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.
“Low Earth orbit”7 pages
UNCLASSIFIED/ ,CFQA: QFFI&l11J.k W&liii Q•lklf Table 5. Influence of Lightcraft and Target Velocity on Impact Energy and Required Mass [261. Lightcraft Lightcraft Impact Ballistic Missile Threat Intercept Intercept Energy 1--SRBM IRBM ICBM- Aspect Velocity and R~lO00 km R~2500 km R~l0,000 km Weight V=2 km/s V=4 km/s V=6km/s Impact E for 16MJ 36MJ 641\IJ 2 km/s 1.0 kg Wt. Wt for 10 .63 kg MJ ofE .28 kg .16 kg 0° from Impact E for 25MJ 49MJ 81 MJ Head-on 3 km/s 1.0 kg Wt. Collision Wt. For 10 .40 kg .20 kg .12 kg MJ ofE Impact E for 36 MJ 64MJ 100 }IJ 1.0 kg Wt. 4 km/, Wt. for 10 .28 kg .16 kg .l0kg MJ ofE RECOMMENDED LIGHTCRAFT MISSIONS FOR BALLISTIC MISSILE DEFENSE Laser-powered Lightcraft, flown on air-to-space trajectories, show much promise for performing exo-atmospheric BMD missions, especially if the laser can also be used to discriminate warhead-carrying vehicles from decoys and non-threatening debris. Such Lightcraft also appear capable of eliminating enemy satellites in LEO, if the Lightcraft laser can illuminate them. But a significant effort would be required to analyze the engagement scenarios for such a system, and fully investigate the decoy discrimination and satellite tracking capabilities of the Lightcraft's pulsed laser and the hit-to-kill guidance requirements for the Lightcraft itself. Locating lasers and Lightcraft on existing aircraft, such as the Boeing 747, B-1 Lancer, or C-130, appears to be an attractive alternative to ground/sea-based laser Lightcraft systems. In this case, airborne laser beams at 12 km altitude will not suffer the significant propagation losses that occur when guiding and propelling Lightcraft through the lower atmosphere, and greater Lightcraft flight range should therefore be achievable. (The increase in laser range, due to reduced propagation losses, for high altitude operation will be somewhat diminished because of the smaller allowable apertures on aircraft-mounted laser optics, which are on the order of 1.0 m as compared to apertures on the order of 10.0 m for large ground/sea-based laser installations.) Furthermore, airborne laser Lightcraft systems possess much greater operational flexibility since their carrier aircraft can fly over significant distances to reach desired launch locations, and can be based at almost any major Air Force facility 35 UNCLASSIFIED/ ,'P8R:: 8ffl@Itlit Wlili IUIL\f
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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.