AAWSAP DIRD, Cockpits in the Era of Breakthrough Flight, November 2010

This Defense Intelligence Reference Document, dated 1 November 2010 and numbered DIA-08-1011-002, was prepared by the Defense Intelligence Agency's Defense Warning Office. It is one of a series of advanced technology reports produced under the Advanced Aerospace Weapon System Applications program. It draws mainly on the book Frontiers of Propulsion Science and speculates about breakthroughs such as control of gravity and inertia and faster-than-light travel. It then proposes a provisional cockpit design with six-degree-of-freedom controls, virtual displays and no windows.

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 how cockpit design might change if future aerospace vehicles were ever to achieve major propulsion breakthroughs such as control over gravity and inertia, “propellantless” flight, or faster-than-light travel. The report does not describe an existing or emerging vehicle class. Instead, it asks what such hypothetical capabilities would mean for piloting, displays, controls, and human factors, and it argues that the biggest design challenges would come from full six-degree-of-freedom motion, operation across multiple flight regimes from near-surface flight to orbit and deep space, and the possible separation between the craft’s actual motion and the crew’s internal physical sensations. It combines those assumptions with established human-machine-interface principles and with maturing inputs such as gesture, voice, and brain-machine control to outline a provisional cockpit centered on intuitive displays, stress-tolerant physical controls, and a virtual surround display.

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Flight-Mode Control
In contemporary aircraft, the flight-mode control panel is often located prominently in
the glare shield . It contains displays and controls for the autopilot and for setting
headings, speeds, and other operational parameters. In breakthrough-era craft, there
will likely be no need for a glare shield, since all images of the exterior will be projected
indirectly; thus, the intensity of the light can be limited. Nonetheless,
prominent location for the flight -mode display is critical.
having a
Vehicle Status Indicators
The status of critical operating pa rameters of the vehicle, such as its fuel level and
eng ine temperature, is essentia l. Note the prominence of those displays in the center of
the flight deck. However, other than knowing that similar displays and controls will be
required for breakthrough -era cockpits, it is too early to speculate on their details.
Joystick, Throttles, and Keypads
Some sort of physical controls are required to fly the aircraft. On contemporary aircraft,
these include the joystick (side-mounted), rudder pedals, and throttle controls. Fine
tun ing controls that manage features such as trim settings and flight heading can be
located on separate panels. The details of these controls are dependent on the methods
of flight. For a breakthrough craft, it is reasonable to speculate that six-degree-of
freedom controls will be accommodated by whatever method is most natural for pilots.
Figure 12. Space Cockpit Visions Circa 1959 . Taken directly from Seifert's 1959 book, Space Technology, this
is an artist's rendering of a "space travel control statio n." It is offered here to convey the provisional nature of far
future speculations, including the speculatio ns offered in t his report.
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