DEPARTMENT OF THE AIR FORCE

STATEMENT OF

COLONEL JAMES H. HEILMAN, USAF

DEPUTY DIRECTOR

HQ USAF DIRECTORATE OF SPACE

DEPUTY CHIEF OF STAFF PLANS AND OPERATIONS

BEFORE THE

COMMITTE ON ENERGY AND NATURAL RESOURCES

SUBCOMMITTEE ON ENERGY RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT

SENATE

CONCERNING

AIR FORCE OPERATIONAL REQUIREMENTS

FOR

SPACE-BASED NUCLEAR POWER

APRIL 29, 1986

GOOD MORNING MISTER CHAIRMAN, MEMBERS OF THE SUBCOMMITTEE, AND

DISTINGUISHED GUESTS. I AM JIM HEILMAN, THE DEPUTY DIRECTOR OF SPACE, HQ USAF DEPUTY CHIEF OF STAFF, PLANS AND OPERATIONS. IT IS MY PRIVILEGE TO REPRESENT THE AIR FORCE OPERATIONAL WORLD AND PRESENT OUR

VIEWS ON THE IMPORTANCE OF SPACE-BASED NUCLEAR POWER. AS THE OFFICE

RESPONSIBLE FOR TODAY'S OPERATIONAL SPACE CAPABILITY, I WILL FOCUS ON WHAT REQUIREMENTS NEED INCREASED POWER THAT NUCLEAR REACTORS CAN

POTENTIALLY OFFER TO MAINTAIN AND ENHANCE THE MILITARY SPACE FORCE

STRUCTURE IN THE FUTURE.

AS THE DOD MEMBER OF THE SP-100 SYSTEM SELECTION TEAM, I HAVE BEEN CLOSELY INVOLVED WITH THE SELECTION OF THE DIFFERENT TECHNOLOGIES, AND THEIR RELATIVE MERITS. AS YOU ARE AWARE, THERMOELECTRIC CONVERSION

WAS SELECTED AS THE MOST COST AND OPERATIONALLY EFFECTIVE, NEAR-TERM SPACE-BASED NUCLEAR POWER CONVERSION CONCEPT. I WOULD LIKE TO DISCUSS

THE RELATIVE OPERATIONAL FACTORS WHICH CONTRIBUTED TO THE SELECTION.

ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT ENABLING TECHNOLOGIES FOR OUR FUTURE

ENDEAVORS IN SPACE, IS INCREASED POWER. NUCLEAR REACTOR TECHNOLOGY APPEARS TO OFFER A SOLUTION. TODAY, SOLAR/RTG SYSTEMS ARE USED PRI

MARILY TO GENERATE .5 TO 1.5 KW ́S OF POWER FOR OPERATIONAL SPACE-BASED

SURVEILLANCE, WEATHER, AND COMMUNICATIONS SATELLITES. IT IS POSSIBLE TO SCALE UP SOLAR ENERGY ARRAYS UP TO 25 TO 50 KW ́S, BUT THE STRUCTURE BECOMES VERY LARGE. THERE ARE PRACTICAL UPPER LIMITS TO RTG ́S DRIVEN

BY THERMAL DISTRIBUTION AND RADIOISOTOPE HALF LIFE. THEREFORE, SPACE

BASED REACTOR NUCLEAR POWER IS A PROMISING ENABLING SOURCE ABOVE

APPROXIMATELY 10 TO 50 KW. IT IS SUCH A POWER SOURCE THAT WOULD

SUPPORT AIR FORCE REQUIREMENTS FOR WIDE AREA SURVEILLANCE, ATTACK WARNING/ATTACK ASSESSMENT, AND NEAR-REAL-TIME TARGETING PLUS SPACE SYSTEM ON-ORBIT SUPPORT AND CONTROL REQUIREMENTS. I WILL ADDRESS EACH

OF THESE OPERATIONAL APPLICATIONS IN FURTHER DETAIL.

THE AIR FORCE, AS WELL AS THE NAVY, NEEDS WIDE AREA SURVEILLANCE. FOR THE AIR FORCE THIS REQUIREMENT ADDRESSES AIR DEFENSE AGAINST BOMBERS AND CRUISE MISSILES, WHILE THE NAVY IS FOCUSED ON FLEET

DEFENSE FROM SIMILAR LONG RANGE AIR THREATS. A SPACE-BASED WIDE AREA

SURVEILLANCE SYSTEM IS REQUIRED TO FULLY MEET THIS MISSION NEED FOR WORLDWIDE, TIMELY COVERAGE. ALTHOUGH UPGRADES TO OUR NORTH WARNING

AND ESTABLISHMENT OF THE OVER-THE-HORIZON RADAR SYSTEM WILL IMPROVE

AIR DEFENSE CAPABILITIES, A SPACE-BASED SYSTEM IS THE LONG-RANGE SOLUTION TO ACQUIRE A GLOBAL AIR DEFENSE CAPABILITY TO SUPPORT CONUS AND WORLD-WIDE FORCE COMMITMENTS.

THIS SYSTEM IS CURRENTLY ENVISIONED

AS A SPACE-BASED RADAR/INFRA-RED SYSTEM. THE SATELLITE WOULD COMBINE ADVANCED RADAR AND INFRA-RED SENSORS TO DETECT AIRCRAFT, CRUISE, AND

BALLISTIC MISSILES. A CONTINUOUS DUTY-CYCLE RADAR DEMANDS HIGH POWER

FOR TARGET RESOLUTION, ESTIMATES RUN BETWEEN 100-300 KW TO SUPPORT AN OPERATIONAL SYSTEM. THIS SYSTEM WOULD SUPPORT OUR OPERATIONAL

REQUIREMENTS BY OFFERING ATTACK WARNING AND REAL-TIME TARGETING OF

THREAT AIRCRAFT AND CRUISE MISSILES. THE HIGH LEVERAGE FROM SUCH A

CAPABILITY IS THE ABILITY TO TRACK FROM OPERATIONAL THREAT ZONES, THUS MINIMIZING THE ATTACK ASSESSMENT IDENTIFICATIONS/FRIEND OR FOE AND

FORCE SIZE ISSUES ASSOCIATED WITH EXISTING DEFENSE FENCE COVERAGE.

SPACE-BASED NUCLEAR POWER IS ALSO THE ENABLING TECHNOLOGY FOR

EFFECTIVE MANAGEMENT OF SPACE SYSTEM ON-ORBIT SUPPORT AND CONTROL.

THE ORBITAL TRANSFER VEHICLE (OTV) IS A CONCEPT OF AN ON-ORBIT
UNMANNED SPACE SUPPORT SYSTEM THAT WOULD TRANSFER PAYLOADS FROM

LOW TO HIGH ORBIT AND RETURN THEM FOR MAINTENANCE OR REPLENISHMENT.
USING A NUCLEAR REACTOR TO POWER THE OTV'S PROPULSION SYSTEM IS VERY

ATTRACTIVE. NUCLEAR POWER, CONVERTED TO ELECTRICAL PROPULSION, OFFERS HIGH PROMISE OF ENABLING US TO BUILD A REUSABLE TRANSFER VEHICLE THAT DOES NOT HAVE TO BE REFUELED IN SPACE AS CHEMICALLY PROPELLED SYSTEMS

WOULD TODAY. THE PROJECTED POWER REQUIREMENTS RANGE BETWEEN 300 TO 1000 KW. A SIGNIFICANT LEVERAGE APPLICATION OF NUCLEAR REACTOR POWER

IS ITS POSSIBLE DUAL USE AS PROPULSION AS WELL AS PAYLOAD POWER SOURCE. THIS WOULD SIGNIFICANTLY REDUCE THE COMPLEXITY OF MULTIPLE

POWER SOURCES TO PERFORM DIFFERENT FUNCTIONS. THE PROPULSION CAPABILITY WOULD BE INVALUABLE TO ENHANCE MILITARY NEEDS. FOR SATELLITES, IT COULD ENABLE TIMELY MANEUVERS, THUS ENHANCING THE SURVIVABILITY OF THE SPACE SYSTEM. THIS LEADS ME INTO THE CONSIDERATION OF SUPPORT SUBSYSTEMS FOR A SPACE SYSTEM, AND THEIR NECESSARY POWER REQUIREMENTS.

ON-BOARD PROCESSING, ALLOWING DIRECT TO FIELD COMMANDER PAYLOAD DATA, PROMISES TO BECOME MORE IMPORTANT IN THE NEAR FUTURE. COMPUTING, ON-ORBIT MALFUNCTION ANALYSES, CORRECTIVE MAINTENANCE, AND ATTITUDE CONTROL, ARE EXAMPLES OF POWER DEMANDS ON TODAY'S BASELINE SYSTEM. ON-BOARD PROCESSING AND GREATER AUTONOMY OF SATELLITE HOUSE

KEEPING FUNCTIONS DECREASES RELIANCE ON VULNERABLE GROUND STATIONS

DURING STRESSING PERIODS AND ENABLES THE SATELLITE TO MAINTAIN STATUS QUO INDEPENDENT OF FULL TIME GROUND CONTROL. NUCLEAR POWER SOURCES

COULD SUPPORT ON-BOARD PAYLOAD PROCESSING AND SATELLITE HEALTH AND

WELFARE AUTONOMY ALLOWING TIMELY RECONSTITUTION OF GROUND OPERATIONS,

THUS ENHANCING SYSTEM ENDURABILITY AND MILITARY DETERRENCE.

HIGH POWER LEVELS BECOME INCREASINGLY IMPORTANT WHEN YOU CONSIDER

THE POTENTIAL OF THE STRATEGIC DEFENSE INITIATIVE (SDI) RESEARCH. DIRECTED ENERGY, OR KINETIC ENERGY SYSTEMS, OR EVEN SPACE SURVEILLANCE, AND SPACE-BASED BATTLE MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS, WOULD REQUIRE POWER IN THE HUNDREDS OF KILOWATTS.

SUCH APPLICATIONS HAVE DIRECT BEARING

ON THE CURRENT AIR FORCE SPACE DEFENSE MISSION, ESPECIALLY SPACE-BASED SURVEILLANCE AND ASAT, EVEN IF SDI TECHNOLOGIES WERE NEVER OPERATION

ALLY DEPLOYED FOR MISSILE DEFENSE.

THE SYSTEM SELECTION TEAM FOR THE SP-100 ADDRESSED THE FOLLOWING

KEY CRITERIA. THE UNIQUE OPERATIONAL ADVANTAGES OF THE NEAR-TERM
THERMOELECTRIC CONCEPT TO BE VERIFIED IN THE PENDING GROUND

ENGINEERING SYSTEM (GES) PHASE INCLUDE:

SAFETY: ALL CONCEPTS MET SAFETY REQUIREMENTS.

NEEDS CONTINUING DEVELOPMENT ATTENTION.

PERFORMANCE: MATCH PROJECTED OPERATIONAL

REQUIREMENTS; NEEDS TO BE VERIFIED.

RELIABILITY: STATIC CONVERSION MORE RELIABLE, PROVIDES

BACKUP REACTOR FOR DYNAMIC CONVERSION; NEEDS TO BE VERIFIED.

GROWTH: GROWTH POTENTIAL UP TO MW. SCALEABILITY NEEDS TO

BE VERIFIED.

SURVIVABILITY: CAN BE NUCLEAR AND LASER HARDENED;

RELATIVELY SMALL SIZE.