DOW-UAP-D143, AAWSAP DIRD, Laser Lightcraft Nanosatellites, November 2010

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The Defense Intelligence Reference Document provides non-substantive but authoritative reference information related to intelligence topics or methodologies. Prepared by: Technology Warning Division (DW0-4) Defense Warning Office Directorate for Analysis Defense Intelligence Agency AAP Person 58 Administrative Notes: (U) COPYRIGHT WARNING: Further dissemination of the photographs in this publication is not This product is one in a series of advanced technology reports produced in FY 2010 under the Defense Intelligence Agency, Defense Warning Office's Advanced Aerospace Weapon System Applications.---.... (AAWSA) Program. Comments or questions pertaining to this document should be addressed to I -·--. ) MP Person AAP Perso~ ______ AAWSA Program Manager, Defense Intelligence Agency, ATTN: JUIAF - DI/DWO-3,

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Chapter 2: Laser Lightcraft Nanosatellite Propulsion ..............................................11 Chapter 3: Laser Lightcraft Weapon Mission Selection Study ..................................27 Chapter 4: Summary of Multi-Megawatt Laser Study for Lightcraft Propulsion Figure 1. Air Force X-25LR Laser Lightcraft ..........................................................12 Figure 2. AFRL Test Vehicle in Vertical Flight ........................................................14 Figure 3. Time-Lapse Photo of a Lightcraft Undergoing an Outdoor Vertical Flight Test 15 Figure 4. Lightcraft Flight-Test Vehicle Used in Horizontal Guide-Wire Flight Tests ......16 Figure 5. Lightcraft Undergoing Horizontal Guide-Wire Flight Test ...........................16 Figure 6. Lightcraft Undergoing Horizontal Guide-Wire Flight Test ...........................17 Figure 7. Lightcraft Concept ...............................................................................18 Figure 8. Lightcraft Trajectory and Associated Pointing Angles .................................19 Figure 9. Lightcraft Vehicle Evolution ...................................................................20 Figure 10. Attenuation Effects on Captured Laser Beam Power................................22 Figure 11. Influence of Trajectory and Laser Wavelength on Captured Power.............22 Figure 13. Influence of Lightcraft Range and Pointing Angles on Captured Power........24 Figure 16. Schematic of Power Oscillator Optics ....................................................44 Figure 17. Schematic of MOPA ............................................................................45 Figure 18. Schematic of the Laser N2/CO2/H2 Gas Flow System ................................45 Figure 19. Northrop Grumman's Joint High Power Bulk Slab Solid-State Laser ...........48 Figure 20. DARPA's High Energy Liquid Laser Area Defense System .........................50 Figure 21. Phase Change Materials Allow Storage of Large Intermittent Heat Loads While Slow Regeneration Removes Heat from Aircraft ............................................52 Figure 23. Fiber Laser Beam Combining Techniques ...............................................54 Figure 24. Pumping Fiber Lasers .........................................................................56 Figure 25. Large and Small Diameter Fiber Lasers .................................................56 Figure 26. Single Mode Fiber Laser Modules ..........................................................57 Figure 29. Free-Electron Laser Mechanism ............................................................58 Figure 30. Free-Electron Laser Electron Beam Phase-Space Evolution .......................59 Figure 31. Recirculating-Beam FEL System ...........................................................60 Figure 32. High-Power FEL Optical Resonator ........................................................62 Figure 33. Notional Long Range HEL Beam Control System.....................................64

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Figure 34. HEL Beam Pointer/Tracker...................................................................65 Figure 35. Basic Shared Aperture Beam Control System .........................................66 Figure 36. HEL Adaptive Optics System................................................................67 Table 1. Laser Lightcraft Model Cost Summary ......................................................25 Table 2. Performance and Estimated Weights for a Hybrid Rocket and Lightcraft ........30 Table 3. Estimated Costs for Hybrid Rocket and Lightcraft Launch Vehicles for ETO Table 4. Influence of Target Velocity and Intercept Angle on Impact Energy and Required Mass ..................................................................................................33 Table 5. Influence of Lightcraft and Target Velocity on Impact Energy and Required

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Laser Lightcraft Nanosatellites Miniaturized satellites are spacecraft of unusually low mass and small size, usually under 500 kg in total mass. The term "minisatellite" refers to a spacecraft with a wet mass (including onboard propellant) of 100 kg to 500 kg. Microsatellite or "microsat" is spacecraft with a wet mass below 10 kg. Picosatellite or "picosat" is a spacecraft with a wet mass of 0.1 kg to 1.0 kg. Picosats are also called sub-nanosats. The primary reason for miniaturizing satellites is to reduce cost. Heavier satellites require larger launch vehicles of greater cost while smaller, lighter satellites require smaller and cheaper launch vehicles and can sometimes be launched in multiples or "piggyback" using excess capacity on larger launch vehicles. Miniaturized satellites allow for cheaper designs as well as ease of mass production. However, few satellites of any size other than communications constellations, where dozens of satellites are used to cover the globe, have been mass produced in practice. Besides the cost issue, the main rationale for the use of miniaturized satellites is the opportunity to enable missions that a larger satellite cannot accomplish, such as: • Constellations for low data rate communications. • Using formations to gather data from multiple points. • In-orbit inspection of larger satellites. Many of these missions require numerous small spacecraft in a constellation or "swarm." These include orbital communications networks and swarms of small satellites to conduct remote sensing, and to provide unique perspectives on astronomical bodies of interest. For instance, 100 or more nanosats could be deployed from a mother ship to their final destination in space for deployment. Provisions for orbital maneuvers as well as attitude control, multiple sensors, and instruments, and full autonomy will yield a highly capable miniaturized satellite. All onboard electronics will survive a total radiation dose rate of several hundred kilorads over a several year mission lifetime (at least 100 kilorads over two years). Nanosats developed for in-situ measurements will be spin-stabilized, and carry a complement of particles and fields instruments. Nanosats developed for remote sensing measurements (MASINT) or surveillance and eavesdropping (SIGINT) will be three-axis stabilized, and carry a complement of imaging and radio wave instruments. Autonomy both onboard the nanosats and at the ground stations will minimize the mission operational costs for tracking and managing a constellation. To reduce overall mission cost, advanced technology components and a novel laser propulsion system will be used to make nanosats and their onboard instruments compact, lightweight, low power, low cost, and able to survive their radiation environment over a several year lifetime. Each nanosat will be manufactured and tested for a recurring cost not to exceed $500k. By producing a large quantity of nanosats for a given mission, the per-unit cost will be reduced to a small fraction of

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satellite procurements for traditional missions. Mission operation costs will be minimized by the incorporation of both onboard and ground autonomy and use of heuristic systems.

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Chapter 1: Nanosatellite Technologies Nanosats require technologies that radically reduce the mass and power of components without compromising performance. In addition to miniaturizing components, methods to integrate similar functions across subsystems are being evaluated. For example, all subsystem electronics, including instruments, could be integrated within the Command