The study of theoretical and experimental feasibilities of the rocket fuel components ignition by laser radiation.

The report presents the theoretical and experimental results obtained during the first year of the ISTC project No. 1926. The energy and temporal characteristics of the laser radiation necessary to ignite the working components mixture in a rocket engine combustion chamber have been predicted. Two approaches have been studied: the optical gas fuel laser-induced breackdown; the laser-initiated plasma torch on target surface. The possibilities and conditions of the rocket fuel components ignition by a laser beam in the differently designed combustion chambers have been estimated and studied. The comparative analysis shows that both the optical spark and light focusing on target techniques can ignite the mixture.