Federal Space Agency is preparing to test a space laser – Business Portal

30 on November 2015 g of.

Roscosmos has planned a unique experiment for wireless transfer of energy in space: instead of wires to be used a laser beam – of his electricity on board the Russian segment of the ISS will be transferred to the transport ship “Progress”, which will be allocated to the station at a distance of about 1.5 km.

Preparing for an Experiment by specialists RSC “Energia” – its experts have already begun ground testing technology of power transmission from one object to another by means of infrared laser radiation.

– joined the project leading laboratories in the country, and today We already have photovoltaic receivers converters with an efficiency of about 60%, – says head of department for energy systems of space vehicles of the new generation of RSC “Energia” Vyacheslav Tugaenko. – “To resolve the beam guidance system based on the company, prepared the track, where the distance between the transmitter and receiver is 1.5 km away. The system operates successfully in an experimental mode.

According to specialists RSC “Energia”, the efficiency of the entire tract may reach 10-20%, and the use of the latest advances in laser technology and optoelectronics are all opportunities to increase it to 30 %.

– As a result of the initial research has come to understand that we can carry out such an experiment in space – says Tugaenko. – In the space experiment is planned to transfer energy to the ISS on the transport-cargo ship “Progress”, which will be allotted to this station for 1-2 km.

According to the developers of RSC “Energia”, the creation of effective laser systems will eventually transfer power from the spacecraft powerful enough power plants to other spacecraft, equipped with special receivers-transmitters, which opens up new possibilities in the exploration of space.

The idea of ​​refueling satellites in orbit itself is quite old; in different kinds of it formulated the middle of last century. In particular, the founder of the missile Wernher von Braun believed that satellite-refueling tankers will become a reality in about 70 years of the last century.

NASA in February 2014 has conducted ground tests robotic system PROxiTT, designed for automated refueling satellites orbit – the results were found to be successful. Even earlier, in 2011, Intelsat reported the contract with the Canadian company MDA to build orbital refueling tankers SIS, which will be able to deliver 2 tons of fuel for the spacecraft in geostationary orbit. But while the orbit of the satellite, no tanker was launched.

According to Andrei Ioannina, corresponding member of the Russian Academy of Cosmonautics. KE Tsiolkovsky, the active development of such areas of satellite as the creation of orbital refueling tankers, mainly prevents non-obvious economic feasibility of refueling satellites in orbit.

– It is necessary to build a complex spacecraft, display it in orbit, while the lack of fuel – this is not the most urgent problem for communications satellites owned by Intelsat, – says the son of Jonas. – The geostationary satellites to provide electro-reactive engines for 20 years, and in reality, they have obsolete equipment before and crashes than running out of fuel. Refueling in orbit may be required in cases when the satellite is unique, expensive. For example, remote sensing device with high resolution may require additional – those flying in low orbits, a lot of maneuvering. Remote filling can be useful military apparatus.

Ivan Cheberko