Gepulste Laserantriebe für den Transport von Kleinstsatelliten in LEO (Pulsed Laser Propulsion for the Transportation of Small Satellites into LEO)

This report contains the part of a ESA study on advanced space propulsion systems, entitled Propulsion 2000, that deals with laser propulsion. The possibility to establish a system for a routinely transportation of small satellites into low Earth orbits by using pulsed high power lasers is studied extensively. The report describes the fundamentals of the propulsion system, possible applications, mission requirements, requirements for the laser system and the state of the art of the research. The necessary research and development task as well as developmental steps towards a commercial application and their costs are derived