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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…
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• Weight: 0.25 kg.
• Input data rate: 2 kbits/sec.
• Output data rate: 100 kbits/sec.
• Data storage: 2 Gbits.
• Encoding: advanced convolutional.
• Processing speed: 12 MIPS.
• Radiation tolerance: > 100 krads total dose.
In order to develop a low mass C&DH, a lightweight and low power electronics
packaging method must be used. The packaging method that will be chosen must have
a small volume and small footprint (6 cm x 6 cm x variable height). The packaging
technique must provide data on programmable substrates and data on a compliant
interconnects for space use. A multi-chip module (MCM) has been successfully
produced by Pico Systems Inc.
A combined effort to reduce mass, power, size and cost led to the development of the
CMOS Ultra Low Power Radiation Tolerant (CULPRiT) system on a chip, and "C&DH in
your Palm" are technologies that enable the power reduction required for nanosats.
The goals of these technologies are a 20: 1 power reduction over current 5-volt
technology, foundry independence of die production, and radiation tolerance.
Another technology enabling a decrease in volume is the RHrFPGA, which reduces
volume by replacing many logic functions/circuits with one die. The RHrFPGA also
allows concurrent design by decoupling the logic design from the module, shortens the
design schedule, lowers the part count, and eases rework.
The above technologies allow for higher levels of electronic integration, effectively
combining spacecraft subsystem electronics and instrument electronics into the
smallest possible mass, power, and volume.
POWER SYSTEMS
Total spacecraft power is limited by the small satellite size. The Sun's power density is
1.35 kW/m 2. Assuming 15% conversion efficiency for a 0.3 m x 0.1 m disk shaped
nanosat (cross section of 0.03 m 2 ), with a 67% area coverage, this results in a total
electric power of only 4.0 watts. Lightweight, efficient solar array panels that minimize
the effective array mounting area are needed. Dual or triple junction GaAs solar cells
that give 18% conversion efficiency at end of life (EOL), and assuming a more
optimistic area factor of 85%, will result in only 6.2 Wat EOL. Small satellites that do
not have extended solar panels simply do not intercept a large solar power density and
must use the available power very efficiently. For a small spinning satellite, it is
expected that three solar cells will be connected in series along the spin axis, and
groups of three will be connected in parallel around the circumference. Each section
will generate 3.3 volts and rotate into and out of sunlight as a unit. Voltage drops at
3.3 volts, bus regulation, circuit protection (e.g., fuse or circuit breaker) and Lithium
ion battery discharge characteristics are being studied.
Highly elliptical orbits in the ecliptic plane where the apogee velocity is very low will
cause a several hour eclipse during part of the year. Spacecraft batteries to cover this
eclipse period presents a significant mass impact. However, only a 10° orbit plane
UNCLASSIFIED//F811. 8FFl81*L tl!IL 8HLY
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