Leik Myrabo

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Myrabo in 1984 Leik Myrabo, 1984 (cropped).jpg
Myrabo in 1984
Lightcraft tests at White Sands Missile Range LIghtcraft White Sands Test Myrabo.png
Lightcraft tests at White Sands Missile Range
Lightcraft being propelled by laser Lightcraft.jpg
Lightcraft being propelled by laser

Leik N. Myrabo is an American aerospace engineer known for pioneering research into beamed-energy propulsion and for inventing lightcraft. A longtime professor of aerospace engineering at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, he was among the first researchers to demonstrate sustained laser-propelled flight, conducting more than a hundred experimental launches at the White Sands Missile Range between the 1990s and 2000s.

Contents

Myrabo promoted the concept of “LightPorts” and orbital power stations as a framework for low-cost satellite launches and hypersonic passenger travel. He published in both technical and popular venues and co-authored the Lightcraft Flight Handbook, LTI-20 in 2009. His work also included international collaborations on laser-supported hypersonic aerodynamics with the Brazilian Air Force and the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory.

His career bridged theoretical propulsion concepts with hands-on engineering demonstrations, linking laboratory study to high-profile field tests. Myrabo also holds leadership roles in several aerospace and aviation-related organizations.

Academic career

Myrabo was a professor of aerospace engineering at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) prior to retirement. [1] At RPI, he collaborated with the U.S. Air Force on Lightcraft experiments at White Sands Missile Range, work documented in trade coverage by Laser Focus World . [2] He originated the Lightcraft research program at RPI. [2] Myrabo’s professorship encompassed three engineering fields: in addition to aerospace, he also taught mechanical and nuclear engineering until his retirement. [3]

Lightcraft research and propulsion concepts

Origins and early concepts

Myrabo is recognized as the inventor of lightcraft. [4] [2] [5] In 1983, a NASA-sponsored study authored by Myrabo at the BDM Corporation outlined his earliest propulsion concept, which proposed using beams to ionize air in front of a vehicle to generate thrust. [6] Wired reported that he first developed the ideas that became the technology in 1988. [7] At the time, he was working on the "Star Wars" missile defense initiative under the Ballistic Missile Defense Organization. [7]

Experiments

Through the late 1980s and 1990s, Myrabo refined these ideas, adapting them to the limitations of then-available laser systems and promoting variations such as beamed microwave propulsion. [6] He researched the project through the first successful launch in 1997, and participated in more than 140 test flights with various prototypes. [7]

During this period, Myrabo began experimental work at the High Energy Laser System Test Facility at White Sands Missile Range, where, in collaboration with the U.S. Air Force, he conducted the first sustained outdoor Lightcraft flights. [4] Between 1996 and 2000, prototypes powered by pulsed carbon dioxide lasers reached altitudes of up to 233 feet, milestones he compared to the modest early rockets of Robert H. Goddard. [4] [3]

Over time, he and his partners carried out more than 140 small-scale test flights, supported by funding from NASA, the Air Force, and the Strategic Defense Initiative. [7] Tests at White Sands used a 20-hertz, 9-kilowatt carbon dioxide laser, with flights reaching altitudes of 75 feet in three seconds. [2] Myrabo was later involved in further laser propulsion research at Marshall Space Flight Center. [8]

Advocacy and predictions

Myrabo coupled this experimental program with a broader advocacy campaign. [9] He discussed variants of the lightcraft concept with Popular Mechanics in 1995, including the notion of using pulsed microwave beams from satellites to power craft toward space. [6] In 1999, he published an article in Scientific American describing his vision of ground-based “LightPorts” and orbital power stations that could beam energy to passenger-carrying spacecraft. [9]

He reiterated these claims at conferences in the 2000s, forecasting satellite launches at a thousand-fold cost reduction and predicting that by 2020 laser-powered craft could fly passengers globally in under an hour. [7] [9] While his optimism drew skepticism from other aerospace engineers, he remained confident that falling laser costs and rising fuel prices would make the technology commercially viable. [3]

International collaborations

International collaborations expanded his work beyond the United States. [6] Beginning in the early 2000s, Myrabo joined Brazilian researchers in developing the Laser-Supported Directed Energy Air Spike (DEAS) concept, which used lasers to reduce drag on hypersonic test models. [6] In 2005, their joint experiments demonstrated measurable aerodynamic benefits in wind tunnels, and by 2011 the project involved both the Brazilian Air Force and the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory (AFOSR). [6] Reporting at the time described the program as part of a broader “Brazil–USA” beamed-energy cooperation. [6]

In 2010, the Journal of Propulsion and Power examined Myrabo's work, featuring commentary from the AFOSR, Los Alamos National Laboratory, and other academic facilities. [6]

Publications and partnerships

Myrabo summarized three decades of research in the 2009 book Lightcraft Flight Handbook, LTI-20, co-authored with John Lewis. [5] He argued that the field had reached the threshold of commercial feasibility as laser costs fell to a few dollars per watt, a benchmark long considered essential for practical beamed propulsion. [5] In addition to his faculty role at RPI, Myrabo founded Lightcraft Technologies, Inc., in Bennington, Vermont, to pursue experimental validation of beamed-energy flight. [5]

Later, Myrabo partnered with senior scientist Franklin Mead of the Air Force Research Laboratory's Propulsion Directorate at Edwards Air Force Base in California. [2] By the late 2000s, he had been active in laser propulsion research for more than two decades, presenting his work at international aerospace forums. [7] Wired noted that Myrabo considered jet propulsion outdated technology and was puzzled by the lack of excitement around laser-based propulsion. [7]

Professional leadership

In 2003, while based in Bennington, Vermont, Myrabo was elected the first president of the newly created International Society for Beamed Energy Propulsion (ISBEP), established to promote global collaboration on beamed power research and applications. [8] He described beamed energy propulsion as an emerging worldwide enterprise with the potential to transform both terrestrial transportation and access to space. [8]

His election followed years of laboratory and field work, including an October 2000 test at White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico, where a Lightcraft set a world altitude record on a column of laser light, which he presented as a validation of laser-propelled flight. [8] He argued that further progress required converting large lasers and microwave generators already in operation into shared-user facilities for propulsion experiments. [8]

He pointed to work at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center and proposed additional proof-of-concept efforts, such as using a small orbital laser platform to accelerate a vehicle in space. [8] He also stressed the need for improved flight control—likening it to the Wright brothers' innovations—as critical for reaching greater altitudes with power beaming. [8]

Myrabo argued that existing physics and technology could enable a step change in propulsion by moving beyond chemical fuels to much higher energy densities. [8] He predicted that future vehicles would surpass contemporary aerospace performance and eventually permit rapid global travel, routine orbit transfers, and transportation within the Earth–Moon system. [8]

Personal life and activities

As a teenager, Myrabo developed a lifelong interest in flying fixed-wing model airplanes. [1] He later expanded to quadcopter drones and first-person view remote flying, and as of 2016 was president of the Eagle’s Eye FPV Club at William H. Morse State Airport in Bennington. [1]

Affiliations and memberships

Myrabo is a member of the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA). [10] In 2021, the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association listed him as an active major in the Vermont Wing of the Civil Air Patrol (CAP). [11] He is also an officer in the Academy of Model Aeronautics (AMA) and has tested NIST drone and aerial robotics programs in his CAP role. [11]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 Therrien, Jim (2016-10-08). "Interest in drones surges in Bennington". VTDigger . Archived from the original on 2016-10-09.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Appell, David (1998-02-28). "High-power laser beam launches fuel-less craft". Laser Focus World . Archived from the original on 2024-09-15.
  3. 1 2 3 Sauser, Brittany (2009-08-05). "Riding an Energy Beam to Space". MIT Technology Review . Archived from the original on 2020-09-27.
  4. 1 2 3 David, Leonard (1998-01-10). "On wings of light – Tiny spacecraft are flying through the atmosphere on beams of laser light. Leonard David reports on the start of a new age of cleaner, cheaper space flight". New Scientist . Archived from the original on 2016-04-13.
  5. 1 2 3 4 David, Leonard (2009-07-29). "Laser Propulsion: Wild Idea May Finally Shine". Space.com . Archived from the original on 2011-01-24.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "The Drive: Blasting The Air In Front Of Hypersonic Vehicles With Lasers Could Unlock Unprecedented Speeds". Mackenzie Institute . 2020-09-26. Archived from the original on 2020-10-26.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Demerjian, Dave (2009-02-20). "Laser-Powered Aircraft Are The Future of Flight. Maybe". Wired . Archived from the original on 2014-08-03.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 David, Leonard (2003-11-26). "Beyond the bounds of gravity". NBC News . Archived from the original on 2020-12-02.
  9. 1 2 3 Greenmeier, Larry (2009-02-23). "Are laser-powered spacecraft just a shot in the dark?". Scientific American . Archived from the original on 2024-07-25.
  10. ↑ Therrien, Jim (2025-07-25). "Officials receive feedback from Morse Airport users, others". Manchester Journal . Archived from the original on 2025-09-05.
  11. 1 2 Moore, Jim (2021-07-01). "Thumbs Up: There's a way you can if your digits measure up". Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association . Archived from the original on 2021-06-09.
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