Fighter Jets May Launch Small Satellites to Space

[Buster's Uncle]

Fighter Jets May Launch Small Satellites to Space
LiveScience.com
By Elizabeth Howell  1 hour ago



DARPA’s Airborne Launch Assist Space Access program (ALASA) seeks to launch small satellites into low-Earth orbit.



Small satellites could hitch rides to space on an F-15 fighter jet by next year, according to the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), the agency responsible for developing new technologies for the U.S. military.

DARPA's so-called Airborne Launch Assist Space Access (ALASA) program is an ambitious project that aims to launch small satellites more quickly, and reduce the cost of lofting them into orbit. Traditional launches using rockets cost roughly $30,000 per pound ($66,000 per kilogram), DARPA officials have said.

The F-15 jet would take off on a nearly vertical trajectory, with the expendable launch vehicle mounted underneath it. Essentially, the fighter jet acts as the first stage of a rocket, according to DARPA. After the aircraft flies to a high altitude, it releases the satellite and can then return to land on a conventional runway.

ALASA flight demonstrations are expected to begin later this year, and the first orbital test launch is slated to occur in the first half of 2016. A dozen other demonstration launches are also planned for next year, according to agency officials, who declined to comment on the ALASA program in an interview with Live Science.

"We've made good progress so far toward ALASA's ambitious goal of propelling 100-lb. [45 kg] satellites into low-Earth orbit (LEO) within 24 hours of call-up, all for less than $1 million per launch," Bradford Tousley, director of DARPA's tactical technology office, said in a statement.

"We're moving ahead with rigorous testing of new technologies that we hope one day could enable revolutionary satellite launch systems that provide more affordable, routine and reliable access to space," Tousley said.

A public update on the ALASA program took place earlier this month at the Federal Aviation Administration's 18th annual Commercial Space Transportation Conference in Washington, D.C.

The new system is designed to be "an alternative to ride-sharing for satellites," which is when a small satellite hitches a ride into space on a rocket whose primary purpose is to boost a bigger satellite, according to TechieNews.

The system "enables satellite owners to launch payloads from any location, any schedule into orbits of their choice, on a launch vehicle designed specifically for small payloads," Mitchell Burnside Clapp, DARPA module manager for ALASA, told TechieNews.

The system designs were narrowed down to three in the first phase of the project, but the agency is planning more maneuvers to reduce the cost as much as possible. These methods include using conventional runways to launch and land the missions, and developing "a new high-energy monopropellant" that combines rocket fuel and oxidizer into one liquid.

Other cost-saving measures for ALASA include mission-planning software to streamline launches, a system to watch over the vehicle using satellites and an automatic flight-termination system that could stop the flight if safety were at risk.

In March, Boeing was selected as the prime contractor for the second phase of the ALASA program.


http://news.yahoo.com/fighter-jets-may-launch-small-satellites-space-135215653.html

[Geo]

I thought the USAF had this capability for decades already? At least, F15's or earlier used aircraft could launch satellite killers in the orbit of a target .

[Buster's Uncle]

I don't think much has been done with practical application, though...

[Geo]

No, not besides a test or two of shooting to pieces retired satellites. At least not that I heard of.

[Unorthodox]

Which capability do you mean? 

Launches from planes are fairly routine, but they are usually off the belly of a jumbo jet.  I think this is just a lot smaller than other systems, a lot of that has more to do with satelite miniaturization than capability.  100 lbs is NOT a lot of payload. 

Kinda curious that this system has the F15 at such a steep incline.  Would think putting the thing at mach whatever at altitude before release would be preferable to verticle momentum. 

[Geo]

Which capability do you mean? 

Well, I literally meant the capability to launch anti-satellite missiles in orbit from a jet fighter like the F15. First time I remember reading about this was in Clancy's novel Red Storm.

[Unorthodox]

Which capability do you mean? 

Well, I literally meant the capability to launch anti-satellite missiles in orbit from a jet fighter like the F15. First time I remember reading about this was in Clancy's novel Red Storm.

Yeah, the ASAT has been around a while, at least one iteration on an F15. 

This is not exactly the same thing though.  The ASAT launched a 30 lb anti tank shell into a suborbital trajectory that would intercept a target satellite.  We're talking about launching 100 lb satelites to stable LEO. 

I'm still confused on the whole "taking off at near verticle" though.  Should get to max speed/altitude for stable flight then zoom climb, which is usually  around 60-70 degrees.  There would be some point during the resulting climb that would be optimal for release.  I'm gonna have to guess bad reporting there. 

[Geo]

I see.
Checked it out on the wiki. It appears the particular program where F 15's could launch an ASAT was canceled after one succesful test (on a satellite).

ASATs were generally given low priority until 1982, when information about a successful USSR program became widely known in the west. A "crash program" followed, which developed into the Vought ASM-135 ASAT, based on the AGM-69 SRAM with an Altair upper stage. The system was carried on a modified F-15 Eagle that carried the missile directly under the central line of the plane. The F-15's guidance system was modified for the mission and provided new directional cueing through the pilot's head-up display, and allowed for mid-course updates via a data link. The first launch of the new anti-satellite missile took place in January 1984. The first, and only, successful interception was on September 13, 1985. The F-15 took off from Edwards Air Force Base, climbed to 38,100 feet (11,613 m)[2] and vertically launched the missile at the Solwind P78-1, a U.S. gamma ray spectroscopy satellite orbiting at 555 km (345 mi), which was launched in 1979.[3] Although successful, the program was cancelled in 1988.

On February 21, 2008, USA destroyed a malfunctioning U.S. spy satellite USA-193 using a RIM-161 Standard Missile 3.

Can't find info on the 'shell' though.

Would the use of the F 15 Strike Eagle (instead of the earlier F 15 Eagle version) offer enough benefit like launch from a higher altitude or higher speed?

[Unorthodox]

Don't know enough about planes, sorry. 

As for the shell, you'd have to search by the kill vehicles name. 

Mission planning was performed in the Cheyenne Mountain complex in Colorado. The F-15 was vectored to the correct launch coordinates and launch time. At the correct location and time the missile was launched from the F-15 and the first stage propelled the missile to a precise inertial point in space so as to be on a collision path with the targeted satellite. The second stage pointed the third stage at the satellite so that the infrared image of the satellite could be detected by the MKV sensor even though the satellite was hundreds of miles away. The MKV was spun up to 33 revolutions per second. The spinning MKV used the known spin rate to keep track of it's attitude. The spinning infrared sensor maintained track of the satellite and reported the satellite's position to the guidance computer. The guidance computer calculated the maneuver required to keep the satellite in the cross hairs of the sensor. The MKV solid rocket motors were then commanded to fire at a precise time to accomplish the desired maneuver. This process was continued repetitively until the MKV collided with the satellite destroying it by virtue of the extremely high kinetic energy. Typical closing velocities for satellite intercept was 15,000 to 25,000 miles per hour. When the 30 pound MKV collided with a 2,000 pound satellite at closing velocity of 15,000 miles per hour complete destruction was assured.

http://www.globalsecurity.org/space/systems/almv.htm

[Geo]

15,000 mph closing velocity? Were they going for a sort of "head on" collision?