Editing Beam-powered propulsion (section)

{{Short description|Mechanism where confined high-speed particles confer energy to a vehicle}}
'''Beam-powered propulsion''', also known as directed energy propulsion, is a class of [[aircraft]] or [[spacecraft propulsion]] that uses energy beamed to the spacecraft from a remote power plant to provide energy. The beam is typically either a [[microwave]] or a [[laser]] beam, and it is either pulsed or continuous. A continuous beam lends itself to [[thermal rocket]]s, photonic thrusters, and [[light sail]]s. In contrast, a pulsed beam lends itself to ablative thrusters and [[pulse detonation engine]]s.<ref>{{Citation|last=Breakthrough|title=Progress in beamed energy propulsion {{!}} Kevin Parkin|date=2018-05-29|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gnvHNoYuTpI|access-date=2018-06-07}}</ref>

The rule of thumb that is usually quoted is that it takes a [[MegaWatt|megawatt]] of power beamed to a vehicle per kg of payload while it is being accelerated to permit it to reach [[low Earth orbit]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://archived.thespaceshow.com/shows/1214-BWB-2009-08-28.mp3 |title=Archived copy |access-date=2009-08-31 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110928231452/http://archived.thespaceshow.com/shows/1214-BWB-2009-08-28.mp3 |archive-date=2011-09-28 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

More speculative designs, using mass ("micro-pellet") beams, would allow for reaching the edge of the solar gravity lens, or even nearby stars, in decades.

Other than launching to orbit, applications for moving around the world quickly have also been proposed.