Transcript Bae_11-9-16x

Future In-Space Operation Colloquium
November 9th 2016
Young K. Bae, Ph.D.
CEO
Y.K. Bae Corp
Credit: NASA
714-838-2881
www.ykbcorp.com
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What is holding us from the Space Commercial Revolution?
The Tyranny of the Rocket Equation
Propellant Mass
Rocket Dry Mass
ΔV
exp
=
)
(
Isp g
- 1
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“Using those established means, it would be closer to
$10 billion per person, which is completely out of
reach for many people who might otherwise be willing
to uproot their lives and make such a daring trip (to
Mars).”
Elon Musk, The Verge, Sept 2016
NASA FY 2016 Budget: $18.6 billions
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Vacuum Tube
Vacuum Tube Calculator: ENIAC
Computer/Information
Revolution
Transistor
Integrated Circuit
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The Tyranny of the Rocket Equation
Conventional
Thruster
Conventional Spaceship
?
Photon Thruster
Space Commercial
Revolution
Scaled-up
Photon Thruster
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Universal Specific Thrust
-2
10
Chemical Thrusters
-3
10
Electrical Thrusters
Fsu (N/W)
-4
10
ns Laser Ablation Thruster
-5
10
Theory
-6
10
-7
10
fs Laser Plasma Thruster
-8
10
Thruster
Single-bounce Photon Thruster
-9
10
2
10
3
10
4
10
5
10
Isp (s)
6
10
7
10
8
10
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Universal Specific Thrust
-2
10
Chemical Thrusters
-3
10
Electrical Thrusters
Fsu (N/W)
-4
10
ns Laser Ablation Thruster
-5
10
Theory
-6
10
Recycling
-7
10
fs Laser Plasma Thruster
-8
10
Thruster
Single-bounce Photon Thruster
-9
10
2
10
3
10
4
10
5
10
Isp (s)
6
10
7
10
8
10
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Specific Energy vs. Spacecraft Velocity
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10
Specific Energy (J/Kg)
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10
14
10
13
10
12
BLP
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11
10
10
10
(x1,0
P
L
B
PLT
9
10
00)
8
10
00 s
I sp=3,0
00 s
5
=
I sp
7
10
Mars
in 1 month
Mars
in 10 days
Mars
in 3 days
6
10
1
10
100
1000
Spacecraft Velocity (km/s)
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Y.K. Bae, Physics Procedia 38 ( 2012 ) 253 – 279
Recycling Beamed-Photon Propulsion
Photon Source
Spacecraft + Mirror
Lens/Mirror
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Recycling Beamed-Photon Propulsion
50 years of attempts failed.
Photon Source
Spacecraft + Mirror
Lens/Mirror
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Photonic Laser Thruster
Spacecraft + Mirror
Photon Source
Mirror
2006 Proof-of-Concept Demo*
Thrust = 0.035 mN
Recycling Enhancement: 100
*under the auspice the former NIAC
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Photonic Laser Thruster (PLT)
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PLT Thrust Measurement Setup*
*Patent Pending
NIST/Scientech/Navy
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Photon Thrust Measured by Scientech Radiation Pressure Sensor
(Outcoupler: R>99.5%, Rcc=5 m)
4.0
Photon Thrust (mN)
3.5
3.0
Amplification Factor = 900
500 kW
2.5
2.0
1.5
1.0
0.5
0.0
0.0
0.1
0.2
0.3
Pext (kW)
0.4
0.5
0.6
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Outcoupler Mirror R>99.97%, RCC=0.5 m
2.5
Photon Thrust (mN)
2.0
Amplification Factor = 1,460
1.5
1.0
0.5
0.0
0
50
100
150
Pext (W)
200
250
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Photonic Laser Thruster 1U CubeSat Propulsion Demo:
Amplified Laser Power: 450 kW CW
Thrust: 3 mN
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The key to the transistor success:
Stepwise commercial applications
First Transistor
First Integrated Circuit
Electronic Devices with Several Transistors
Computer/Information
Revolution
Device, Network & Applications
Explosion
Early Computers
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Pathway to Commercial Space Revolution
Stepwise development supported by the return on investment
Timely & judicious government stimulus
Wise and enthusiastic private investment
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Near-Term Potentials of Photonic Laser Thruster (PLT)
The PLT Innovative Capabilities:
• Ultra precision in control of thrust magnitude and vector
• Propellantless/plume-free contamination-free operation
• Inherent Optical Metrology for Precision Positioning
• Inherent Power Beaming to Reduce SWaP
• Providing the Ultimate Isp
PLT Potentially Enables:
• Ultra-precision persistent formation flying
• Propellantless stationkeeping and orbit maneuvering
• Enhancement of the capability of small satellites, such as CubeSats
Application Examples:
• Virtual Telescopes
• Synthetic Aperture Radars
• Earth Magnetic Field Monitoring
• Distributed Satellite Systems
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Small Spacecraft Maneuver with Photonic Laser Thruster
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Resource Platform
Mission Platform
PLT Permits Separation of Valuable
Mission Platforms from the
Expendable Resource Platforms.
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Mission Demonstration Concept:
PLT X-ray Interferometer
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Aiming at the Future
When scalable, Photonic Laser Thruster
can revolutionize the space commercialism.
Acceleration/Deceleration ~ 1 g
Travel time ~ 3 days
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Infrastructures for Computer/Communication Revolution
IC Chip Fab Facilities
Fiber Optics Network
Com Sats
Large Scale Mining
Cell Towers
Semiconductor R&D
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Infrastructure Examples for Space Commercial Revolution with Photon Thrusters
TUI
SSP
In-space Manufacturing
In-space 3D Printing
Robotics
Autonomous
Space Systems
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Scaling up of PLT
Can we overcome the diffraction limit?
A photon is a boson: Bose-Einstein Condensation (BEC)
Recent Demonstration of Photon BEC in a micro-cavity at low power
Condensed Photons
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?
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Conclusions
•
Photonic Laser Thruster (PLT), a recycled photon thruster, is projected to
overcome the tyranny of the rocket equation, if scalable.
•
Photonic Laser Thruster has been successfully demonstrated in lab.
•
PLT permits the near-term applications that can generate investment
returns.
•
Stepping stones for developing large scale PLTs and Photonic
Railway.
•
PLT flight demonstrations in earth-orbits and mission studies and
demonstrations are proposed to be the next logical steps.
•
The science and technologies, such as Bose-Einstein condensation of
photons, which can overcome the diffraction limit of laser beam
propagation over long distance, are recommended for the near-term R&D.
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Acknowledgements
Support: NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts (NIAC) - new
NASA Institute of Advanced Concepts (NIAC) - old
Collaborators:
Hagop Injeyan
Lawrence Williams
Joseph Harkenrider
Bong Wie (University of Iowa)
Dausinger-Giessen GMBH
NIST
Scientech Inc
Navy
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