Taking an uncommon approach to revealing future flight technology to the general public, this comprehensive examination conveys the technological possibilities for the next generation of military and commercial aviation. Written in superb but accessible detail, this study outlines the Lightcraft revolution—flights that will fly on microwave and laser energy beamed from satellite solar power stations—and shows how it will ultimately replace today’s commercial jet airlines.
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Editorial Reviews
Review
Leik Myrabo is one of those very rare and very valuable people: an original thinker. Together with John Lewis he shows how an innovative new technology can revolutionise space flight and open the "final frontier" for us all. Lightcraft are the wave of the future, and Myrabo and Lewis show how and why this is so." -- Ben Bova 'The level of treatment is highly detailed.' -- Spaceflight January 2010
About the Author
Leik N. Myrabo is an aerospace engineer who has conducted research in an effort to create viable concepts for nonchemical propulsion. He is a former staff scientist and research consultant on directed energy applications, aerospace systems, space prime power, and advanced propulsion. He lives in Benington, Vermont. John S. Lewis is a professor of planetary science at the University of Arizona’s Lunar and Planetary Laboratory. He is the author of Mining the Sky, Physics and Chemistry of the Solar System, Rain of Iron and Ice, and Worlds Without End. He lives in Tucson, Arizona.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Fantastic, but fanciful idea for space launch,
By
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Lightcraft Flight Handbook LTI-20: Hypersonic Flight Transport for an Era Beyond Oil (Paperback)
This long overdue book finally made it to market with the help of John Lewis as a co-author. The book is about the development of a solar power satellite energized SSTO machine using ions and plasma in various propulsion modes. The book relates this in the form of a "declassified military technical manual" from the year 2025. As you can imagine, the content is nearly as fanciful as the Star Trek Technical Manual.
The road from Myrabo's 1990's demonstration of a laser powered launch of a spinning aluminum disc to the Lightcraft would be a very long one. The craft uses all sorts of technologies that work in principle ... but in practice? We have the lightweight rectenna to convert carefully directed microwave beams from orbit. When Jerry O'Neill wanted to do this back in the 1970's for geosynchronous satellites and fixed ground antennas, that was one thing, but precisely aimed beams tracking a hypersonic vehicle with extremely high power densities, I don't know. One miss and something on the ground fries. The propulsion techniques are somewhat different from Myrabo's demonstration, which is for pulsed detonation of air. The Lightcraft allows for ion propulsion (can you get the thrust needed?), to pulsed detonation of air to MHD of using air deflected and ionized to a plasma, controlled by superconducting magnets. No demonstration of the latter technology has been made to my knowledge, so it may be totally fanciful. The craft is made as lightweight as a blimp, yet has to withstand incredible aerodynamic forces with a blunt edge using a plasma spike. While there is some background technical information in the appendix, this is a very far cry from the technologies needed for the vehicle described. I'm not sure who the audience for this book is. Engineering minded folks looking for some substance are going to be very disappointed, because it reads like science fiction. The book is full of sketches and center section with nice CG images, but again, very little of substance. The best analogy I can make is that it is like the fanciful ideas of rocketry in the C19th, assuming black powder propellants would be enough to launch huge iron spacecraft, simply because rockets should work in space. The ideas are certainly ones to make you think, but I would have much preferred reading about real experiments in this direction with a lot more engineering details about possible designs. If there is further experimentation in this area, I would welcome a book about those results and the engineering possibilities based on that data.
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
Disappointing,
By John Sampson (Los Angeles, CA USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Lightcraft Flight Handbook LTI-20: Hypersonic Flight Transport for an Era Beyond Oil (Paperback)
Professor Myrabo is the lead researcher in beamed power for space propulsion. He has made tremendous advances in laser and light-based Earth to Orbit rockets. This is why I was shocked that he would publish this book. If you truly want to learn about lightcraft and beamed propulsion systems, do yourself a favor and instead of buying this book, research the literally hundreds of excellent publications (and a few review papers) that Leik Myrabo has published.
I purchased "Lightcraft Flight Handbook LTI-20: Hypersonic Flight Transport for an Era Beyond Oil" under the guise of a readable introduction and/or summary of beamed propulsion, hoping for a "comprehensive examination [which] conveys the technological possibilities for the next generation of military and commercial aviation". Instead, it is a mix of pure fiction and only-superficially explained research. With the exception of the appendix, the entire book is written as if from a 2025+ author that is detailing the `history' of lightcraft. For all of the technical requirements and challenges that face this technology, a blanket, "Revolutionary Technology Breakthrough Classified in 20XX" is given, without a serious treatment of the development (or realism) that would be required. Additionally, this book is peppered with undergraduate-level research papers on various subsystems such as crew clothing or onboard water treatment systems that serve as filler. I have great hopes for lightcraft and beamed energy propulsion, but there are much better sources of information available.
0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent book, beautiful photos and illustrations.,
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Lightcraft Flight Handbook LTI-20: Hypersonic Flight Transport for an Era Beyond Oil (Paperback)
This book is excellent. Lightcraft, Flight Handbook LTI-20: Hypersonic Flight Transport for an Era Beyond Oil is based on facts, but written from a fictional future. It is a review of how the Lightcraft project might be seen from the year 2025. I am not an academic like some of the other reviewers of this book, therefore I am not encumbered by the imaginary rules they subscribe to about how books must be written.
Mr. Myrabo and Mr. Lewis have done a wonderful job of filling in the blanks on a topic that is very complicated and mind-bending. The book has beautiful color pictures, elegantly detailed drawings and a reference section, so helpful to those of us who want to know more about how we might travel in the future. Both authors are world-class university level professors and they have extensive academic and laboratory experience in the topics covered in the book. It should be noted that a prototype Lightcraft has already flown (search YouTube). According to the authors, in 2025 the Lightcraft could take us quickly around the planet or even to an orbiting space station! The chapter describing lung liquid ventilation of a test pilot in a High-g situation is clear, concise, and understandable. The concept may seem like science fiction to many readers, but as a respiratory therapist, I know from personal experience that this method of liquid perflourocarbon ventilation has already been successfully used in humans. In a world distracted by news bites and trivia, this book provides grist for the mind. Lightcraft Flight Handbook LTI-20 would make a perfect gift for anyone from the science student to difficult to buy for friends who seem to have everything. Trust me, they do not have anything like this book yet.
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