopper, W., Bencherif, H., Jolivet, S., Moorgawa, R., ... Turner, G. (2006). Laser propulsion activity in South Africa. http://hdl.handle.net/10204/1015
Michaelis, MM, A Forbes, W Klopper, H Bencherif, S Jolivet, R Moorgawa, E McKenzie, and G Turner "Laser propulsion activity in South Africa." (2006) http://hdl.handle.net/10204/1015
Michaelis M, Forbes A, Klopper W, Bencherif H, Jolivet S, Moorgawa R, et al. Laser propulsion activity in South Africa. 2006; http://hdl.handle.net/10204/1015.
