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

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Space Access: Where We've Been ... and Where We Could
Go
Introduction
Development of commercial access to space by our budding space-
faring civilization is a straightforward effort dominated by
propulsion and reliability. The initial focus should be on schedulable,
dependable access to and from low Earth orbit (LEO). For years we
have known the means to accomplish such a task but have lacked a
dedicated organized effort. The key requirement is to develop a
robust and not necessarily a low-cost infrastructure, without which
commercial exploitation of LEO and the moon will not be possible.
This is a matter of skill; operational hardware based on durable,
reliable, and demonstrated components; and operational systems. It
is not necessarily a matter of technology. However, technology
discovery and development are necessary for future space travel
beyond Earth's environs. This paper addresses these issues by
providing a running account of the historical details associated with
the development of the myriad systems proposed and tested to
provide access to space.
Among the many advances in space access that will be possible in
the future,' the key technology developments will be in the area of
propulsion, because without these we are confined to our solar
system by flight times limited to a project team's functional life. The
Pioneer spacecraft were fortunate to be monitored for 20 years.
However, the issue facing our spaceflight organizations is the lack of
a durable, consistent, schedulable, and frequent hardware system to
and from space assets such as the International Space Station.
In October 19SS, the author's job in the vertical wind tunnel at
Wright-Patterson Air Force Base abruptly changed; hypersonic and
high-temperature flows became a new focus. What was then the
Aircraft Laboratory was to become the Air Force Flight Dynamics
Laboratory (AFFDL), with a focus on space flight. Al Draper of the
AFFDL began working with a select group of aerospace firms on
hypersonic gliders. The initial requirement from the Air Force was to
quickly find operational access to space. Technology application,
hardware design and fabrication with an innovative application, and
extending the industrial capabilities of the time were very much the
issue, as exemplified by the Lockheed A-12/SR-71. When asked
about space access at the time, a group of Aerospace Corporation
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