NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration

First-ever laser-powered aircraft, designed and built by a team of NASA researchers

Ever since the dawn of powered flight, it's been necessary for all aircraft to carry onboard power -- whether in the form of batteries, liquid fuel or even a human "engine" -- in order to stay aloft.

Now, NASA researchers from the Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., the Dryden Flight Research Center at Edwards, Calif., and the University of Alabama in Huntsville have found a unique way around that requirement.

They've developed and demonstrated what looks like a small model airplane outfitted with special solar cells that can capture energy from a ground-based laser and convert it to the power needed to spin the propeller. The laser beam follows the aircraft in flight, supplying the energy. When the laser is turned off, the propeller stops spinning and the plane glides to a landing.

Though sailplanes, gliders and other craft can remain airborne for extended periods of time without onboard power supplies, the laser propulsion test marks the first time a powered aircraft has demonstrated sustained free flight without some type of onboard power source.

"The craft could keep flying as long as the energy source -- in this case the laser beam -- is uninterrupted," said Robert Burdine, Marshall's laser project manager for the test. "This is the first time that we know of that a plane has been powered only by the energy of laser light. It really is a groundbreaking development for aviation."

Weighing just 11 ounces, the plane is made from balsa wood and carbon fiber tubing. Its super-lightweight frame measures 4-1/2 feet long, and has a five-foot wingspan. It is covered with Mylar film, a cellophane-like material. Designed and built at the Dryden Center, the aircraft is a one-of-a-kind, radio-controlled model airplane.

The plane's designer, builder and "pilot," Tony Frackowiak, is an aerospace technician at Dryden who has been constructing one-of-a-kind airplanes since he was six years old. This project took him about two years to put together.

"It really has been a dream come true for me," Frackowiak said. "It's just fun to work on something like this that can lead to bigger and better uses in the future."

For more information, see also:
+ Laser-Powered Plane News Release
+ Laser-Powered Plane Photos

Contacts:
Jerry Berg, Marshall Space Flight Center
256.544.0034

Alan Brown, Dryden Research Center
661.276.3449