Leik Myrabo

{{short description|American aerospace engineer}} {{Use mdy dates|date=November 2025}} {{Infobox scientist | name = Leik Myrabo | image = Leik Myrabo, 1984 (cropped).jpg | image_size = | caption = | birth_place = | birth_name = | birth_date = | death_date = | death_place = | thesis_title = | field = [[Mechanical engineering]], [[aerospace engineering]], [[nuclear engineering]] | education = [[Iowa State University]] ([[Bachelor of Arts|BA]]), [[University of California, San Diego]] ([[PhD]]) | thesis_year = 1976 | doctoral_students = | known_for = {{plainlist}} *[[Lightcraft]] *[[Laser propulsion]] *[[Field propulsion]] {{endplainlist}} | awards = | website = | workplaces = [[Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute]], [[NASA]], [[Air Force Research Laboratory]], [[White Sands Test Center]], [[Braddock Dunn & McDonald]] }} [[File:Dr. Myrabo’s Lightcraft Concept.png|thumb|[[Lightcraft]] concept design from 1989]] [[File:Lightcraft.png|thumb|Lightcraft operational illustration]] [[File:LIghtcraft White Sands Test Myrabo.png|thumb|Lightcraft tests at White Sands Missile Range]] [[File:Lightcraft.jpg|thumb|Lightcraft being propelled by laser]]

'''Leik N. Myrabo''' is an American [[aerospace engineer]] known for research on [[Beam-powered propulsion|beamed-energy propulsion]] and for proposing and developing the [[lightcraft]], a laser-propelled flight vehicle concept.{{efn|name=Myrabo1}} He was an associate professor of aerospace, [[mechanical engineering|mechanical]], and [[nuclear engineering]] at [[Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute]], where he and collaborators conducted experimental lightcraft launches at the [[White Sands Missile Range]] High Energy Laser System Test Facility ([[White Sands Missile Range#High Energy Laser Systems Test Facility|HELSTF]]). He collaborated on hypersonic [[aerodynamics]] research with the [[Brazilian Air Force]] and the [[U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory]], and promoted [[Space-based solar power|space-based solar power]] and power-beaming concepts for [[Space launch|space launch]] and high-speed travel.

==Academic career== Myrabo attended [[Iowa State University]], where he studied [[aerospace engineering]].<ref name="Myrabo RPI page" /><ref name="Myrabo SCJ 1963-05-25" /> In 1963, while a student, he was invited to join a research program at [[McDonnell Aircraft Corporation]].<ref name="Myrabo SCJ 1963-05-25" /> Myrabo achieved a [[PhD]] in [[engineering physics]] from the [[University of California, San Diego]] in 1976.<ref name="Myrabo RPI page" /> Prior to beginning his academic career, Myrabo worked for a time in the private [[aerospace industry]], including [[Braddock Dunn & McDonald]] (later [[TRW Inc.]] and [[Northrop Grumman]]).<ref name="Myrabo RPI page" /> He was an associate professor of aerospace, mechanical and nuclear engineering<ref name="Myrabo RPI Faculty 2008-2009" /><ref name="Walton CNN May 1998" /> at [[Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute]] (RPI) from 1983 to his retirement.<ref name="Therrien Myrabo 2016-10-08" /><ref name="David Myrabo 1998-01-10" /> 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]]''.<ref name="Appell Myrabo 1998-02-28" /> He originated the Lightcraft research program at RPI.<ref name="Appell Myrabo 1998-02-28" /> Myrabo's professorship encompassed three engineering fields: in addition to aerospace, he also taught [[mechanical engineering|mechanical]] and [[nuclear engineering]] until his retirement.<ref name="Sauser 2009-08-05" />

==Lightcraft research and propulsion concepts== [[Laser propulsion]] was developed through the 1970s in early proposals and subsequent practical work, including that of [[Arthur Kantrowitz]], [[Alexander Prokhorov]], and F.V. Bunkin.<ref name="Pigulevski 2016" /> Myrabo's [[lightcraft]] concept, initially conceived in the 1960s,<ref name="FWST Myrabo 2004-12-02" /> was later developed and tested at White Sands Missile Range.{{efn|name=Myrabo1|Laser propulsion research predates Myrabo. A review in ''New Space'' traces laser propulsion to 1970s work by Kantrowitz and by Bunkin and Prokhorov, and describes later experiments launching the LightCraft designed by Myrabo and John Lewis as drawing attention. ''Laser Focus World'' describes the Lightcraft vehicle as proposed and developed by Myrabo. CNN reported that Lightcraft were "limited to paper studies" until roughly the mid-1990s, when Myrabo and Air Force scientist Franklin Mead began testing it. The ''South African Journal of Science'' describes Myrabo's lightcraft programme as "extending laser propulsion outside the laboratory". A 2025 review in ''Aerospace'' states that Myrabo proposed light-powered flight in 1983 and that Lightcraft Technologies Incorporated validated the concept by October 2000.<ref name="Michaelis Forbes 2006" />{{rp|289}}<ref name="Pigulevski 2016" /><ref name="Appell Myrabo 1998-02-28" /><ref name="Walton CNN May 1998" /><ref name="Li et al Lasers 2025" />}} In 1983, a [[NASA]]-sponsored study authored by Myrabo at the [[Braddock Dunn & McDonald|BDM Corporation]] outlined his propulsion concept, which proposed using beams to [[ionize]] air in front of a vehicle to generate [[thrust]].<ref name="TWZ Myrabo 2020-11-27" /><ref name="Li et al Lasers 2025" /> According to the [[German Aerospace Center]] (DLR), the technical term lightcraft is associated with Myrabo's Lightcraft Technology Demonstrator.<ref name="Scharring Eckel 2014" />{{rp|4}}

Prior to 1988, much of Myrabo's Lightcraft research was "limited to paper studies", according to [[CNN]].<ref name="Walton CNN May 1998" /> ''[[Wired (magazine)|Wired]]'' reported that he first developed the technologies that became Lightcraft in 1988.<ref name="Demerjian Myrabo 2009-02-20" /><ref name="Walton CNN May 1998" /> At the time, he was working on the [[Strategic Defense Initiative|"Star Wars" missile defense]] initiative under the [[Ballistic Missile Defense Organization]].<ref name="Demerjian Myrabo 2009-02-20" /><ref name="Walton CNN May 1998" /> Myrabo was identified in 2008 at the [[AIP Conference Proceedings]] as having "initiated" the concept of "repetitively pulsed laser propulsion".<ref name="Birkan 2008-04-28" /> ''[[Ad Astra (magazine)|Ad Astra]]'' in 2010 identified Myrabo as the "lead researcher" and [[United States patent law|patent]] holder of the technologies.<ref name="Ad Astra Myrabo 2003" />{{rp|39}} In 2025, the journal ''Aerospace'' wrote that Myrabo had validated the Lightcraft concept by October 2000.<ref name="Li et al Lasers 2025" />

According to ''Aerospace'', Myrabo's team used a [[carbon dioxide]] laser with a pulse-average power of 10 kW, propelling a lightcraft to a height of 71 m over 13 s.<ref name="Li et al Lasers 2025" /> ''Ad Astra'' described the design as using a ground-based laser focused at the underside of the craft into an "absorption chamber".<ref name="Ad Astra Myrabo 2003" />{{rp|39}} It reported that, as described there, the surrounding air transitions to a [[Plasma (physics)|plasma]] state at temperatures of between 18,000 and 54,000 °F, producing thrust.<ref name="Ad Astra Myrabo 2003" />{{rp|39}} In the same article, the craft's projected performance was described as potentially difficult to track using existing [[remote sensing]] if built at full speed in space.<ref name="Ad Astra Myrabo 2003" />{{rp|39}} The article also relayed a claim attributed there to the [[National Space Society]] that lightcraft might reach up to 10% of the [[speed of light]].<ref name="Ad Astra Myrabo 2003" />{{rp|39}}

===Lightcraft development=== Lightcraft use a type of [[beam-powered propulsion]].<ref name="Myrabo AIAA 2001">{{cite conference | last=Myrabo | first=Leik N. | title=World record flights of beam-riding rocket lightcraft: Demonstration of "disruptive" propulsion technology | conference=37th AIAA/ASME/SAE/ASEE Joint Propulsion Conference and Exhibit | date=July 8–11, 2001 | location=Salt Lake City, Utah | publisher=[[American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics]] | id=AIAA 2001-3798 | doi=10.2514/6.2001-3798 | url=https://ayuba.fr/pdf/myrabo2001a.pdf | access-date=October 23, 2025|quote=LTI defines a Lightcraft as any flight platform, airborne vehicle, or spacecraft designed for propulsion by a beam of light - be it microwave or laser.}}</ref> Myrabo's original definition of lightcraft treats it as any flight platform, airborne vehicle, or spacecraft propelled by a beam of light, including microwave or laser.<ref name="Scharring Eckel 2014" />{{rp|4}} 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 [[Wireless power transfer#Power beaming|beamed microwave propulsion]].<ref name="TWZ Myrabo 2020-11-27" /> He researched the project through the first successful launch in 1997, and participated in more than 140 test flights with various prototypes.<ref name="Demerjian Myrabo 2009-02-20" /> Some of Myrabo's research was conducted at the [[Naval Research Laboratory]].<ref name="PM Myrabo 1995" />{{rp|44}}

During this period, Myrabo began experimental work at the [[White Sands Missile Range#High Energy Laser Systems Test Facility|High Energy Laser System Test Facility]] (HELSTF) at White Sands Missile Range and [[White Sands Test Center]]<ref name="David Myrabo 1998-01-10" />, where, in collaboration with the [[U.S. Air Force]], he conducted his first outdoor Lightcraft flights.<ref name="David Myrabo 1998-01-10" /> Between 1996 and 2000, prototypes powered by pulsed [[carbon dioxide laser|carbon dioxide lasers]] reached altitudes of up to 233 feet, milestones that Myrabo compared to the modest early rockets of [[Robert H. Goddard]].<ref name="David Myrabo 1998-01-10" /><ref name="Sauser 2009-08-05" /> Speaking with CNN, Myrabo compared his early Lightcraft research to the level of Goddard's own progress through 1926.<ref name="Walton CNN May 1998" /> Science writer Paul Gilster of [[The Planetary Society]] detailed several of Myrabo's experiments and tests of Lightcraft and related research during this period.<ref name="Gilster 2016-06-24" />

In 1998, the [[NASA John H. Glenn Research Center at Lewis Field]] asked Myrabo to work on development of Lightcraft with a then $50,000/year USD research grant.<ref name="SIA Myrabo 1998-04-01" /> In addition, the [[Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory]] granted Myrabo and a team a $1,000,000 USD program to also develop the program.<ref name="SIA Myrabo 1998-04-01" /> The ''[[Associated Press]]'' reported that Myrabo's research was also funded by the [[Strategic Defense Initiative]], known at the time as the ''[[Star Wars]]'' program.<ref name="PS Myrabo 1990-02-05" /> Over time, Myrabo and his partners carried out more than 140 small-scale test flights.<ref name="Demerjian Myrabo 2009-02-20" /> According to CNN, he first conceived of the technical implementation around 1988, and in 1998 described the Lightcraft research team as composed of Myrabo, [[Franklin Mead]], HELSTF laser technicians, and RPI students.<ref name="Walton CNN May 1998" /> Tests at White Sands used a 20-hertz, 9-kilowatt carbon dioxide laser, with flights reaching altitudes of 75 feet in three seconds.<ref name="Appell Myrabo 1998-02-28" />

Myrabo was later involved in further laser propulsion research at [[Marshall Space Flight Center]].<ref name="David Myrabo 2003-11-26" /> According to Roger Luiden in 1998, a planning consultant at the Glenn Research Center, NASA became interested in Myrabo's ideas due to future concerns about fuel availability for spacecraft propulsion.<ref name="SIA Myrabo 1998-04-01" /> An original goal of Myrabo's Lightcraft designs was to boost spacecraft unburdened by the weight of [[propellant]] fuels.<ref name="PM Myrabo 1995" /> In 2000, Luiden told the ''Associated Press'' that Myrabo's program has "got the potential, but it isn't been proven yet."<ref name="PS Myrabo 1990-02-05" /> Gregory Pope, the science and technology editor of ''[[Popular Mechanics]]'', described Myrabo as belonging to a class of engineers who "perch outside the envelope and stir up trouble."<ref name="PM Myrabo 1995" />{{rp|44}} The DLR's Institute of Technical Physics cites Myrabo's experiments at the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory and a world-record Lightcraft flight as part of the backdrop for DLR taking up laser lightcraft research.<ref name="Scharring Eckel 2014" />{{rp|2}}

===Advocacy and predictions=== Myrabo coupled this experimental program with advocacy efforts for Lightcraft.<ref name="Greenmeier Myrabo 2009-02-23" /> He discussed variants of the lightcraft concept with ''[[Popular Mechanics]]'' in 1995, including the notion of using pulsed microwave beams from satellites to reduce drag on and propel lightcraft.<ref name="TWZ Myrabo 2020-11-27" /> 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.<ref name="Greenmeier Myrabo 2009-02-23" />

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.<ref name="Demerjian Myrabo 2009-02-20" /><ref name="Greenmeier Myrabo 2009-02-23" /> 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.<ref name="Sauser 2009-08-05" /> Myrabo argued that the field had reached the threshold of commercial feasibility as laser costs fell to a few dollars per watt.<ref name="David Myrabo 2009-07-29" />

===International collaborations=== International collaborations expanded his work beyond the [[United States]].<ref name="TWZ Myrabo 2020-11-27" /> [[Yuri Raizer]] of the [[Russian Academy of Sciences]] worked with Myrabo on his Lightcraft.<ref name="PM Myrabo 1995" />{{rp|44}} Beginning in the early 2000s, Myrabo joined [[Brazil|Brazilian]] researchers in developing the [[Directed-energy weapon|Laser-Supported Directed Energy Air Spike]] (DEAS) concept, which used lasers to reduce drag on hypersonic test models.<ref name="TWZ Myrabo 2020-11-27" /> 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).<ref name="TWZ Myrabo 2020-11-27" /> Reporting at the time described the program as part of a broader "Brazil–USA" beamed-energy cooperation.<ref name="TWZ Myrabo 2020-11-27" />

The [[Space Studies Institute]] in [[Princeton, New Jersey]], also funded the Lightcraft program, and had Myrabo and Raizer study the option of using [[microwave energy]] for Lightcraft rather than laser-based propulsion.<ref name="PM Myrabo 1995" />{{rp|44}} 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.<ref name="TWZ Myrabo 2020-11-27" /> Myrabo collaborated with students of [[Umeå University]]'s [[Umeå Institute of Design|Institute of Design]] to develop a video for the [[BBC]]'s television program ''[[Wallace & Gromit's World of Invention]]'', explaining how a lightcraft could fly from [[Umeå]] in [[Sweden]] to [[Hong Kong]] in [[China]].<ref name="Umeå Myrabo 2010-12-08" />

===Publications and partnerships=== Myrabo summarized three decades of research in the 2009 book ''Lightcraft Flight Handbook, LTI-20'', co-authored with John Lewis.<ref name="David Myrabo 2009-07-29" /> In addition to his faculty role at RPI, Myrabo founded Lightcraft Technologies, Inc., in [[Bennington, Vermont]], to pursue experimental validation of beamed-energy flight.<ref name="Li et al Lasers 2025" /><ref name="David Myrabo 2009-07-29" /> Myrabo and Lightcraft Technologies hold the [[Guinness World Record]] for laser powered altitude, achieved on October 2, 2000.<ref name="Guinness Lightcraft" />

Later, Myrabo partnered with senior scientist Franklin Mead of the [[Air Force Research Laboratory]]'s Propulsion Directorate at [[Edwards Air Force Base]] in [[California]].<ref name="Appell Myrabo 1998-02-28" /> By the late 2000s, he had been active in laser propulsion research for more than two decades, presenting his work at international aerospace forums.<ref name="Demerjian Myrabo 2009-02-20" /> ''Wired'' noted that Myrabo considered [[jet propulsion]] outdated technology and was puzzled by the lack of excitement around laser-based propulsion.<ref name="Demerjian Myrabo 2009-02-20" />

==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 [[Wireless power transfer#Power beaming|beamed power]] research and applications.<ref name="David Myrabo 2003-11-26" /> He described beamed energy propulsion as an emerging worldwide enterprise with the potential to transform both terrestrial transportation and access to space.<ref name="David Myrabo 2003-11-26" />

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 an altitude record on a column of laser light, which he presented as a validation of laser-propelled flight.<ref name="David Myrabo 2003-11-26" /> He argued that further progress required converting large lasers and [[microwave]] generators already in operation into shared-user facilities for propulsion experiments.<ref name="David Myrabo 2003-11-26" />

He pointed to work at [[Marshall Space Flight Center|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.<ref name="David Myrabo 2003-11-26" /> 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.<ref name="David Myrabo 2003-11-26" />

Myrabo argued that existing physics and technology could enable a step change in propulsion by moving beyond [[Liquid rocket propellant|chemical fuels]] to much higher energy densities.<ref name="David Myrabo 2003-11-26" /> He predicted that future vehicles would surpass contemporary [[Aircraft performance|aerospace performance]] and eventually permit rapid global travel, routine orbit transfers, and transportation within the [[Moon|Earth–Moon]] system.<ref name="David Myrabo 2003-11-26" />

==Personal life and activities== [[Sioux City Symphony]] conductor Leo Kucinski was Myrabo's stepfather, and his mother was Irene Myrabo Kucinski.<ref name="Sioux 1998-02-10" /> Myrabo is married to Christie, an environmental biologist.<ref name="LA Times 1983-10-14" /> As a teenager, Myrabo developed a lifelong interest in flying [[Fixed-wing aircraft|fixed-wing]] [[model airplanes]].<ref name="Therrien Myrabo 2016-10-08" /> He later expanded to [[quadcopter]] drones and [[First-person view (radio control)|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]].<ref name="Therrien Myrabo 2016-10-08" />

Through the 1980s, Myrabo and his family ran Wind Mist Farm, developed with staff and students from the [[Massachusetts Institute of Technology]] and [[Harvard University]] to operate with a [[passive solar building design]].<ref name="LA Times 1983-10-14" /> The Myrabos ultimately sold the farm when their careers relocated to Washington, D.C.<ref name="LA Times 1983-10-14" /> Myrabo served as co-chair of the Whipstock Hill Preservation Society in Bennington.<ref name="Whipstock 1994-12-31" />

==Affiliations and memberships== Myrabo is a member of the [[Experimental Aircraft Association]] (EAA).<ref name="Therrien Myrabo 2025-07-25" /> In 2021, the [[Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association]] listed him as an active major in the [[Civil Air Patrol#Vermont Wing|Vermont Wing of the Civil Air Patrol]] (CAP).<ref name="Moore Myrabo 2021-07-01" /> He is also an officer in the [[Academy of Model Aeronautics]] (AMA) and has tested [[National Institute of Standards and Technology|NIST]] drone and aerial robotics programs in his CAP role.<ref name="Moore Myrabo 2021-07-01" />

==Selected publications== ===Books=== * Myrabo, Leik N.; Ing, Dean (1985). ''The Future of Flight''. New York: Bean Enterprises.<ref name="Scharring Eckel 2014" />{{rp|16}} * Myrabo, Leik N.; [[John S. Lewis|Lewis, John]] (2009). ''Lightcraft Flight Handbook, LTI-20''. Bennington, Vermont: Lightcraft Technologies, Inc.

===Conference proceedings=== * Myrabo, Leik N. (2001). "World Record Flights of Beam-Riding Rocket Lightcraft: Demonstration of Disruptive Propulsion Technology". ''37th AIAA/ASME/SAE/ASEE Joint Propulsion Conference and Exhibit''. [[American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics]] * Kenoyer, David A.; Salvador, Ignacio I.; Myrabo, Leik N. (2011). "Beam-Riding Behavior of Lightcraft Engines with ≈ 1 μs Pulsed TEA CO₂ Laser". ''[[AIP Conference Proceedings]]''. <ref name="Scharring Eckel 2014" />{{rp|16}}

===Journal articles=== * Wang, T.-S.; Chen, Y.-S.; Liu, J.; Myrabo, Leik N.; Mead, Franklin B. Jr. (2002). "Advanced Performance Modeling of Experimental Laser Lightcraft". ''[[Journal of Propulsion and Power]]''. 18: 1129–1138. <ref name="Scharring Eckel 2014" />{{rp|16}}

===Technical reports and contractor studies=== * Myrabo, Leik N. (1983). ''Advanced Beamed-Energy and Field Propulsion Concepts''. NASA Contractor Report NASA-CR-176108. Braddock Dunn & McDonald Corporation for the [[Jet Propulsion Laboratory]].

==Filmography== * ''Future Flight'', (1987), advisor for space flight * ''[[Future Fantastic]]'' (1996), self * ''Rocketships'' (1998), self - Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute * ''[[Wallace & Gromit's World of Invention]]'' (2010), self - Lightcraft Scientist (as Dr Leik Myrabo)

==See also== * [[Field propulsion]] * [[Spacecraft propulsion]]

==Notes== {{notelist}}

==References== {{Reflist|2|refs=

<ref name="Ad Astra Myrabo 2003">{{Cite magazine|date=2003|title=The New Etiquette of Propulsion|last1=Baker|first1=Meg|authorlink1=|url=https://nss.org/wp-content/uploads/Ad-Astra-Magazine-2003-Sep-Oct-Nov.pdf|url-status=live|website=[[Ad Astra (magazine)|Ad Astra]] |volume=15|number=3|publisher=[[National Space Society]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20260207202959/https://nss.org/wp-content/uploads/Ad-Astra-Magazine-2003-Sep-Oct-Nov.pdf|archive-date=2026-02-07|page=39}}</ref>

<ref name="Appell Myrabo 1998-02-28">{{Cite web|date=February 28, 1998|title=High-power laser beam launches fuel-less craft|last1=Appell|first1=David|url=https://www.laserfocusworld.com/lasers-sources/article/16547598/high-power-laser-beam-launches-fuel-less-craft|url-status=live|website=[[Laser Focus World]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240915100156/https://www.laserfocusworld.com/lasers-sources/article/16547598/high-power-laser-beam-launches-fuel-less-craft|archive-date=September 15, 2024}}</ref>

<ref name="Birkan 2008-04-28">{{cite conference | last=Birkan | first=Mitat | title=AIP Conference Proceedings | chapter=Beamed Energy Propulsion: Research Status And Needs—Part 1 | series=[[AIP Conference Proceedings]] | volume=997 | issue=1 | pages=3–16 | date=2008-04-28 | publisher=[[American Institute of Physics]] | doi=10.1063/1.2931910 | chapter-url=https://pubs.aip.org/aip/acp/article/997/1/3/564913/Beamed-Energy-Propulsion-Research-Status-And-Needs | quote=Currently AFOSR has been funding the concept initiated by Leik Myrabo, repetitively pulsed laser propulsion, which has been universally perceived, arguably, to be the closest for mid-term applications. | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20260206172852/https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2008AIPC..997....3B/abstract | archive-date=2026-02-06| chapter-url-access=subscription }}</ref>

<ref name="David Myrabo 1998-01-10">{{Cite web|date=January 10, 1998|title=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|last1=David|first1=Leonard|url=https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg15721164-800-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/|url-status=live|website=[[New Scientist]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160413062812/https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg15721164-800-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/|archive-date=April 13, 2016}}</ref>

<ref name="David Myrabo 2003-11-26">{{Cite web|date=November 26, 2003|title=Beyond the bounds of gravity|last1=David|first1=Leonard|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna3607020|url-status=live|website=[[NBC News]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201202012224/https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna3607020|archive-date=December 2, 2020}}</ref>

<ref name="David Myrabo 2009-07-29">{{Cite web|date=July 29, 2009|title=Laser Propulsion: Wild Idea May Finally Shine|last1=David|first1=Leonard|url=https://www.space.com/7067-laser-propulsion-wild-idea-finally-shine.html|url-status=live|website=[[Space.com]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110124225243/https://www.space.com/7067-laser-propulsion-wild-idea-finally-shine.html|archive-date=January 24, 2011}}</ref>

<ref name="Demerjian Myrabo 2009-02-20">{{Cite magazine|date=February 20, 2009|title=Laser-Powered Aircraft Are The Future of Flight. Maybe|last1=Demerjian|first1=Dave|url=https://www.wired.com/2009/02/beamed-energy-i/|url-status=live|magazine=[[Wired (magazine)|Wired]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140803034321/https://www.wired.com/2009/02/beamed-energy-i/|archive-date=August 3, 2014}}</ref>

<ref name="FWST Myrabo 2004-12-02">{{Cite web|date=2004-12-02|title=Lasers could someday beam you up, up--and away|last1=Aaron|first1=Kenneth|authorlink1=|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/649640485/?terms=Myrabo&match=1|url-status=live|website=[[Fort Worth Star-Telegram]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20260204164355/https://www.newspapers.com/image/649640485/?terms=Myrabo&match=1|archive-date=2026-02-04|quote='People probably thought we were a little kooky back then,' Myrabo said of his origins in the field. He got the idea in the 1960s and spent several years doing consulting work for President Reagan's 'Star Wars' anti-missile defense project.}}</ref>

<ref name="Gilster 2016-06-24">{{Cite web|date=2016-06-24|title=A Photon Beam Propulsion Timeline|last1=Gilster|first1=Paul|authorlink1=|url=https://www.centauri-dreams.org/2016/06/24/a-photon-beam-propulsion-timeline/|url-status=live|website=Centauri Dreams|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190921024957/https://www.centauri-dreams.org/2016/06/24/a-photon-beam-propulsion-timeline/|archive-date=2019-09-21}}</ref>

<ref name="Greenmeier Myrabo 2009-02-23">{{Cite web|date=February 23, 2009|title=Are laser-powered spacecraft just a shot in the dark?|last1=Greenmeier|first1=Larry|url=https://www.scientificamerican.com/blog/news-blog/are-laser-powered-spacecraft-just-a-2009-02-23/|url-status=live|website=[[Scientific American]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240725133254/https://www.scientificamerican.com/blog/news-blog/are-laser-powered-spacecraft-just-a-2009-02-23/|archive-date=July 25, 2024}}</ref>

<ref name="Guinness Lightcraft">{{Cite web|date=2000-10-02|title=Laser powered altitude record|last1=|first1=|url=https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/laser-powered-altitude-record|url-status=live|website=[[Guinness World Records]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250709211121/https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/laser-powered-altitude-record|archive-date=2025-07-09}}</ref>

<ref name="LA Times 1983-10-14">{{Cite web|date=1983-10-14|title=Dream House Can Become Reality|last1=Mula|first1=Rose|authorlink1=|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/633585560/?match=1&terms=Leik%20Myrabo|url-status=live|website=[[Christian Science Monitor]], [[Los Angeles Times]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20260204154752/https://www.newspapers.com/image/633585560/?match=1&terms=Leik%20Myrabo|archive-date=2026-02-04}}</ref>

<ref name="Li et al Lasers 2025">{{cite journal |last1=Li |first1=Sai |last2=Du |first2=Baosheng |last3=Cui |first3=Qianqian |last4=Ye |first4=Jifei |last5=Cui |first5=Haichao |last6=Gao |first6=Heyan |last7=Wang |first7=Ying |last8=Zheng |first8=Yongzan |last9=Han |first9=Jianhui |title=A Review on Liquid Pulsed Laser Propulsion |journal=Aerospace |year=2025 |volume=12 |issue=7 |article-number=604 |publisher=MDPI |doi=10.3390/aerospace12070604 |doi-access=free |pages=2,24|bibcode=2025Aeros..12..604L |quote=In 1983, Professor Myrabo of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute proposed the concept of light-powered flight [7]. By October 2000, Lightcraft Technologies Incorporated, founded by Myrabo, validated this concept. Using a CO2 laser with a pulse average power of 10 kW, the team launched a lightcraft with a 12.2 cm diameter and 50.6 g weight at White Sands Missile Range. The craft reached a height of 71 m and flew for 13 s [8]. This experiment highlighted PLP’s potential as a promising propulsion technology with many advantages over conventional methods [9,10].}}</ref>

<ref name="Michaelis Forbes 2006">{{cite journal |last1=Michaelis |first1=Max M. |last2=Forbes |first2=Andrew |title=Laser propulsion: a review |journal=[[South African Journal of Science]] |volume=102 |issue=7–8 |date=July 2006 |pages=289–295 |url=https://researchspace.csir.co.za/server/api/core/bitstreams/f95c4b50-45e4-42f8-96d1-3f9461a0b12a/content|access-date=2026-02-06|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250822102958/https://researchspace.csir.co.za/server/api/core/bitstreams/f95c4b50-45e4-42f8-96d1-3f9461a0b12a/content|archive-date=2025-08-22|quote=Myrabo’s well-publicized ‘lightcraft’ programme has extended laser propulsion to the world outside the laboratory as have recently developed laser micro-thrusters. In this first section, we review the somewhat utopian early proposals of Saenger, Marx and Forward. This is followed by the more down-to-earth work of Moeckel and Kantrowitz.}}</ref>

<ref name="Moore Myrabo 2021-07-01">{{Cite web|date=July 1, 2021|title=Thumbs Up: There's a way you can if your digits measure up|last1=Moore|first1=Jim|url=https://aopa.org/news-and-media/all-news/2021/july/pilot/thumbs-up|url-status=live|website=[[Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210609174844/https://aopa.org/news-and-media/all-news/2021/july/pilot/thumbs-up|archive-date=June 9, 2021}}</ref>

<ref name="Myrabo SCJ 1963-05-25">{{Cite web|date=1963-05-25|title=I.S.U. Aerospace Students in Program|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/531792745/?match=1&terms=%22Leik%20Myrabo%22|url-status=live|website=[[Sioux City Journal]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20260204170128/https://www.newspapers.com/image/531792745/?match=1&terms=%22Leik%20Myrabo%22|archive-date=2026-02-04}}</ref>

<ref name="Myrabo RPI page">{{Cite web|title=Leik N. Myrabo, Associate Professor, Jonsson Engineering Center|last1=|first1=|url=http://www.rpi.edu/dept/mane/deptweb/faculty/member/myrabo.html|url-status=dead|website=[[Jonsson Engineering Center]], [[Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20011126214512/http://www.rpi.edu/dept/mane/deptweb/faculty/member/myrabo.html|archive-date=2001-11-26}}</ref>

<ref name="Myrabo RPI Faculty 2008-2009">{{Cite web|date=2008–2009|title=The Faculty|last1=|first1=|url=https://catalog.rpi.edu/content.php?catoid=5&navoid=114&returnto=portfolio&in_portfolio=1&print|url-status=live|website=[[Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute]]|quote=Myrabo, Leik N. Associate Professor of Mechanical, Aerospace, and Nuclear Engineering; Ph.D. (University of California, San Diego).|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20260208192223/https://catalog.rpi.edu/content.php?catoid=5&navoid=114&returnto=portfolio&in_portfolio=1&print|archive-date=2026-02-08}}</ref>

<ref name="Pigulevski 2016">{{cite journal | last1=Pigulevski| first1=Iouri | year=2016 | title=Laser Propulsion Market-Creating Innovation | journal=New Space | volume=4 | issue=2 | pages=123–128 | doi=10.1089/space.2015.0034 | quote=History of laser propulsion (LP) starts in the 1970s with the pioneering works of Kantrowitz and Bunkin and Prokhorov. The International Symposia on the Beamed Energy Propulsion held regularly since 2002 contributed a lot to the scientific advances in the various aspects of LP. Various prototypes of laser propulsion engines (LPEs) were developed since then. Notably, in 2002–2006, the experiments of launching the LightCraft designed by Myrabo and Lewis by means of the pulse-periodic CO2 laser grabbed attention of the scientific community and general public.| doi-access=free | bibcode=2016NewSp...4..123P }}</ref>

<ref name="PM Myrabo 1995">{{Cite web|date=September 1995|title=Fly By Microwaves|last1=Pope|first1=Gregory T.|authorlink1=|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_2MEAAAAMBAJ&dq=%22Leik+Myrabo%22&pg=PA44|url-status=live|website=[[Popular Mechanics]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20260204180905/https://books.google.com/books?id=_2MEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA44&dq=%22Leik+Myrabo%22&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiZuKfjtsCSAxWvHTQIHTfFI7IQ6AF6BAgIEAM#v=onepage&q=%22Leik%20Myrabo%22&f=false|archive-date=2026-02-04|pages=44–45}}</ref>

<ref name="PS Myrabo 1990-02-05">{{Cite web|date=1990-02-05|title=Researcher makes light of promise to fly us to the moon|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/257735456/?match=1&terms=Leik%20Myrabo|url-status=live|website=[[Press & Sun-Bulletin]], [[Associated Press]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20260204161754/https://www.newspapers.com/image/257735456/?match=1&terms=Leik%20Myrabo|archive-date=2026-02-04}}</ref>

<ref name="Sauser 2009-08-05">{{Cite web|date=August 5, 2009|title=Riding an Energy Beam to Space|last1=Sauser|first1=Brittany|url=https://www.technologyreview.com/2009/08/05/211139/riding-an-energy-beam-to-space/|url-status=live|website=[[MIT Technology Review]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200927124458/https://www.technologyreview.com/2009/08/05/211139/riding-an-energy-beam-to-space/|archive-date=September 27, 2020}}</ref>

<ref name="Scharring Eckel 2014">{{cite conference |last1=Scharring |first1=Stefan |last2=Eckel |first2=Hans-Albert |title=Review On Laser Lightcraft Research At DLR Stuttgart |conference=HPLA/BEP 2014 (International Symposium on High Power Laser Ablation / Beamed Energy Propulsion) |location=Santa Fe, New Mexico, United States |date=22 April 2014 |publisher=[[German Aerospace Center]] (DLR), Institute of Technical Physics |url=https://elib.dlr.de/89089/1/Scharring_Review_Lightcraft_DLR_Stuttgart.pdf |website=DLR eLib | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220526054015/https://elib.dlr.de/89089/1/Scharring_Review_Lightcraft_DLR_Stuttgart.pdf | archive-date=2022-05-26}}</ref>

<ref name="SIA Myrabo 1998-04-01">{{Cite web|date=1998-04-01|title=Scientist's dream for space users 'beamed' energy|last1=Bauder|first1=David|authorlink1=|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/1117354617/?match=1&terms=Leik%20Myrabo|url-status=live|website=[[Staten Island Advance]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20260204160350/https://www.newspapers.com/image/1117354617/?match=1&terms=Leik%20Myrabo|archive-date=2026-02-04}}</ref>

<ref name="Sioux 1998-02-10">{{Cite web|date=1998-02-10|title=Rites Today for Sioux City 'Music Man'|last1=Patterson|first1=Mike|authorlink1=|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/892509788/?terms=Myrabo&match=1|url-status=live|website=[[Omaha World Herald]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20260204163533/https://www.newspapers.com/image/892509788/?terms=Myrabo&match=1|archive-date=2026-02-04}}</ref>

<ref name="Therrien Myrabo 2016-10-08">{{Cite web|date=October 8, 2016|title=Interest in drones surges in Bennington|last1=Therrien|first1=Jim|url=https://vtdigger.org/2016/10/08/interest-drones-surges-bennington/|url-status=live|website=[[VTDigger]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161009153825/https://vtdigger.org/2016/10/08/interest-drones-surges-bennington/|archive-date=October 9, 2016}}</ref>

<ref name="Therrien Myrabo 2025-07-25">{{Cite web|date=July 25, 2025|title=Officials receive feedback from Morse Airport users, others|last1=Therrien|first1=Jim|url=https://www.manchesterjournal.com/local-news/officials-receive-feedback-from-morse-airport-users-others/article_066b2ade-9e52-4a2c-9ca5-1614dbcba3f6.html|url-status=live|website=[[Manchester Journal]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250905170229/https://www.manchesterjournal.com/local-news/officials-receive-feedback-from-morse-airport-users-others/article_066b2ade-9e52-4a2c-9ca5-1614dbcba3f6.html|archive-date=September 5, 2025}}</ref>

<ref name="TWZ Myrabo 2020-11-27">{{Cite web|date=2020-11-27|orig-date=2020-09-24 |title=Blasting The Air In Front Of Hypersonic Vehicles With Lasers Could Unlock Unprecedented Speeds |last1=Tingley|first1=Brett|authorlink1=|url=https://www.twz.com/33859/blasting-the-air-in-front-of-hypersonic-vehicles-with-lasers-could-unlock-unprecedented-speeds|url-status=live|website=The War Zone|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201031192726/https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/33859/blasting-the-air-in-front-of-hypersonic-vehicles-with-lasers-could-unlock-unprecedented-speeds|archive-date=2020-10-31}}</ref>

<ref name="Umeå Myrabo 2010-12-08">{{Cite web|date=2010-12-08|title=Video made by design students in Wallace & Gromit's World of Invention|last1=|editor=Karin Wikman|url=https://www.umu.se/en/news/video-made-by-design-students-in-wallace--gromits-world-of-invention_5834315/|url-status=live|website=[[Umeå University]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220702233735/https://www.umu.se/en/news/video-made-by-design-students-in-wallace--gromits-world-of-invention_5834315/|archive-date=2022-07-02}}</ref>

<ref name="Walton CNN May 1998">{{Cite web|date=May 1998|title=Beam me up? "Star Wars" lasers could make light work of launching future satellites |last1=Walton|first1=Andy|authorlink1=|url=http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/cold.war/experience/the.bomb/route/04.white.sands/|url-status=dead|website=[[CNN]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20000823062304/http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/cold.war/experience/the.bomb/route/04.white.sands/|archive-date=2000-08-23|quote=Myrabo, an aerospace engineering professor at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) of Troy, New York, first had the idea for the Lightcraft 10 years ago. Developed as part of "Star Wars" anti-missile research, Lightcraft were limited to paper studies until about four years ago, when Myrabo and Air Force scientist Franklin Mead began trying it out.}}</ref>

<ref name="Whipstock 1994-12-31">{{Cite web|date=1994-12-31|title=Wetlands to be mapped|last1=Kelly|first1=Matt|authorlink1=|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/546889296/?terms=myrabo&match=1|url-status=live|website=[[Bennington Banner]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20260204165013/https://www.newspapers.com/image/546889296/?terms=myrabo&match=1|archive-date=2026-02-04}}</ref>

}}

==External links== * [https://archive.today/20130823005836/http://www.thespaceshow.com/guest.asp?q=216 The Space Show - Dr. Leik Myrabo] * {{IMDb name|nm3370130}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Myrabo, Leik}} [[Category:20th-century American engineers]] [[Category:21st-century American engineers]] [[Category:Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute faculty]] [[Category:Living people]] [[Category:Year of birth missing (living people)]]