In Laser Thruster Advance, Light Alone Pushes a Sled Down a Track
Here is the latest demonstration of a propulsion technology called a photonic laser thruster. In it, NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts Fellow Young Bae moved a one-pound object on a track using light alone for the first time.
The hope is that a laser fired from one spacecraft to another will provide enough push to make this form of propulsion viable for interplanetary travel. Back in 2013, the agency expanded research on the concept of photonic laser thrusters after discovering it could have “a much larger potential in NASA mission applications.”
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As if this wasn’t exciting and mind-blowing enough, check out this article about a newly (and accidentally) discovered property of graphene: Light makes it move!
So what does this all mean? It means that researchers may have just accidentally discovered a propulsion system for a spacecraft that requires no fuel whatsoever. Essentially, a spacecraft built from graphene could explore the heavens powered by nothing more than sunlight.
