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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.
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33 S. K. Borowski et al., "Nuclear Thermal Rocket/Ve hicle Design Options for Future NASA Missions to the Moon and
Mars," AIAA -93 -4170 (NASA Tech Memora ndum 107071), (1993).
34 D. r. Posto n and T. Kammash, Nuclear Science and Engineering 122, 32 (1996) .
35 S. K. Borowski et al., "Nuclear Thermal Rocket/Ve hicle Design Options for Future NASA Missions to the Moon and
Mars," AIAA -93-4170 (NASA Tech Memorandum 107071), (1993) .
36 G. A. Smith, "Positron Propelled and Powered Space Transport Vehicle for Planetary Missions", NIAC Phase I
Final Report, Research Subaward No . 07605 - 003 -048, September 1, 2005 - March 31, 2006.
37 E. Sanger, Ing. Arch . 21, 213 (1953) .
38 G. A. Smith, "Positro n Propelled and Powered Space Tra nsport Veh icle for Planetary Missions", NI AC Phase I
Final Report, Research Subaward No . 07605-003-048, September 1, 2005 - March 31, 2006.
39 Ibid.
40 G. Gaidos et al., "Antiproton-Catalyzed Microfission/fusion Prop ulsion Systems for Exploration of the Oute r Solar
System and Beyond," AIAA-98-3589 , Presented at t he 34th AIAA/ASM E/ SAE/ASEE Joint Propulsion Conference &
Exhibit (1998) .
41 W. Lance Werthman, "Antip roton-Catalyzed Microfission/fusion Space Propulsion," MS Thesis, Dept. of Aerospace
Engineeri ng, Penn State University (1995).
42 G. A. Smith, "High Density Storage of Antimatter", Advanced High Energy Storage Conference, MITRE Corp .,
McLean, VA, Aug . 1 (2005).
43 S. J. Hoffman and D. I. Kaplan, eds. "H uman Exp loration of Mars: The Reference Mission of the NASA Mars
Exploration Study Tea m," NASA Special Publication 6107, JSC (1997) .
44 B. G. Drake, ed . "Reference Mission Version 3.0: Addendum to the Human Exploration of Mars : The Reference
Mission of the NASA Mars Exploration Study Team, " http ://ares .jsc.nasa .gov/ HumanExplore/ Exploration/
EXLibrary/docs/ MarsRef/addendum/index.htm, June (1998).
45 G. A. Smith, "High Density Storage of Antimatter", Advanced High Energy Storage Conference, MITRE Corp .,
McLean , VA, Aug . 1 (2005) .
46 J. Dio n, " Stirli ng Radioisotope Generator", NASA Glenn Research Center, ME 388R.2, Spring {2005).
4 7 Ibid .
48 G. A. Smith, "High Density Storage of Antimatter", Advanced Hig h Energy Storage Conference, MITRE Corp.,
McLean, VA, Aug . 1 (2005) .
49 S. J. Hoffman and D. I. Kaplan, eds. " Human Exploration of Mars: The Reference Mission of the NASA Mars
Exploration Study Tea m," NASA Special Publication 6107, JSC ( 1997) .
so B. G. Drake, ed . "Reference Mission Version 3.0: Addendum to the Human Exploration of Mars : The Reference
Mission of the NASA Mars Exploration Study Team, " http ://ares .jsc .nasa.gov/ Human Explore/ Exploration/
EXLibrary/docs/ MarsRef/addendum/index.htm, June (1998) .
51 S. K. Borowski et al., "N uclear Thermal Rocket/Ve hicle Desig n Options for Future NASA Missions to the Moon and
Mars, " AIAA-93-4170 {NASA Tech Memorandum
107071), (1993) .
52 G. A. Smith, " Positron Propelled and Powered Space Transport Vehicle for Planetary Missions", NIAC Phase I
Final Report, Research Subaward No . 07605-003 -048, September 1, 2005 - March 31 , 2006.
53 S. J. Hoffman and D. I. Kaplan, eds. "H uman Exp loration of Mars: The Reference Mission of the NASA Mars
Exploration Study Tea m," NASA Special Publication 6107, JSC (1997) .
54 B. G. Drake, ed . "Reference Mission Version 3.0 : Addendum to the Human Exploration of Mars : The Reference
Mission of the NASA Mars Exploration St udy Tea m, " http ://ares.jsc. nasa .gov/ Human Explore/ Exploration/
EXLibrary/docs/ MarsRef/addendum/index.htm, June (1998).
55 G. A. Smith, "Positron Propelled and Powered Space Transport Vehicle for Planetary Missions", NIAC Phase I
Final Report, Research Subaward No . 07605-003-048, September 1, 2005 - March 31, 2006 .
56 C.A. Kapatanakos, J. Synchrotron Rad . 3, 268-271 (1996) .
57 ILC undulator-based source, www.ippp.dur.ac.uk/~gudrid/source/BCD-source. !LC capitalization is estimated at
$9B (see www.linearcollider.org ).
SB Ibid.
59 Ibid.
60 R. Landua, CERN , " Precision Experiments with Antiprotons", Feb . 24 (2003) .
61 S. Howe et al. , AIP Conf. Proc. 746, 520 (2005) .
62 14 MeV Electron Linac @ $SM capitalization cost and $SM/yr operating cost (A. Herer et al ., "Applicatio ns of High
Voltage High Powered Electron Bea ms", IBA, Belg ium, 1997).
63 G. R. Schmidt et al ., J. Propu lsion and Power, 16, 923 (2000).
64 J. Rejcek et al. , Rad. Phys . Chem. 68, 655 (2003) .
65 G. A. Smith, "High Density Storage of Antimatter", Advanced High Energy Storage Conference, MITRE Corp .,
McLean, VA, Aug . 1 (2005) .
66 C. M. Surko and R. G. Greaves, Phys . Plasmas 11, 2333 (2004).
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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.