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.
“The Advance”12 pages
UNCLASSIFIED//f81l 81'1'11!111it 1!1!11!! 8IU:!Y -,,..Spac:e Based Track1r,g Commun,ca!lons Observntton ~.--:.-------- Space Based Warn1ng ·--------- Spaceways Entering the 21st century Figure 43. Where We Are Today GEO Sate11,1es Planets 0 IPt:motary E~plora1,on G11osta1,of\ilry Orb,, Communtca!•ons Wam,ng From Dr. William Gauhatz Although not addressed in the Frontline technical or popular press, a critical element in reaching space beyond Earth is the establishment of a space infrastructure around Earth and the moon. The concept of this infrastructure as a train marshalling and switching yard is appropriate. The rail control center serves as a center of operations for switching, long-haul train assembly, transfer of goods, and refueling and repair of space assets. Likewise, the orbital stations serve as centers for switching payloads between carriers and the required orbit, long-haul space exploration vehicle assembly, transfer of goods to human habitats and manufacturing facilities, and return, refueling, and repair coordination. This is no trivial activity and will take a commitment as dedicated as the Apollo program to achieve. Without an infrastructure, we are doomed to expendable vehicles at low launch rates for specific, one-time missions with no semblance of an infrastructure. Neither the United Kingdom nor the United States had any long-distance, two-way commerce until the railroads were established. A~er that, cities and commerce centers were created, enabling two-way commerce. The space business has it backwards: There is no commerce until the infrastructure is in place, not vice versa. How are we ever going to get here? How are we going to create a LEO infrastructure that can support the LEO, geostationary orbit, and lunar assets depicted in Figure 44? Is it a technology issue? Hardly! We have known for 50 years how to create it. Werner von Braun had Walt Disney create a clear visual image of what is required. But nobody listened, as we were too busy creating new things and throwing away the old things, destroying any development continuity. A good example is the destruction of the capability to make Saturn I and Saturn V launchers. 39 UNCLASSIFIED/ /r;Oll oi;i;1111,1, .. Wliili a,11e~·
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Report, from the dia collection. The PDF is mirrored here; the original link is above. 56 pages are in the text index: search them above, or from the library's search.