Defense Intelligence Reference Document Space Access Where We ve Been And Where We Could Go

Defense Intelligence Agency · 56 pages · text from the file's own layer

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.

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Figure 17. Model 176 in the McDonnell Douglas Hypervelocity Impulse Tunnel .... 18
Figure 18. FDL-7C/D, Model 176 Entry Temperature Distribution ......................... 19
Figure 19. Even At Mach 12, Embedded Vortices in the Boundary Layer Alter the
Local Heat Transfer .............................................................................. 19
Figure 20. Thermographic Phosphor Image of Model 176 at Near-Maximum
Angle of Attack ..................................................................................... 20
Figure 21. From L/D Maximum to Maximum Angle of Attack, There Is Always a
Cool Sub-layer Adjacent to the Wall ..................................................... 20
Figure 22. This 1988 SEP Bordeaux SiC/SiC Panel Could Sustain Temperatures of
up to 3,000°F ........................................................................................ 21
Figure 23. UBE Corporation's Tyranno Cloth .......................................................... 21
Figure 24. A Porous Nickel Tip Oozing Water ........................................................ 21
Figure 25. FDL ASSET Flight-Tested From Orbital Speeds to Evaluate 1960s
Materials .............................................................................................. 22
Figure 26. Heat Pipe Shuttle Leading Edge Designed and Built by McDonnell
Douglas Astronautics ........................................................................... 22
Figure 27. Boost-Glide Strategic Vehicle with Pratt & Whitney XLR-129 Rocket
Engine Installed ................................................................................... 25
Figure 28. XLR-129 ............................................................................................... 25
Figure 29. Two Rocket Air-Breathing Rocket Cycles to Mach 5.5 ........................... 27
Figure 30. HOTOL Evolution: From Aerodynamic Optimum Configuration to
Practical Launcher Configuration ......................................................... 27
Figure 31. LACE Air-Breathing Rocket ................................................................... 29
Figure 32. The FDL-7 Class of Vehicles .................................................................. 29
Figure 33. Takeoff and Landing Speeds of Minimum-Sized Launchers ................... 30
Figure 34. Horizontal launch Not Practical Unless Weight Ratio Less Than Four ... 31
Figure 35. Propellant Tanks That Are Not Reentry Vehicles Greatly Reduce
System Weight ..................................................................................... 33
Figure 36. Simple Horizontal Integration and Vertical Launch Provides Rapid
Launch Capability ................................................................................. 34
Figure 37. A Vertical Launch Complex Provides Vertical Toss Back Booster
Recovery and Horizontal Landing Facilities for the Hypersonic Gliders 34
Figure 38. A 1964 MDC Astronautics, St. Louis, Briefing ........................................ 35
Figure 39. Earth's Atmosphere .............................................................................. 36
Figure 40. FDL-5 Scale Model of A Stage and One-Half .......................................... 37
Figure 41. The FDL-7 and Model 176 Class of Hypersonic Gliders .......................... 37
Figure 42. Hypersonic Decelerating ....................................................................... 38
Figure 43. Where We Are Today ............................................................................ 39
Figure 44. Where We Could Be If We Can Recapture the Engineering Confidence
and Expertise of the Apollo/Saturn V Era .............................................40
Figure 45. TAV Operational Costs ..........................................................................47
Figure 46. Landing Ellipse ..................................................................................... 48
Tables
Table 1. Characteristics of Selected Flight Dynamics Laboratory Hypersonic
Glider Configurations During the 1958-68 Timeframe ............................... 6
Table 2. Elements of the Space Infrastructure Shown in Figure 44 ...................... .41
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