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Defense Intelligence Reference Document Laser Lightcraft Nanosatellites

Defense Intelligence Agency · 77 pages · text from the file's own layer

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.

  • p. 3 …Ground/Sea-to-Space Concept ............................................................. 27 Figure 15. Air-to-Space Concept ......................................................................... 28 Figure 16. Schematic…
  • p. 31 …Ground/Sea-to-Space Concept: Appropriate rotation of a high-energy laser beam, emanating from a…
  • p. 32 …more than about 10 MW for ground/sea-based lasers, and no more than about 2…
  • p. 33 …SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS Ground/Sea to Space (ETO) 261 If laser propulsion can provide nearly all…
  • p. 34 UNCLASSIFIED/ /1"91t 9ffU!l"I!! l!l!il! 8111!!¥ ground, sea and air launches of…
  • p. 37 …favorable for Lightcraft than air-to- ground/sea or air-to-air missions, which are not…
  • p. 39 …to be an attractive alternative to ground/sea-based laser Lightcraft systems. In this case, airborne…
  • p. 43 …would allow detection of most air, land, sea, and space targets, as well as many "low…
  • p. 64 …The Naval Sea Systems Command's (NAVSEA) Directed Energy and Electric Weapon Systems (DE&EWS) Program…
  • p. 67 …Lightcraft nanosat or picosat from the ground, sea, or air, it will be necessary to control…
  • p. 68 …beam train suitable for ground, airborne and sea platforms. • Primary mirror which is also a deformable…
  • p. 71 …to launch laser-propelled Lightcraft from ground/sea to LEO while apertures on aircraft-mounted laser…
  • p. 72 …The entire Lightcraft launch system is comprised of a ground, sea, or airborne laser beam generator…
  • p. 73 …Launching a laser-propelled Lightcraft nanosat/picosat from the ground, sea, or air into LEO requires…
UNCLASSIFIED/ /r;OA. oi;i;1@IAI! l!l!II! 9HL I
Typical HPFLs that use fiber optical oscillators or amplifiers as an alternative to bulk
rods and slabs have the following technical features [31]:
• Active Gain Medium:
- Common host glasses and their combinations: Silicates; silicates and
phosphates; silicates, phosphates, and fluorides; silicates, germanates, and
fluorides; silicates and fluorides.
- Impurity lasing ions deposited (or
Ytterbium (Yb 3+), Erbium (Er3+),
Praseodymium (Pr 3+).
doped) in host: Neodymium
Thulium (Tm 3+), Holmium
- Range of beam wavelengths(),) produced: 0.48 μm to 2.9 μm.
- Stretched doped rod into a long thin fiber.
- Simplifies heat removal (large surface area per unit volume).
• Pump (see Figure 24):
- Surround lasing fiber with optically transparent jacket.
- End pump optical jacket with diode lasers.
- Single diodes or diode bars are coupled into undoped pump fibers
(Nd 3+),
(Ho 3+),
■ Pump fibers are spliced or drawn together with the doped lasing fiber.
■ Pump light is coupled to the outer, undoped outer fiber.
- Active medium pumped along entire length
■ Pump light then couples into the lasing fiber all along its length.
- Resonator optics are coupled to the ends of the doped fiber.
• Large Diameter Fibers (see Figure 25):
- Handle more power.
- Larger divergence with less beam quality.
- Longer output fibers before limits are hit.
• Small Diameter Fibers (see Figure 25):
- Better divergence with greater beam quality.
- Handle less power before limits:
■ Material limits - melt.
■ Stimulated Brillion Scattering (SBS).
■ Stimulated Raman Scattering (SRS).
- Shorter output fibers.
55
UNCLASSIFIED/ ;CF81il 8FFI&I.t.k Wlili a,.kY

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Report, from the dia collection. The PDF is mirrored here; the original link is under it. 77 pages are in the text index: search them above, or from the library's search.