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Defense Intelligence Reference Document Laser Lightcraft Nanosatellites

Defense Intelligence Agency · 77 pages · text from the file's own layer

This Defense Intelligence Reference Document from the Defense Intelligence Agency, dated 1 November 2010, was produced under the Advanced Aerospace Weapon System Applications (AAWSA) Program. It describes nanosatellite technologies and proposes launching nanosats into orbit with laser Lightcraft propulsion. It also covers a weapon mission selection study and multi-megawatt laser options. The author recommends that the Department of Defense and NASA bring Lightcraft R&D back to the United States and restart the X-50LR flight demonstration program.

  • p. 4 …Influence of Target Velocity and Intercept Angle on Impact Energy and Required Mass .................................................................................................. 33 Table 5…
  • p. 5 …The term "minisatellite" refers to a spacecraft with a wet mass (including onboard propellant) of 100…
  • p. 7 …Nanosatellite Technologies OVERVIEW Nanosats require technologies that radically reduce the mass and power of components without…
  • p. 8 …nanosat presents some unique challenges, with low mass (0.25 kg) and low power (0.5…
  • p. 9 …In order to develop a low mass C&DH, a lightweight and low power electronics packaging…
  • p. 11 …RF COMMUNICATIONS The onboard RF subsystem must be small, low mass, and low power. The system…
  • p. 12 …additional strain on an already challenged nanosat mass and power budget. For this reason, the concept…
  • p. 13 …The material will be selected based on mass, cost, manufacturability, ease of assembly and integration, and…
  • p. 15 …for the spacecraft because a large propellant mass and heavy energy source are not carried onboard…
  • p. 17 …Current Lightcraft designs are limited to about 60 g mass and 15 cm in diameter by…
  • p. 21 …It requires a beam power of 0.1 to 1 MW per kg of vehicle mass…
  • p. 22 …The majority of the system mass required to launch a payload to orbit is left on…
  • p. 24 …Therefore, this would allow approximately 4 kg of mass to be placed into orbit with the…
  • p. 25 …same ply-thickness) to meet Lightcraft airframe mass requirements. Another important finding in the study was…
  • p. 31 …Additional estimated mass for performing the Lightsat function is no more than about 1 kg, if…
  • p. 32 …Lightcraft takeoff masses no more than about 20 kg can be accelerated to orbital velocities by…
  • p. 33 …for missile and maneuvering aircraft interception. • Additional mass along Lightcraft centerline for hardened target penetration. LIGHTCRAFT…
  • p. 34 …Lightcraft sizing assumed a propellant mass fraction of 0.5 and 1.0 MW of laser…
  • p. 35 …Hybrid Rocket Expendible Launch Vehicle - Assumed Perfonnance and Estimated Weights Payload Mass (kg) 1.00 5…
  • p. 37 …It is therefore estimated that the air-to-space Lightcraft dry mass would be about the…
  • p. 38 …Influence of Target Velocity and Intercept Angle on Impact Energy and Required Mass 2 61. Lightcraft…
  • p. 39 …Influence of Lightcraft and Target Velocity on Impact Energy and Required Mass 261. Lightcraft Lightcraft Impact…
  • p. 40 …The lower mass also saves launch costs, so the total system costs less for the same…
  • p. 41 …many spacecraft that the economics of true mass production will come into play in space for…
  • p. 44 …the local vertical, with its center of mass in GEO. The Fresnel zone plate has a…
  • p. 46 …wall plug and optical efficiencies, cost, complexity, mass, and size. Free-electron lasers are another class…
  • p. 47 …P = 2000 Pa (or 0.02 atmospheres). • Mass flow rate, Q = 60 kg/sec per module…
  • p. 48 UNCLASSIFIED//509 AEEJCJOP 11£5 O.-blf + Total mass flow rate, Qtota1 = 240 kg/sec for…
  • p. 50 …sec, and 15 kg/sec of CD2 mass flow represents 2.053 x 1026 molecules/sec…
  • p. 51 …The 60 kg/sec mass flow requirement of the 3: 1 N2/C02 lasing gases means…
  • p. 53 …mass (not including the prime power and cooling systems) to achieve the low specific mass (5…
  • p. 65 …is the undulator period, mis the electron mass, and c is the speed of light. 'MeV…
  • p. 72 …The Lightcraft specific impulse is essentially infinite (several thousand seconds in rocket mode), while payload mass…
UNCLASSIFIED//P8"1 8PPU!lit.L 1!191!! 8HLY
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UNCLASSIFIED//P8"1 8PPU!l"'k lal!ii e,11.~•
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Report, from the dia collection. The PDF is mirrored here; the original link is under it. 77 pages are in the text index: search them above, or from the library's search.