Space-Based Chemical Lasers in strategic defense

Conference · Wed Jul 01 00:00:00 EDT 1992

OSTI ID:6975588

Wildt, D ^[1]

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1. SDIO, Washington, DC (United States)

The Strategic Defense Initiative Organization (SDIO) has made significant progress in developing Space-Based chemical Laser (SBL) technologies and in studying the SBLs global defense capability. In this mission, a constellation of several orbiting laser platforms provides continuous global defense by intercepting threatening missiles in their boost phase, including short range ballistic missiles (SRBMs). An optional smaller constellation provides defense against launches from the low and midlatitude regions. In addition, SBLs have utility in other important related missions such as surveillance, air defense and discrimination. The hardware necessary to build such a system has been developed to the point where it is mature and ready for demonstration in space. Advances have been made in each of the following major areas of the SBL: laser device; optics/beam control; beam pointing; ATP (acquisition, tracking and pointing); uncooled optics; and laser lethality. Integration of the key laser and beam control technologies is now occurring in the ground-based ALI experiment, and a space demonstration experiment, Star LITE, is in the planning and concept development phase.

• OSTI ID: 6975588
• Report Number(s): AIAA-Paper-92-2976; CONF-9207111-
• Resource Relation: Conference: 23. American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) plasma dynamics and lasers conference, Nashville, TN (United States), 6-8 Jul 1992
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

45 MILITARY TECHNOLOGY, WEAPONRY, AND NATIONAL DEFENSE
BALLISTIC MISSILE DEFENSE
LASER WEAPONS
TECHNOLOGY ASSESSMENT
CHEMICAL LASERS
CONTROL SYSTEMS
MILITARY EQUIPMENT
SPACE WEAPONS
DIRECTED-ENERGY WEAPONS
EQUIPMENT
LASERS
NATIONAL DEFENSE
WEAPONS
450500* - Military Technology
Weaponry
& National Defense- Strategic Defense Initiative- (1990-)