U.S. military operations rely heavily upon satellites to spy on battlefields and coordinate friendly forces across the globe, but fast-changing ground conditions or enemy attacks on satellites can threaten to overwhelm the system. That's why the Pentagon has announced $164 million to turn airliners into airborne launch platforms that can send small satellites into orbit within 24 hours.
An airplane-based launch means that the U.S. military could swiftly deploy satellites from any normal airfield, rather than rely upon expensive and possibly vulnerable ground-based launch pads. The Pentagon's research agency, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), also anticipates slashing small satellite payload costs from more than $30,000 per pound to less than $10,000 per pound — making such launches three times cheaper.
Taking off from an airliner flying at 25,000 feet allows the theoretical space launch vehicle to start out above most of the atmosphere. It also adds a starting speed boost to the space launch vehicle, and allows designers to create a larger, more efficient rocket nozzle.
DARPA wants the program to demonstrate at least 12 launches of 100-pound payloads to low Earth orbit, with each launch costing about $1 million. Launches could start as soon as 2015, according to DARPA's official announcement of the program on Nov. 4.
The U.S. military has shown past interest in having the capability to quickly put new satellites into orbit. Its attempts to create flexible orbital spies include the reusable Air Force space plane, called the X-37B, which is currently on its second test flight above the Earth.
Satellite replacements might also be needed in case the existing satellite network becomes disabled or compromised. Hackers have demonstrated their ability to interfere with U.S. government satellites, and countries such as Russia and China possess systems capable of shooting down or disabling satellites.
But if the new program succeeds, the U.S. military could put new satellites or satellite replacements into any orbit without the limitations of fixed geographical launch pads. Anyone hoping to stop such launches would have to consider almost any airfield as a possible launch site
Launching satellites from launchpads is cool and everything, but if DARPA has its way the military could soon be launching small satellites from airliners, granting the Pentagon the ability to put satellites aloft from virtually any airfield and at a fraction of the cost.
ReplyDeleteThe $164 million Airborne Launch Assist Space Access (ALASA) program is aimed at getting satellites in the air quickly, cheaply, and from anywhere rather than from a limited number of launch sites. Airplane-based launch systems could get satellites into space on a 24-hour turnaround. That means that in a pinch the DoD could deploy numerous new satellites, though DARPA’s solicitation stops short of detailing exactly what kind of pinch that might be.
Airborne launch platforms cruising at just 25,000 feet would place the initial launch at an altitude that’s above much of the Earth’s denser atmosphere. Such a system would also provide the launch vehicle--likely something very much like an aerially launched missile--with an initial velocity, so the rocket wouldn’t be starting from a standstill. That should trim the cost-per-pound of payload--DARPA hopes to cut costs by two thirds, from up to $30,000 per pound now to less than $10,000 per pound in the future.
The initial launches won’t be that cheap however. DARPA wants ALASA to demonstrate a dozen launches of 100-pound payloads into low Earth orbit at a cost of $1 million per launch as soon as 2015. If ALASA can do that, the Pentagon will be well on its way to making every Air Force base in its portfolio a potential satellite launchpad.
That could be key to future military engagements of course, hence DARPA’s interest. Cyber attacks and anti-satellite weapons both pose a threat to the defense satellites the U.S. military depends on. In a scenario in which systems like GPS and military intelligence or communications satellites are compromised, the military could quickly replenish its satellite supply from any airfield on the planet.