Advanced Technologies for Laser Applications in Space

Objetivo

The main goal of this ERA Chair project proposal is to develop new capacities in the field of Space-borne Laser Research and Applications in the region of Central and Eastern Europe, namely at the Institute of Physics of the Czech Academy of Sciences (FZU) - HiLASE Centre, Czech Republic, by establishing an excellent international scientist, Professor of Space Systems Engineering Massimiliano Vasile, as an ERA Chair and a leader of new research programme on Advanced Technologies for Laser Applications in Space. The new research group will focus on areas of laser use for space sustainability. The new research group will focus on areas of laser use for space sustainability. By preparing specific research and applications strategy, roadmaps, feasibility studies and project proposals in the above-mentioned application area, the ATLAS project will cut across all the aspects of the ERA Chair in transferring knowledge. At the same time, the project will help to popularize Space-born Laser Research and Applications to broad public.

As the chosen research area cuts across two complex fields, laser science and space engineering, the Czech Republic’s scientific heritage in laser science, concentrated mainly at the HiLASE Centre, presents an unique opportunity for the development of laser space applications. The research at HiLASE focuses on the next generation of high-power diode pumped solid state lasers. HiLASE laser systems bring a unique combination of high pulse energy, high repetition rate and high efficiency; they are significantly more powerful, more compact, more stable, and more easily maintained than those driven by old-fashioned flash lamp technology. It all makes HiLASE the perfect engine for pushing even more the frontier of laser technology beyond its current limits while aiming for space-born lasers. The ATLAS project will therefore open new opportunities for HiLASE and the Czech Republic to play a leading role in the development of space laser technologies.