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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.
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UNCLASSIFIED/ /1"91t 91'fll!lit.l! l!llili a,111•1 Chapter 1: Nanosatellite Technologies OVERVIEW Nanosats require technologies that radically reduce the mass and power of components without compromising performance. In addition to miniaturizing components, methods to integrate similar functions across subsystems are being evaluated. For example, all subsystem electronics, including instruments, could be integrated within the Command and Data Handling (C&DH) subsystem. Multifunctional solutions also offer significant savings over traditional approaches. Technology investments are required to develop or adapt components to accommodate the expected radiation environment. Simple, effective methods of thermal control are essential to keep the nanosat operational during extreme temperature variations. Autonomy is a critical technology that impacts every subsystem. Constellations with tens to thousands of nanosats must be highly autonomous to be practical. The nanosat ground system must be kept inexpensive, simple, and made inter-operable with other missions. PROPULSION In the baseline mission, nanosat propulsion is needed for two distinct functions: 1) each nanosat must raise its orbit apogee to the appropriate radius, 2) and it must reorient the axis of the spinning nanosat from the velocity direction (within the orbit plane) to its science mission attitude (perpendicular to the ecliptic plane). These maneuvers present challenging velocity change (11v) and attitude-control (ACS) requirements. Requirements for the /'iv Thruster: • Total impulse: 3,000 to 7,000 N-sec. • Thrust: 445 N maximum. • Input power (during burn): < 1 watt. • Specific impulse: 280 seconds. Requirements for the ACS Thruster: • Total impulse: s 2.4 N-sec. • Minimum impulse bit: 0.044 N-sec. • Response time: < 0.005 sec. • Pulse rate: 1 Hz. It turns out that the 11v and ACS thrusters can have independent systems. We propose a new innovation whereby the nanosat launch vehicle propulsion system also serves double duty as the 11v thruster system, and this can be done without having to carry the propulsion energy source into orbit. This can only be achieved via laser propulsion in which the laser beam energy that is used to launch a nanosat into orbit is also used to provide '3.v thrust in orbit. This novel innovation dramatically reduces the mass, size, cost, and complexity of nanosats because they will only need to carry minimal onboard ACS thrusters and propellant to carry out routine, minor attitude adjustments. The innovative nanosat laser propulsion concept is presented in Chapter 2. 3 UNCLASSIFIED//F81il 8FFI&I.t.L Wlili a,•LY
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