An air-cooled discharge-heated copper-vapor laser system with its inter-electrode distance of 45 cm has been developed by utilizing an alumina ceramic plasma tube of 1.6 cm in diameter and 50 cm in lengih. For operating the laser, a dc high voltage power supply with output rating of 6 kV and 500 mA, a resonant charging circuitry consisting partly of an 1.8 H inductor assembly and a 5 nF storage capacitor, and a thyratron driver operating up to 7 kHz have also been developed. The present laser system starts lasing at the tube temperature of about $1350^{circ}C$ and an maximum average output power of 0.7 W has been obtained at 12 kV, 4.5 kHz. 50 mbar of Ne buffer gas pressure, and at the tube temperature of $1460^{circ}C$.