AAWSAP DIRD, Laser Lightcraft Nanosatellites, November 2010

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Pico or Nano
Satellites
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Chapter 3: Laser Lightcraft Weapon Mission Selection
Study
The objective of the Froning and Davis [26] study was to examine crucial future Air
Force launch vehicle missions and select at least one that might be performed very
cost-effectively by Lightcraft vehicles powered by beamed electromagnetic energy from
airborne or ground/sea-based lasers. It entailed identification and analysis of promising
launch vehicle missions for laser-propelled Lightcraft, and assessments of the identified
and analyzed missions by experts in the mission areas. See Figure 14 and Figure 15 for
Lightcraft missions that have been identified and explored.
It was concluded that the most promising Air Force mission for a laser-propel led
Lightcraft is the placement of Earth and space observing nanosats of up to 3 kg mass
into LEO. Such a laser-propelled Lightcraft would also serve as a "Lightsat," because it
would use the Lightcraft's laser propulsion optics as a telescope for observing military
targets on Earth and in space. Additional estimated mass for performing the Lightsat
function is no more than about 1 kg, if the Lightcraft forebody structure panels can be
unfurled in orbit and used as solar power collectors. Such a Lightcraft system appears
capable of reaching LEO at 1/Sth to 1/10th the cost required for placing a similar Lightsat
system into LEO using multistage chemical rocket systems.
Ground-to-Space
,,,~
(Earth-to-Orbit)
/
/
/
/
Figure 14. Ground/Sea-to-Space Concept: Appropriate rotation of a high-energy laser beam,
emanating from a ground/sea-based laser, guides and propels an integral Lightcraft pico­
/nano-satellite along an ETO ascent path until orbital conditions are reached, or until
beamed laser energy can no longer be transformed into Lightcraft thrust C261,
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