Scientists Power Rocket With Microwaves

We recently saw a laser-powered helicopter, and now the smart folks over at the Naka Fusion Institute of the Japan Atomic Energy Agency have managed to launch a 126 gram rocket using a Gyrotron, a high-powered ground-based microwave beam emitter. By using this microwave beam, scientists were able to send pulses of microwave energy directly to the underside of the hollow rocket model, lifting the rocket off the ground for about 1.2 meters. While it won’t be giving us free trips to the moon anytime soon, it’s certainly a step forward in the right direction. Check out a video of this technology in action after the jump.