Documents / Report
This Defense Intelligence Reference Document, prepared by the Defense Intelligence Agency and dated 8 March 2010, was produced under the Advanced Aerospace Weapon System Applications (AAWSA) Program. It gives a historical and technical review of how to reach space and return. It covers hypersonic gliders, air-breathing and rocket propulsion, thermodynamics and materials, and launch options. It argues that reliable, schedulable access to low Earth orbit is mainly a hardware and propulsion problem rather than a technology one.
UNCLASSIFIED/ /P9R: 9PPll!ltllt '11815 tH•tY
rhc:" Qu Tnhe. or Supntubr. is somc:"wha1 umtrova,i:1I.
:\crnrding !Cl rhc imcrnor (P.ucrH :\"o. (,, l l~.82.~i .1m! tn
c:bims by the cumpan)· anJ d1eir h:ivc
indic.ncd puuling tcmpc:rawrc: Ji1,1rilrntiun.1 c.,m <lLLlJr
with these tubts, unlike conven1ion,il dwrm,il conduc-
ro1, ;rnd liqllid•v,1pnr heac pipes. llie tuhe; .il.,o appea1·
tu li.ivc chr: abllit:y t:o function at vny liigl1 Lclllpn.mi1n,
cwn up w chr mdtlng point of the mMeriab mcJ . .ind
10 support vny high h~~r fl11x<"~- O,ir !csts 1<1 date 1t1p-
purt the high t:empcr.iturc c.ip.ibilitic; in .iJJition to
th.:: high chamal conducti\·iric:".',. I lowc,Tr, th,· thermal
rnnduaivity is so high rhar :1aur:udy m,:.i~uring th<·
\·.Jue i, very difficult. \'{'c h.1\'t' thr:rd-orc: Kt:piired niiw
10' long Supacubes, )l1(1" in di.1mc1rr. ,rnd Ii.iv<" ~<'t up
:1 method for dekrmining the thermal rnnduuiviry m-
ing high he.l! flux, .l water c.oolcJ c.,1ln1im,·1,·r. .ind .1 r.ikc
of over .30 cardlllly calibrated thrrmiswrs. '] his .ipp.ir.i-
lt!S shmilJ provide an accurate meam ofdc'!,'rmi11ing th,·
tl,nmal conJucth-in·, and will ,1lsu .1llow m !o, link ihc-
high lkat Allx capJbilitv or the tube anJ 1u a,~c~., pm-
,ihle puzzling remperaturc:" di.1rrihmiom.
!-igurc I' shows a data set rn which d1e tcmper.iHtrc
acrns.s th<' kngth of a 10' long ruh<" heared from ihc end
;mJ n,okd in air is esv-mially c-omunt, wl,nea~ .1 ~imibr
oiztc copper wbc wotdd h.1w tlw temper.uurc JiMribu
tion shown in 1he bouom curvt. lncn:a;ing ilw tlwrmal
rondl!(:tiviry, k, of chr copper hy Einor~ from 1000 w
30,000 show; agreemcn! be1wcc11 di,· Jnaly,i,, .mJ th<·
d.ua ac 30,UUU Limeo that of the copper, ah hough thio io
only J lower llmic on rh<' ;icru.1l eondllni\·ity. lncrr:as-
ing the factor cn:11 11iurc <k,c~ nut pwduce a di,ccrnil,!t-
changc:" in tht curve relative to the d:1.ta. 'V:'e haw aho
rrieJ orher me-thods to f,1timar<" ri1<" high thcrm.11 ,-,m-
dtiniviiic:; Wt' have measured, sucli ,1; tlic: lngc:nhom,
tc:clmiquc:": tl1c:"sc result_, also inJi,ace ver~· high rhn1n,1l
conducrivitifl. However. we nc<"ded J n10r<" ;1scurate
me.in; d1an pre\·ious tests with frec: <..<llW<:<fion c.oolc:d
cubes wich thermocouple;, and di,:rd(,rc we J~·,·isnl the
t~st appararns shown in hgur<" 18.
-::le:" JU fc Supcrtubco J.r<:'. heatn! by thrl'e 2kW wil
~.:c:irer1. Power for the heaters wmcs from a .l-phaK 2
-~ output power conimlkr \vid1 twu k~, f11.,cd ;H 20
,.l._-y,_ps. For safety rea.\on., rhe pown ,·ornrulkr .mJ fo.,c.\
...:-c placed in an enclosure along with a \'{'arrnmk" power
24
m.::r.::r. ,\ water s:alnrimaer i.111s<"d rn m<"a.1urc the heat
u,nJnctc:J .,long the Supenube. Fins ..\hown in Fig1trc
]'). ,llC rwccs,.uy w iransfrr che high hca! l!ux iu die
w:Htr; these were fabricaced in such a way rh.11 dwy t":HJ
be c.11ily attached rn t:hc S11pcnub('S using ho.,t· d,imp.,.
Abo, tlit fin dc;ign incrcasc:"s turbuknc.e in rht flow
through the h<:'.ar exchanger. Having thf turbulent !lmv
incr<'ases t:he hc.11 1ramfrr r.nt· into the water, anJ .11.,o
diowur .igp buihng, whid1 coulJ olcut· with die hlgh
htar Auxc:"s used.
,-·~•'""'
--=-~----'~•·
hgur.· I..,._ Co111pt1r1.,ou ofEnrun,d~y C.On_;1,w1 Suparubt
Trmpr-,m1m· Di,rnb11tion wirl, Thr-1nr-11ra/ /)1.'triln.rio,1
/Or,, S11///d,ud Copper Tube and Rod, Shou·111x 1/,m tht
l/,ei-m,zf Co11d11cti11iry /vfw1 he at Trmt 30JJO() li'iJ//·.< t/,,11
ofC(lppn:
hgure 18. E.,pe~i111e111al App,mllus for J() jt Q11 Supa·
mhes.
UNCLASSIFIED/ ,u;oAt OFFI&l11J.k WliEii ,n.blf Not linked to a story yet.
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