DARPA/NASA Joint Efforts

DARPA / NASA Joint Efforts
Mr. David L. Neyland
Director, Tactical Technology Office
Briefing prepared for the American Astronautical Society
48th Annual Robert H. Goddard Memorial Symposium
Greenbelt, MD
March 31, 2011
Distribution Statement “A” (Approved for Public Release, Distribution Unlimited).

DARPA organizational culture
DARPA/NASA pairing
DARPA
Orbital Express
SPUTNIK
DARPA
ARPA
GPS
Have Blue
ARPAnet
transit
1960
1970
1980
1990
2000
2010
1950
► Create and deny surprise
► Lean, agile organization with a risk-taking culture
► Idea-driven and outcome-oriented
► Demonstrate solution concepts
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Distribution Statement “A” (Approved for Public Release, Distribution Unlimited). DISTAR Case 16938

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Fortunate consequences of high risk / high pay-off investment
1969
1990
1955-1959
1967
Unplanned innovation turned it into
the world wide web.
Original ARPAnet for sharing large volumes of lab data.
The ‘Internet’
Original F1 engine too complicated for early launch requirements.
Four years later developed for heavy-lift manned missions.
Apollo launch
1999
1963
Transit 2A satellite pioneered doppler navigation for specific military missions.
Became global precision navigation technology for military and civilian use.
GPS
Navstar Global Positioning System (GPS) satellite Image: USAF Research Lab

Art becomes life
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Interactive tablet communication
2001: A Space Odyssey (MGM)
Real life 2010
DARPA 1969
ART 1969
Spaceflight
Jules Verne
ART 1865
DARPA 1958
Real life 1969
Portable phone
Star Trek (Paramount)
Real life 1996
DARPA1980s
ART 1966

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Fortunate consequences of spaceflight investment
Water purification equipment
Enriched baby food
Scratch-resistant lenses
Athletic shoes
Shock-absorbing helmets
Home security systems
Smoke detectors
Flat panel televisions
Food packaging
Freeze-dried technology
Fogless ski goggles
Self-adjusting sunglasses
Hang gliders
Art preservation
Quartz crystal timing equipment
http://www.sti.nasa.gov/tto/apollo.htm

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Challenges► Successes ► Opportunity
How can we lower barriers of entry into space?
How can increased participation increase safety?
How can we generate invention, investment and increased opportunity in space?
How can we decrease costs by re-using mass on orbit?

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Challenges ► Successes ► Opportunity
Small satellites have decreased barriers of entry into space.

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Increased participation may improve safety.
…Even when total launch mass increased 80%
in the same time period.
Stabilized debris period
due to voluntary mitigation…
1960
2010
2000
1970
1980
1990
2009
2000
1990
NASA Orbital Debris Quarterly News, vol. 14 issue 1, p 12, January 2010.
FAA COMSTAC 2009 Commercial Geosynchronous Orbit (GSO) Launch Demand Forecast
1995 NASA: First comprehensive set of orbital debris mitigation guidelines.
1997 U.S. Government: Orbital Debris Mitigation Standard Practices.
1998-2002 Japan, France, Russia, European Space Agency (ESA): Orbital debris mitigation guidelines.
2002 Inter-Agency Space Debris Coordination Committee (IADC): Guidelines to mitigate the growth of the orbital debris.

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Horizontal Launch Study
Manned Servicing at GEO Study
Beamed Energy Propulsion Study
100 Year Starship Study

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Opportunity ► Horizontal Launch Study
Improving the cost, availability and safety of space launch
by leveraging a broader industrial base and existing aviation infrastructure.
DARPA Interest
Near-term technology demonstration with first stage conventional aircraft.
Technologies for an improved upper stage(s) for reusability or higher performance.
Improved first stage options, including supersonic and hypersonic.

Opportunity ► Horizontal Launch Study (cont.)
Reasonable timeframes for innovative launch options.
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Opportunity ► Manned GEO Servicing Study
Assess GEO-based human satellite servicing.
Study objectives:
Assess GEO-based human satellite servicing.
Identify activities which mitigate risk to human exploration.
Recommend areas for possible technology investment .
Provide context for recommended areas of technology investment.
Scope of study includes:
Hardware transportation from LEO/GTO to GEO.
Crew transportation to GEO and return.
Near-GEO human presence considerations.
Robotic, EVA, and element infrastructure.

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Opportunity ► Manned GEO Servicing Study (cont.)
Research needs by servicing type.

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Opportunity ► Beamed Energy Propulsion Study (BEP)
Low-cost, rapid access to space by:
High-specific impulse power source.
Removing the power-generation mass from the spacecraft.
Advancements in high-energy beamed power systems and optics over the past 20 years warrant a fresh look.
BEP could help meet NASA or DoD needs by providing low-cost, rapid access to space for:
Launch to Earth orbit of small payloads.
Continuous presence at VLEO.
LEO to GEO transportation system.
Extreme deep space exploration.
NASA artwork by Pat Rawlings

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Opportunity ► Beamed Energy Propulsion Study (cont.)
Engine Types
Heat Exchanger
Optical Cavity
Lightcraft
MET, Hall, Ion
Hybrids
Bimodal
Afterburner
Ablative
Propellants
Water
Hydrogen
Nitrogen
Methane
Hydrazine
Beam Types
mm Wave
µ Wave
Laser (Continuous)
Laser Pulsed
Beamed Energy Power Concept
Vehicle Types
Reusable
Staged
Drop Tank
Sail
Power Systems
Solar
Nuclear
Flywheel
System Implementation
Launch Assist
Relay Mirrors
Ground Site
Shipboard
Launch Availability

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Opportunity ► 100 Year Starship Study
Goal: Develop a viable and sustainable model for persistent, long-term, private-sector investment into the myriad of disciplines needed to make long-distance space travel viable; with the agility to respond to the accelerating pace of technological change.
How do organizations evolve and maintain focus and momentum for 100 years or more?
What models have supported long term technology development?
What resources and financial structures have initiated and sustained prior settlements of “new worlds”?

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Opportunity ► 100 Year Starship Study (cont.)

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Opportunity ► 100 Year Starship Study (cont.)

DARPA, NASA and Spaceflight … great opportunities ahead
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DARPA/NASA Joint Efforts

by American Astronautical Society on Apr 01, 2011

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DARPA/NASA Joint Efforts — Presentation Transcript