Documents / Official release
This Defense Intelligence Reference Document (DIA-08-1011-001), dated 1 November 2010, was prepared by the Defense Intelligence Agency's Defense Warning Office under the Advanced Aerospace Weapon System Applications program. It covers nanosatellite technologies, laser Lightcraft propulsion, a weapon mission selection study and a multi-megawatt laser study. The author recommends that the Department of Defense, working with NASA, bring laser Lightcraft propulsion research back to the United States and restart the Air Force X-50LR test flight program.
From the source:Release of 2026-09-18 Incident: 11/1/10, 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 laser-propelled “Lightcraft” as a possible low-cost method to launch very small satellites into low Earth orbit by using a remote high-energy laser to supply most of the propulsion energy rather than relying entirely on onboard energy sources. The report combines a survey of nanosatellite trends with a review of “Lightcraft” propulsion concepts, vehicle design, beam-control requirements, and mission studies, and argues that the most promising application is the launch of nano- or pico-satellites, especially Earth- and space-observing payloads of a few kilograms or less. It presents the concept as potentially much cheaper than conventional multistage rockets for very small payloads, while also noting significant practical constraints including strict beam-riding geometry, atmospheric losses, demanding pointing and adaptive-optics requirements, and heavy dependence on large ground-, sea-, or air-based laser infrastructure. Overall, the document presents laser “Lightcraft” as a technically plausible launch concept whose attractiveness depends on whether the supporting laser and beam-control system can be made reliable and economical at operational scale.
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The total cost for an installed 10 MW power oscillator-based laser transmitter is
estimated as follows [29]:
• 2.5 MW Prototype = $80.0 Million.
• 3 x 2.5 MW Additional Modules + 4 Module Integration = $133.0 Million.
• Buildings/Installations~ $17.0 Million.
• Total Installed & Integrated Transmitter Cost ~ $230 Million.
And the additional costs for the MOPA-based transm itters and cold-flow assessment are
[29):
• 4 Master Oscillators ~ $20 .0 Million .
• Cold-Flow Subscale Upgrades & Evaluations ~$5.0 Million.
• Tota l Add itional Cost~ $25.0 Million .
The TEXTRON Systems study concluded that [29]:
• A pulsed CO2 repetitively pulsed transmitter, which uses a 300 second blow down
and beam combining, can provide the power levels and energies needed for
Lightcraft propulsion applications.
• Spectral tailoring of the beam and mountain-top operation should provide
reasonable atmospheric transm ission of the high pulsed-power laser beam.
• Low cost operation is achievable with helium-free gas mixtures, which use N2,
CO2, and small quantities of H2.
• Subscale testing will be used to anchor the design and thus reduce risk.
• Legacy programs support many aspects of th is approach.
• Growth potential with cold-flow and aero windows should double the beam power
output.
• Current pulsed CO2 laser technology blow down configuration is postured to
provide power levels for propulsion of kilogram-sized spacecraft into orbit.
Payload Cost Estimate for Lightcraft Launch Using a 10 MW CO2/Gas
Mixture Laser
Froning and Davis [26] used a proposed 10 MW electron gun -driven N2/CO2/H 2 laser
design to estimate the Lightcraft payload launch cost per kilogram, which is described
in what follows. Each power oscillator optics module transmitting a 2.5 MW beam of
10.6 μm wavelength photons generates 1.334 x 1026 photons/sec, and 15 kg/sec of CO2
mass flow represents 2.053 x 1026 molecules/sec of gas flow. These figures taken
together mean that 1.54 CO2 molecules are required to lase one photon. A 2.5 MW
laser operating for 300 seconds of thrusting will allow us to send 5.25 kg of payload
into LEO, and the total laser energy (E1aser) output is 750 MJ. If the laser efficiency is
0 .20, then we will need to use 12.5 MW of electrical power for 300 seconds (or 3,750
MJ of total energy), which, at a cost of $0.10 per kWh (or $0.0278 per MJ), gives a
total cost of $104 for the required electrical energy to launch the payload.
The kinetic energy (KE) of a Lightcraft in LEO is given by KE = 1,apyE1aser, where [26):
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Official release, from the pursue collection. The PDF is mirrored here; the original link is above. 77 pages are in the text index: search them above, or from the library's search.