Documents / Official release
This Defense Intelligence Reference Document was prepared by the Defense Intelligence Agency's Defense Warning Office and dated 2 March 2010. It is one of a series of advanced technology reports produced under the Advanced Aerospace Weapon System Applications program. It looks at using positrons as fuel for air-breathing turbojets, ramjet-assisted missiles, single-stage reusable vehicles and rockets for a manned Mars mission, and it also covers positron production, costs and storage. It concludes that a first positron-powered flight around the globe could be possible within 10 years.
From the source: Release of 2026-09-18 Incident: 3/2/10, Las Vegas, Nevada. Released with redactions. This document is a Defense Intelligence Reference Document (DIRD), a technical reference format used by the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) to capture baseline knowledge on a specific topic for later analytic use. DIRDs are best understood as reference and synthesis products rather than as original research. It is one of 38 DIRDs produced under the Advanced Aerospace Weapon System Applications Program (AAWSAP) between 2009 and 2011. Because AAWSAP’s scope permitted a broad range of supporting topics, not every DIRD in the series directly concerns aerospace systems or future threat assessment. The following summary reflects the DIRD’s scope and framing at the time of writing and should not be read as implying current validation of the concepts discussed. This DIRD examines positrons as a possible fuel for advanced aerospace propulsion, arguing that antimatter offers extraordinary energy density and could, in principle, support applications ranging from long-endurance aircraft and missiles to single-stage launch vehicles, onboard power systems, and crewed Mars missions. At the same time, it makes clear that the concept depends on resolving major unsolved problems in producing positrons in sufficient quantities and storing them safely for long periods, and much of the document’s discussion of flight systems and Mars missions remains conceptual rather than closely tied to demonstrated engineering practice. Its overall conclusion is that positron propulsion is theoretically attractive, but remains highly speculative as a practical technology because its core production and storage requirements remain unsolved.
UNCLASSIFIEDj} P'OR. OP'P'l@IAL l:ISE 8PUs:lf the order of 30 minutes, indicating t hat a spacecraft employing t hree 72-kN solid-core engines would require 6-9 mg of positrons per mission. Solid-core fission and positron systems are compared in Table 4. Table 4. Comparison of Space Propulsion and Power Systems - Solid Core Fission-Based Positron Powered Technology • NERVA/Rover demonstrated • Never fl ight tested • Conceptual • Must demonstrate positron storage and controlled injection • Near-term technology demonstration for positron storage needed Performance . I,p "' 950 sec . Thrust "' 72 - 123 kN . Power "' 367 - 5320 MW (matched to thrust) • Lifetime "' 2 hours tota l operation . lsp - as in fission systems . Thrust -variable, similar to fission systems . Power - matched to thrust • Lifetime - set by material considerations Operation . Design dictated by neutronics, fuel burn up and fission poisoning . High neutron & gamma radiation during operation . Requires active, accurate and massive control . Requires shutdown cool ing to remove heat from nuclear waste • Radiation after shutdown due to fission products . No criticality, burn up or poison accumulation issues . Design based only upon heat transfer and gamma attenuation issues • Does not require shutdown cooling . Simple on-off control, power controlled by rate of positrop utilization • Not a radiation source Materials . Material dictated by neutron Jes • Propellant-heated H2 . Working fluids for power systems - inert gas • Uranium in graphite media • Corrosion issues require complex fuel . Material choices dictated by temperature • Propellant-heated H2 . Working fluids for power systems - inert gas Payload • Requires massive shield • Shield required around Integration from reactor • Requires separation from reactor • Complex design issues due to neutron scattering manned area separated from positron storage • Propulsion and power sources can be integrated into vehicle Post Operation • Not able to return to earth or inhabited surface • Not reusable or refuelable • Able to return to Earth or inhabited surface • Reusable and refuelable UNCLASSIFIED//EAR OFFICIO I. Pili QPII.¥ 13
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Official release, from the pursue collection. The PDF is mirrored here; the original link is above. 35 pages are in the text index: search them above, or from the library's search.