Documents / Official release
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.
UNCLASSIFIED/ ,'FOR OFFI@IAL WSE QptLY Vector Motion Panel (Primary Flight Display) The most critical, survival-dependant displays are in the "tunnel vision" zone, directly in front of the pilot. The main panel at the center of the display is analogous to the primary flight display (PFD) of contemporary aircraft (shown previously in Figure 11). In this case, however, it must be modified to accommodate the full six degrees of freedom and the additional flight regimes of orbit and deep space. Because of these modifications, and to distinguish from conventional aircraft displays, this text provisionally uses the term "vector motion" display. The main distinction between an aircraft PFD and this vector motion display is that the aircraft PFD is biased toward flight near the surface of a gravitating body and for which navigation conventions are firmly established (e.g., "up" and magnetic compass heading). The vector motion display, which must accommodate orbits and deep-space flight will also feature conventional functional subsets for near-Earth navigation. Since we have no established standards for deep-space navigation that are applicable beyond our solar system. Devising and designing such a system and the appropriate display requires further work. Orientation standards will have to be developed for breakthrough-era craft that are still consistent with this Earth-surface convention. The main axes adopted for this display would also be superimposed onto the virtual surround display. This display will include information to ensure a safe trajectory, avoid collisions, and handle other situations. In addition, visual cues for assisting a pilot to safely enter a correct orbit are required. Although it is expected that such maneuvers would be handled by an automated system, the more demanding condition, in which the pilot will have to manually enter orbit, presents an appropriate design goal for the display and is a subject for future work. Navigation Display Panel The navigation display is responsible for showing the pilot his location relative to base and all other points of interest. Following the common practice of aviation, this display is located immediately to the left of the central motion display. The navigation display will need a new coordinate system to address deep-space flight, transition into orbits, and maneuvering near to and landing on gravitating bodies. Such an orientation and guidance system does not yet exist. It is expected that most gravitating bodies can be conventionally mapped using systems analogous to those used for the Earth, where the rotation axis is a defining characteristic. The caveat is that not all gravitating bodies are spherica l (asteroids and small moons). Flight-Assist Panel The flight-ass ist panel is located to the right of the vector motion display. Because of the variety of functions this panel must perform, it must be in the form of an adaptive display. This panel provides information and accepts pilot commands to assist in UNCLASSIFIED/fFOA: OFFICIO la Plili Oralla¥ 35
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Official release, from the pursue collection. The PDF is mirrored here; the original link is above. 57 pages are in the text index: search them above, or from the library's search.