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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
Earth OrMs UNCLASSIFIED//FIHl 8FFHil.t.k Wfili IH.k\f Waste Storage and Processing Orbits ~ ·'!: GEO ~ --..........___ t.,. P Platforms Luna, Orb1IS Planets O I :ir't Lunar Space Based 1/f ~ Spaceport Plane!ary bplorat.on Commun,cat1ons Satell1ie Cons1ellat1ons CEO MEO J1i am Warntng ~ :'.'1)0,Mal __--------;'.t.~ J-'" Transfer f " Vehicle Roules Geostat,onary Olllll Cornmun1qt1ons Warning Gro"th of the Spaccways Routes From Dr. Will;am Gauhatz Figure 44. Where We Could Be If We Can Recapture the Engineering Confidence and Expertise of the Apollo/Saturn V Era What is not shown in Figure 4432 is a solar power station that beams power to the Earth's surface or space assets or a power station warehouse that provides hardware for the power satellites in geostationary orbit. Whether a solar power satellite has the energy conversion efficiency to provide affordable energy to Earth or space assets comparable to what nuclear power stations could provide remains to be seen. Reports by H. H. Koelle of the University of Berlin provide excellent information on solar power stations. 33 In fact, the singular reliance on solar cell electric generation may doom all power stations until a more efficient and durable conversion system is identified. As with any thermodynamic generation system, the rejected heat becomes a major issue. As the Long Duration Exposure Facility materials evaluation satellite proved, space is a very hostile environment, and we have yet to identify slowly or nondeteriorating materials and construction concepts. Nicholi Anfimov, in a private communication, stated that the hub of the MIR orbital station (15 years in space) was so riddled with solar particles that it was beginning to leak, even though there were no visible holes. The complexity and extent of the space infrastructure are such that a significant commitment of human and monetary resources will be necessary if this infrastructure is to advance beyond a solitary orbital station with limited capabilities. Figure 44 identifies the elements necessary to build the infrastructure but does not address the assets required to establish and sustain that infrastructure. Table 2 lists systems and functions of the infrastructure shown in Figure 44. Future global space is a crowded and busy place. 40 UNCLASSIFIED/ ;«FIUl 8FFIIIAk W&li IH.k\f
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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.