Engineering topics
Publications and source records attributed to Cassady, P..
The technological feasibility of using multimagawatt lasers for space power transmission is discussed. Candidate lasers include electric discharge lasers, direct optically pumped lasers, and free electron lasers.
The feasibility of solar powered lasers for continuous operation in space power transmission was investigated. Laser power transmission in space over distances of 10 to 100 thousand kilometers appears possible. A variety of lasers was considered, including solar-powered GDLs and EDLs, and solar-pumped lasers. An indirect solar-pumped laser was investigated which uses a solar-heated black body cavity to pump the lasant. Efficiencies in the range of 10 to 20 percent are projected for these indirect optically pumped lasers.