Vladimir N. Baboshin, RNTs «Applied Chemistry»

Aleksander B. Pavlov, RNTs «Applied Chemistry»

Valery P. Fokanov RNTs «Applied Chemistry»

Vyacheslav M. Andreev Ioffe Physical Technical Institute

Maxim Z. Shvartz Ioffe Physical Technical Institute

Leonid M. Vinogradskiy, RFNC-VNIIEF

Viktor A. Eroshenko, RFNC-VNIIEF

Victor A. Kargin, RFNC-VNIIEF

Sergey K. Sobolev RFNC-VNIIEF

Introduction. Lasers directly pumped by the solar light attract the uprising attention of the scientific community due to their possible implementation in those fields where energy supplies become extremely expensive. Solar pumped lasers can be implemented in the following endeavors:

• energy transmission between satellites, which can be specially useful for solution of energy problems associated with low-orbit space crafts, as well as energy transmission to the Earth;

• technological applications (cutting, welding) associated with production of big — size space-borne constructions;

• multiple tasks evolving monitoring of the Earth surface and atmosphere, specifically for weather forecasting and environmental studies;

• laser jets for inter-orbital travel of space-borne crafts featuring low consumption of operational substance and the admissible time of maneuvering (10 to 30 days);

• space communications.

The advantages of photo-dissociation iodine solar-pumped laser (PDISPL) can be referred from the following:

a. PDISPL is a gas laser, that is why its active medium does not feature such the indications of inhomogeneity as thermal lens and heterogeneous refraction, which are specific to the active medium of solid-state lasers as a result of pumping energy absorption.

b. The active medium of the gas laser does not feature such the restrictions as, for instance, the rods. That is why PDISPL can be provided with the big active medium volume with homogeneous gain.

c. Solar-pumped iodine laser can reach the diffraction limit of radiation divergence less than 5*10-6 rad (~1”).

d. The laser can operate at the low pumping level of -100 — 200 solar constants. In the previous laboratory studies the pumping flux approximated to ~ 1000 solar constants and higher, which is hardly applicable for the real space-borne laser.