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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…
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Free Electron Laser
High-energy free electrons from a particle accelerator (e.g., a high-voltage, high-
current electron injector gun) can emit amplified, coherent photons when they are sent
through an undulator (or "wiggler" magnets), which generates a periodically varying
magnetic field with a linear array of permanent or superconducting magnets. The
electron accelerator produces a micro-pulse of "electron bunches" moving at relativistic
speeds that are laterally accelerated (or "wiggled") by the alternating magnetic fields in
the undulator, thus releasing laser photons at optical wavelengths (see Figure 28 to
Figure 30). The optical laser radiation is amplified at the double-Doppler-shifted
wavelength of the undulator. The resulting laser beam photon energy depends on the
electron energy, the undulator period, and (weakly) the magnetic field strength. The
electron beam gets spent at the end of the lasing process.
Figure 28. Free-Electron Laser (courtesy of the Naval Post-Graduate School FEL Lab).
electron beam pulses optical
• • •wiggler laser
~ ' pulses
• • •i100
' partially
reflecting Photon Em1s1on transmitting
mirror mirror
Figure 29. Free-Electron Laser Mechanism (courtesy of the Naval Post-Graduate School FEL
Lab).
58
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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.