AAWSAP DIRD, Laser Lightcraft Nanosatellites, November 2010

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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SUMMARY OF EMERGENT HIGH-POWER SOLID-STATE AND FREE
ELECTRON LASER TECHNOLOGIES
Bulk Slab Solid-State Laser
Under the auspices of the Joint High Power Solid-State Laser (JHPSSL) program,
Northrop Grumman broke the all-important 100 kW beam power threshold in early
2009 by firing a 7-amplifier chain bulk slab solid-state laser (BSSSL) that produced a
beam output power of almost 106 kW (see Figure 19). Each amplifier chain is
assembled with several high-gain power modules. The laser operated for more than
five minutes, achieved electro-optical efficiency of 19.3%, and reached full power in
less than 0.6 seconds with a beam quality of better than 3.0, Whereas the test
demonstration saw five minutes of continuous operation for the laser, altogether the
system has been operated at above 100 kW beam power for a total duration of more
than 85 minutes. Adding an eight amplifier chain that the system was designed for will
increase the beam power to 120 kW.
Figure 19. Northrop Grumman's Joint High Power Bulk Slab Solid-State Laser (courtesy of
the Directed Energy Professional Society).
Even though 100 kW beam power has long been the proof-of-principle sought for
weapons-class lasers, it should be noted that many militarily useful effects can be
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