We present the results of our experiments at the Luch laser facility in which the processes of the destruction of iron asteroids and cometary nuclei in space by nuclear explosions on their surface are simulated based on the principle of physical similarity. We present the results of our numerical simulations of impacts on the surface of iron objects confirming the similarity of the key processes in the full-scale and model cases. The technologies of fabricating miniature mockups with parameters close to those of iron asteroids and cometary nuclei are described. For various mini-mockups 3–12 mm in size at a laser energy from 50 to 450 J we provide an experimental estimate of the energy threshold for the undeniable destruction of mockups and investigate the parameters of their fragmentation. Conclusions about the probable results of the impact of a nuclear explosion on hazardous cosmic objects have been drawn.

We present the results of preliminary experiments at laser facilities in which the processes of the undeniable destruction of stony asteroids (chondrites) in space by nuclear explosions on the asteroid surface are simulated based on the principle of physical similarity. We present the results of comparative gasdynamic computations of a model nuclear explosion on the surface of a large asteroid and computations of the impact of a laser pulse on a miniature asteroid simulator confirming the similarity of the key processes in the fullscale and model cases. The technology of fabricating miniature mockups with mechanical properties close to those of stony asteroids is described. For mini-mockups 4–10 mm in size differing by the shape and impact conditions, we have made an experimental estimate of the energy threshold for the undeniable destruction of a mockup and investigated the parameters of its fragmentation at a laser energy up to 500 J. The results obtained confirm the possibility of an experimental determination of the criteria for the destruction of asteroids of various types by a nuclear explosion in laser experiments. We show that the undeniable destruction of a large asteroid is possible at attainable nuclear explosion energies on its surface.

In this paper, studies of gas-dynamic flows in samples of various materials loaded with an X-ray flux in “Illuminator”-type targets on Iskra-5 laser facility of the ILFI VNIIEF are presented. The obtained results on the velocity of shock waves in the sample under the study are compared with model calculations to match the gas-dynamic parameters to their calculated estimates.

The results of photochronographic studies of spatiotemporal and spectral characteristics of laser plasma in the optical region, which were obtained at the Iskra-5 facility in different experiments, are presented. The plasma diagnostics was performed using a slit photochronographic streak camera, which is based on a PIM-112 streak tube with microsecond sweep durations.

A photochronographic technique for studying the spectral composition and duration of radiation that accompanies the appearance of a shock wave on the rear surface of a loaded target has been developed. The spectral resolution of this technique was evaluated. A method of the through calibration of the recording channel using radiation of a source with the known spectrum was proposed. The results of the performed calibration are used to restore the spectral distribution on the basis of the obtained spectrochronograms.

Results of the streak camera development for the new laser facility UFL-2M are presented. This streak camera can be used for diagnosing laser beams and plasma parameters. Its main characteristics are as follows: the maximum temporal resolution is ≤5 ps, the spatial resolution is ≥20 line pairs/mm, and the dynamic range is ≥1000.

An investigation is made of the dynamics and visible-range luminosity of the plasma cloud produced behind the front of a shock wave in air at a pressure of 1 Torr. The shock wave was produced on introducing the radiation of the twelve-channel Iskra-5 laser facility with a total energy of ∼2300 J into a hollow spherical plastic target of mass ∼10-4 g. Experimental data are compared with simulations.

Results are presented from the development of a method for measuring plasma temperature in indirect (X-ray) drive targets by recording the shock wave velocity in the Iskra-5 facility. The samples under investigation were irradiated by X-rays in a converter box, and the shock wave velocity was determined from the time at which the wave reached the back surface of the sample and the surface began to emit visible radiation. This emission, in turn, was detected by a streak camera. The results of experiments on the interaction of X radiation with a hot dense plasma, as well as the accompanying gas-dynamic processes in aluminum samples, are analyzed both theoretically and numerically. In experiments with Al and Pb samples, the shock wave velocity was measured to vary in the range U = 8–35 km/s, and the range of variation of the temperature of the box walls was measured to be T e = 140–170 eV.

The spatiotemporal dynamics of the compression region of DT-gas filled micropellets was recorded using an optical streak camera in experiments on micropellet implosion in the Iskra-5 high-power laser facility. The experimental data agree with calculations and results of X-ray measurements.

Results are presented from studies of the spectral characteristics of a glowing plasma object that forms behind a shock wave propagating in a background gas at a pressure of 1 Torr after laser irradiation of a spherical organic target in the MKV-4 device (a component of the Iskra-5 facility). The experimental data are compared to the results of calculations.

A novel method for studying the expansion of plasma clouds is developed. The method makes use of electron-optical cameras operating in the streak and frame-by-frame modes and provides a time resolution of 0.01–1 µs and spatial resolution of 1 mm. The experimental results obtained with this method are presented.

This paper considers a 9-frame photorecorder that has been developed on the basis of an IR camera of ionization type with the use of an image converter. The photorecorder operates in the spectral range of 1-10 mum at a frame rate of 10-200 kHz and frame duration of 1-50 mus. It has the temperature detection threshold of 400degreesC and spatial resolution of >10(4) elem./frame. The photorecorder will find the use in recording the structure of thermal fields in fast processes (gas dynamics, ballistics, pulsed welding, and thermal treatment of surfaces).

Results from investigation of the characteristics of a high- speed IR-photorecorder based on the ionization-type IR- camera KIT-2F and CCD-camera are presented. The photorecorder operate in the spectral range 1-10 micrometers with the frame exposure length of 1-100microsecond(s) , IR radiation detection threshold of 10-6 J/cm2 and spatial resolution of > 104 elem./frame. The photorecorder may be used for recording the structure of thermal fields in fast processes: in gas dynamics, ballistics, motor and aircraft building, pulsed welding and thermal treatment of surfaces, in powerful pulsed electric facilities et al. and for control of the IR laser radiation spatial characteristics.