The US Air Force wants to be able to launch spacecraft into space quickly. They are interviewing American private companies in search of technical solutions that will allow them to prepare launches in days and weeks.
“Rapid response systems” for space
The US Air Force Research Laboratory has asked private space companies to think about how to implement “rapid response systems” for the space industry. The traditional launch of the spacecraft needs to be prepared for months. Of course, at the same time, we are not talking about any efficiency. Namely, it is required by modern space confrontation.
And changing the situation in orbit requires launches, which need to be prepared for days and weeks. There has been talk that such a system is necessary for a long time. But so far there have been no practical steps in this direction. But so far, there have been no practical steps in this direction.
Now the focus is on satellites. Therefore, first, the US Congress is interested in the opportunity of launching new ones as quickly as possible, if the previous ones would be destroyed by an enemy attack. It is around this opportunity the latest BBC requests are based.
How to launch the spacecraft quickly
The Air Force does not say what technologies they want to get from companies. They don’t seem to understand it themselves. Rather, they want to know what ideas private operators have in this regard. But in order for the last ones to have something to start from, they still made up two scenarios that they suggest thinking about.
The first of them involves launching a small spacecraft into a target high-energy orbit, i.e., in fact, into a high orbit. It is believed that this task is impossible for small modern carriers. And it is proposed to complete the task in days and weeks. In this case, it will be possible to quickly replace the surveillance satellite and ensure the flexibility of the entire system.
The second scenario involves a group launch of up to five different spacecraft. At the same time, it must be produced on different media. It is believed this scenario will come in handy if the enemy tries to destroy the satellites by force.
According to spacenews.com
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