Documents / Official release
This Defense Intelligence Reference Document, dated 8 March 2010, was prepared by the Defense Intelligence Agency's Defense Warning Office under the Advanced Aerospace Weapon System Applications Program. It is one of a series of advanced technology reports. It surveys the history of space access concepts, covering hypersonic gliders, air-breathing and rocket propulsion, materials, launch options and operating costs. The report argues that reliable, schedulable access to low Earth orbit is mainly a hardware and organizational problem rather than a technology problem.
From the source:Release of 2026-09-18 Incident: 3/8/10, 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 is a historical and conceptual survey of space access systems, contending that the main barrier to routine access to space is a failure to build durable, reliable, operational hardware and the supporting infrastructure needed for regular service to and from low Earth orbit. The report reviews earlier launch and aerospace concepts, especially reusable and aircraft-like approaches, and suggests that U.S. space access development became too strongly centered on expendable rockets derived from ballistic missiles rather than bespoke systems designed for repeated space access and payload delivery. Its central claim is that meaningful future progress will depend on creating a purpose-built space transportation infrastructure, including frequent round-trip capability and orbital support networks, rather than continuing to rely on one-off launch vehicles. Overall, the document presents a forceful case for infrastructure-first space development, though its characterization of past technological choices is more assertive than a fully neutral account of past U.S. space programming.
“Edwards Air Force Base”1 page
UNCLASSIFIED// FOR OPPICIJct tJSI!! e ..tv Space Based Werning ~ Navtga1lon Weather deceased LEO-Lunar Ro es ?? (j.-- ,, I ' ., I -- r I I I I Planots 0 paceways Entering the 21 t century From Dr. William Gaubatz Figure 43. Where We Are Today 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. After 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, destroyin g any development continuity. A good example is the destruction of the capability to make Saturn I and Saturn V launchers. UNCLASSIFIED/ ,,roA OFFI&il.t.k W&li &rtllf 39
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Official release, from the pursue 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.