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Updated: May 9, 2025

Optimization, Test and Diagnostics of Miniaturized Hall Thrusters
Published on: February 16, 2019
Free-flight and tracking experiments of a multi-parabola laser propulsion vehicle
Masayuki Takahashi1, Yuya Hayadate2, Koichi Mori3
1Department of Aerospace Engineering, Tohoku University, Sendai, 980-8579, Japan. masayuki.takahashi.c8@tohoku.ac.jp.
Abstract:
A free-flight experiment involving a multi-parabola laser propulsion vehicle was conducted using repetitive laser pulses at a repetition frequency of 50 Hz and an energy of 4.93 J per pulse. Observations made with a camera indicated that the vehicle achieved a maximum altitude of 110 mm; however, it deviated from the laser beam line due to initial misalignment of the laser setup. To improve flight stability, we developed a tracking system to monitor the vehicle's motion and control the laser irradiation position. Performance requirements were assessed based on the free-flight experiment data, revealing that the vehicle attained a maximum translational speed of 0.08 m/s before deviation occurred. Our tracking system was evaluated to have a trackable speed of 0.09 m/s, meeting the performance requirements for free flight and capable of stabilizing the repetitive pulse flight of a laser propulsion vehicle.
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