On a Possibility of Laser Beam Control in LOTV Mission by Means of Nonlinear and Coherent Optics Techniques

In the context of LOTV Mission (Laser Orbital Transfer Vehicle) the analysis of laser beam delivery efficiency has been carried out for power beaming with a 200‐kW‐solid‐state laser from an aircraft to a space “tugboat” having a beam receiving collector of 10‐meter‐size. Application of nonlinear‐optics and adaptive optics techniques of laser beam control for correction of optical distortions in the propagation path caused by vibration and thermal deformation of optical elements as well as by atmospheric turbulence is discussed. Possible architecture of laser beam transport systems including a laser beacon on the receiver, a repetitively pulsed solid‐state laser in MOPA‐PCM configuration and a beam director telescope of 1‐meter size is considered. The results of computer simulation of a MOPA‐PCM system as well as the system as a whole are presented. The requirements to optical elements of the system are discussed.