Documents / Report
This Defense Intelligence Reference Document from the Defense Intelligence Agency, dated 1 November 2010, is one of a series of advanced technology reports produced in FY 2009 under the Advanced Aerospace Weapon System Applications (AAWSA) Program. It proposes a provisional cockpit design for craft driven by speculative breakthrough propulsion, such as control of gravity and inertia and faster-than-light travel. It draws mainly on the book Frontiers of Propulsion Science and on human-machine interface research.
UNCLASSIFIED//F8R 8PPl!ltllt USE 014Lf Crew Size Considerations The last aspect to take into account as a consequence of mixed operational regimes is that of the crew size. For short-duration missions (less than a few hours), it is reasonable to conceive of vehicles with only one pilot. For more complex missions, additional crew will be required, and thus additional displays and controls specific to their tasks will be required. Finally, for long-duration missions, sufficient crew will be required to carry out its mission and maintain optimal vehicle performance. These changes-for accommodating the roles and responsibilities of crew in relation to the overall mission-are likely to be the same as those distinctions in traditional vehicles (e.g., cars versus cruise ships). Those changes typically include a hierarchical organization, which is independent of the issues of propulsion physics. Essential elements will include monitoring and controlling the 1-g internal life-support environment as well as ensuring the long-term health of the crew. Full Span of Speeds In addition to inertial effects previously addressed, the implications due to high speed remain. Accommodating the reaction time of the pilot is critical. The extreme high speed of breakthrough spacecraft will demand that automated flight controls take precedence over the pilot's manual flight control. Automated controls for aircraft and even for automobiles are an ever-improving technology. For breakthrough flight, these technologies will be mandatory and will also have to include options for maneuvering near ground, into orbits, and through deep space. This should come as no surprise, since the advantages of having automated flight controls warrant their use even if pilot reaction times were not an issue. Table 1. Comparing Reaction Time to Distance Traversed at Various Speeds 1 Speed Distance Traversed in l Second mph km/h C Feet Meters Miles Km Walking 2 3 3 1 Driving Around Town 40 64 60 18 Commercial Air Flight 500 800 730 220 Hypersonic Flight 4,000 6,400 0.00001 5,900 1,800 1 2 Low Earth orbit 17,500 28,000 0.00003 26,000 7,800 5 8 Deep-Space Probe 35,000 56,000 0.00005 51,000 16,000 10 16 Nonrelativistic Flight 60 97 0.09 89 Million 27 Million 17,000 27,000 Million Million 400 650 110 180 Relativistic flight Million Million 0.60 590 Million 180 Million Thousand Thousand 1 The distances traversed while waiting for the pilot to react are reasonable for speeds slower than hypersonic flight If traveling at hypersonic speeds near the ground, however, the situation is different. At some point, regardless of the skill of the pilot, an automated system will be needed. Also note the huge disparity between the fastest achieved speeds (deep-space probe) in comparison to nonrelativistic flight. This disparity of three orders of magnitude is a clear statement about the state of our technology when contemplating deep-space flight. 13 UNCLASSIFIED//Flilll. lilFFUilAle lal!il! 8Hl!V
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Report, from the dia collection. The PDF is mirrored here; the original link is above. 57 pages are in the text index: search them above, or from the library's search.