Documents / Report
This Defense Intelligence Reference Document from the Defense Intelligence Agency, dated 1 November 2010, was produced under the Advanced Aerospace Weapon System Applications (AAWSA) Program. It describes nanosatellite technologies and proposes launching nanosats into orbit with laser Lightcraft propulsion. It also covers a weapon mission selection study and multi-megawatt laser options. The author recommends that the Department of Defense and NASA bring Lightcraft R&D back to the United States and restart the X-50LR flight demonstration program.
“The Advance”13 pages
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Figure 6. Lightcraft Undergoing Horizontal Guide-Wire Flight Test (courtesy of F. Mead,
AFRL/PRSP, Edwards AFB, CA).
SUMMARY OF TECHNICAL PERFORMANCE AND BENEFITS
We outline below the propulsion performance features of the laser Lightcraft launch
system:
• The system is single-stage-to-orbit and completely reusable.
• Almost no onboard propellant is required (the reaction mass is free air), except
for the small internal amount of propellant needed for final ascent to orbit and
orbital maneuvering.
• Vehicle specific impulse (Isp) is essentially infinite ("' several x 10 3 seconds in
rocket mode).
• Payload mass fractions are"' 50 - 95%.
• These systems are simple, reliable, safe, environmentally clean, and could have
a very high all azimuth on-demand launch rate.
• Reduces space launch costs by two to three orders of magnitude below today's
levels: estimated launch costs are $20/kg to $600/kg of payload (not including
life cycle and launch operations costs).
• The feasibility and physics principles have been proven by the AFRL's Lightcraft
Concept Demonstration Program [11, 16-25].
Lightcraft systems have sufficient power density to operate as ETD launch systems. It
requires a beam power of 0.1 to 1 MW per kg of vehicle mass, while orbit-to-orbit
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Report, from the dia collection. The PDF is mirrored here; the original link is above. 77 pages are in the text index: search them above, or from the library's search.