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Tokyo University's "Microwave Rocket"

Posted by timothy on from the radiation-for-your-estes dept.

LiftOp writes "Apparently a group from Tokyo University's Department of Advanced Energy has used a high-power microwave beam to heat the air beneath a model rocket , sending it skyward (well, two meters). Dr. Kimiya Komurasaki, who led the group, seems to be quite a directed energy buff; when the rocket eventually gets beyond the air level, a conventional motor could be used to send it further."

1 of 48 comments (clear)

  1. Re:high energy ? by clambake · · Score: 5, Informative

    Ah, well the point of it is simple. A rocket normally requires a LOT of lift of energy precisely because it needs to lug tons and tons of fuel up with it as it moves a long. By dropping those fuel-pounds, or at least some of them, you can carry a lot more stuff... More stuff into space is a Good Thing.