14 DAY TRIAL // Experts with the US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) are currently considering a new proposal for delivering satellites into space. The approach would rely on using airplanes for the job, rather than regular rockets.
The Pentagon agency is constantly on the look-out for new options on strengthening the nation's defensive and offensive capabilities, especially given the extreme degree of reliance the United States has on spy satellites in orbit.
These spacecraft play tremendously important roles for Earth observation, weather prediction, military planning and attack execution, in addition to classified functions. Forces belonging to allies of the US are also coordinated through the country's extensive satellite systems.
But DARPA wants to improve these capabilities, while at the same time keeping costs to a minimum as it does so. Another objective in the new study is to gain rapid deployment capabilities. This means that satellites need to be up in space about 24 hours after the order is given.
This would be a dramatic improvement from the way things are currently done, where spacecraft become available months after the need arises. The Pentagon has therefore awarded DARPA experts with $164 (€119.2) million for the development of airborne satellite launch systems.
The main condition the Pentagon imposes is that the new launch systems would be capable of deploying small spacecraft to Earth's orbit within 24 hours. In addition to the tremendous tactical benefits, this capability would imply that any airfield can become a space facility.
When DARPA officials announced the new program, on November 4, they mentioned that space launches could carry one pound of cargo to orbit for less than $10,000, which is about three times cheaper than current fares.
The first demo flights featuring the new system could start as soon as 2015, and the agency wants to demonstrate about 12 such missions before the system is accepted for wide-scale use. The platform will have to deploy 100-pound payloads to space in a reliable manner, Space reports.
Being able to launch new satellites from airplanes is also of geopolitical importance, given that both the Russian Federation and China have weapons capable of disabling and destroying satellites in orbit.
Having access to airplanes that can easily replenish destroyed spacecraft would help the US withstand any sort of space aggression it may be subjected to.