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Defense Intelligence Reference Document Cockpits In The Era Of Breakthrough Flight

Defense Intelligence Agency · 57 pages · text from the file's own layer

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.

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Vector Motion Panel (Primary Flight Display}
The most critical, survival-dependant displays are in the "tunnel vision" zone, directly in
front of the pilot. The main panel at the center of the display is analogous to the
primary flight display (PFD) of contemporary aircraft (shown previously in Figure 11).
In this case, however, it must be modified to accommodate the full six degrees of
freedom and the additional flight regimes of orbit and deep space. Because of these
modifications, and to distinguish from conventional aircraft displays, this text
provisionally uses the term "vector motion" display.
The main distinction between an aircraft PFD and this vector motion display is that the
aircraft PFD is biased toward flight near the surface of a gravitating body and for which
navigation conventions are firmly established (e.g., "up" and magnetic compass
heading). The vector motion display, which must accommodate orbits and deep-space
flight will also feature conventional functional subsets for near-Earth navigation.
Since we have no established standards for deep-space navigation that are applicable
beyond our solar system. Devising and designing such a system and the appropriate
display requires further work.
Orientation standards will have to be developed for breakthrough-era craft that are still
consistent with this Earth-surface convention. The main axes adopted for this display
would also be superimposed onto the virtual surround display. This display will include
information to ensure a safe trajectory, avoid collisions, and handle other situations.
In addition, visual cues for assisting a pilot to safely enter a correct orbit are required.
Although it is expected that such maneuvers would be handled by an automated
system, the more demanding condition, in which the pilot will have to manually enter
orbit, presents an appropriate design goal for the display and is a subject for future
work.
Navigation Display Panel
The navigation display is responsible for showing the pilot his location relative to base
and all other points of interest. Following the common practice of aviation, this display
is located immediately to the left of the central motion display.
The navigation display will need a new coordinate system to address deep-space flight,
transition into orbits, and maneuvering near to and landing on gravitating bodies. Such
an orientation and guidance system does not yet exist.
It is expected that most gravitating bodies can be conventionally mapped using
systems analogous to those used for the Earth, where the rotation axis is a defining
characteristic. The caveat is that not all gravitating bodies are spherical (asteroids and
small moons).
Flight-Assist Panel
The flight-assist panel is located to the right of the vector motion display. Because of
the variety of functions this panel must perform, it must be in the form of an adaptive
display. This panel provides information and accepts pilot commands to assist in
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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.