FOIA: SPACECAST 2020 Final Report Vol. 1

SPACECAST2020Vol1.pdf
SPACECAST 2020 Final Report Vol. 1
First Volume of a Four Volume Set, Vol II to IV are Classified of a space study to identify and develop high leveraged space technology to support the warfighter of the 21st century.
Document date: 1992-06-01
Department: USAF Defense Technical Information Center
Author: Lt. Gen. Jay W. Kelley, multiple authors
Document type: Report
pages: 486


Archivist's Notes: Academic Study done at request of CSAF to examine capabilities and technologies for 2020 and beyond to perserve the security of the U.S.A. Study discusses US need for dominance in space for the "Global View", discusses Technology and Pace of Change, Leveraging the Infosphere, Counterforce Weather Control, Super Global Positioning, Detection and Interception of Asteroids on Collision Course with Earth. Forecast of Earth in 2020 on many levels including population, economics, terrorism and how controlling and space dominance can play a part in it for the US's benefit.

Into the Future"
Compiled by students and faculty of the Air Education and Training command USAF
To examine the capabilities and technologies for 2020 and beyond to preserve the security of the US.

It speaks about the oldest military maxim which is to Hold the Highest Ground. The high ground being the most advantageous in visual and force control. They go on to say that when man took to the skies it opened an entirely new dimension in high ground and revolutionized the concept of warfare. Now reaching for the highest of grounds, to outer space.
Spacecast 2020 takes into account the unparalleled perspective and rapid access to Earth's surface.
Exploitation of these advantages will have a major impact on intelligence, communication command and control, navigation, force application, and many other applications of Military and conventional control.
Spacecast 2020 makes very clear in this report that to seek the ultimate high ground it must be accomplished through technological capabilities that are already being used and to future needs for the planet such as asteroid and comet interception.
1993 the Chief of staff of the United States Air Force directed Air University to undertake a study to identify capabilities for the period of 2020 and beyond and the technologies to enable them which will best support preserving the security of the United States.
This 10 month long effort became known as Spacecast 2020.
Utilizing a huge network of individuals to complete this monumental task they called in people from Scholars, analysts, and technologists, creative thinkers, and assistance from a global data base of AF, University think tanks, and inputs from a vast array of specialties of a world wide data call.
Spacecast in essence "stirred the Pot".
Global View is the enabler for Global View, Global Reach ,Global Power.
The single most important reason to be in space is to acquire Global View.
This means knowing what is happening in real time, creating a 'presence' which is a deterrent in and of itself and diminishing the loss of human lives.
Spacecast does not claim to know what the future holds as the world is in a constant state of change and to claim other wise would be a fool's errand.
Spacecast discusses 3 different types of technology, one is the basic like the computer you are reading now, and the second being slowed by the end of the cold war era and the changing needs of the private sectors that support such items. They focus rather on the 3rd which is so complex and expensive, it is slow in development that only Governments with sufficient need and resources can invest in them. This type generally has no immediate civilian applications. Large scale weapons and space lift are examples. Transforming Technology into military space applications for global security requires great awareness into current and future technologies.
Space Lift- Suborbital and on earth orbit
"Alexandria Concept" is that Information is Power and that attacking power at its source can help bring it's owner to heel.
Controlling any future enemies access to and use of the information sphere will comprise a significant portion of the total information warfare concept.
Space based solar monitoring and alert satellite systems that will continuously monitor space plasma emissions, and solar winds an dradiation forcasts.
Space modular systems and TAV (transatmospheric vehicles). I n this concept a large satellite will serve as the mother board, by supplying inclusive support of power, communications and housekeeping. Individual smaller modules would then interact via common satellite interfaces. An orbit space depot would then serve as the logistical interface with motherboards and modules. This functions would then be accomplished with (OMV)orbit transfer vehicles.
The United States are in a position to shape the outcomes and nature of the planet in the year 2020 and beyond. The vantage and opportunities offered by space are the means to do so,
Space allows wide area coverage without the constraints of terrain, weather or political boundaries,
Multi-layer back propagation network ( MBPN) shows us the possibilities of using every known sense such as sight, touch, taste in the possibilities of future technology. An interesting concept that has untold possibilities. With the use and application of neural systems for vectoring and utilizing AI technology to create reaction and response.These are the first steps towards interfacing biological units with solid state applications.
Near term technologies and operational exploitation opportunities:
Non Military omni sensory applications could bring outside interested partners that would greatly reduce the costs and increase the likelihood of congressional acceptance.
Consumer uses would include such things as home security and air , water monitoring and quality control as well as entertainment spin offs. Even the spread of disease could be easily tracked to stop the spread much like we presently track migratory birds using LANSTAT mulitispectral imagery.
Commercial uses will include air traffic control, mineral exploitation improvements,and major medical advances.Aircraft will be scanned when arriving and leaving airports to provide new levels of security.Medical field patients could be scanned and the data fed into a computer for greater efficiency for on the spot diagnosis and treatment.Exploratory surgery would become a thing of the past as Doctors would see the problem on the screen.
The ATLAS system would fuse data from a variety of sophisticated sensors of the future. It will also enable the protection of the future the reliable tools to get the job done right.
Space traffic control will take on new meanings by the 2020.
SPATRACKs will be the new form of space traffic control, it will be able to monitor objects as small as just a few centimeters which will help to differentiate between space debris and NEOs,since it will be space based there is less chance of interference and accuracy of identifying objects will be greatly improved from the current terrestrial based systems.
When space traffic or space transit using a transatmospheric vehicle become routine, this system will be essential.
21st Century weather support Architecture: The 21st century battle arena will be a highly lethal, cyberwar oriented arena.To succeed the the warfighter must have access to key information to make quick and accurate decisions faster than the enemies. Weather will play an important role for commercial and Military operators affecting the mission to be accomplished.
Increased knowledge of solar dynamics such as sunspot maximum and minimum will be greatly improved to give us the necessary lead time to make key decisions. Earth based solar observatories are limited by such problems as cloud cover, atmospheric tenuation,and absorption of electromagnetic radiation.
SpaceLift: By 2020 aerospace vehicles will be a reality. A National composite aerospace wing would include a squadron of TAV's (transatmospheric vehicles). These Black Horse vehicles will be fighter size airframes capable of placing an approximately 5,000pond payload in any low earth orbit (LEO).or delivering a slightly lager payload to any where on the earth. The spacecraft TAV is an innovative concept of the future will immeasurable capabilities.
The name Black Horse has multipal origins. First a tribute to British Black Arrow and Black Knight programs which demonstrated the basic propellant concept many years ago. TAVs will operate primarily on Hydrogen, and have the capability for horizontal lift off.
Education in the future will be more virtual in nature for both students as well as faculty.
IN the future virtual technology or what ever its predecessors is will be ubiquitous.The importance of virtual education cannot be over emphasized. The reasons for using interactive technology are are many. A few of the reasons are, experiential learning, flexibility,timeliness,student centered or self paced. Virtual realities area multimedia environment that gives users the sense of in realities different from their ordinary ones that are unlimited.

This is a fantastic document that I highly recommend for anyone to read and enjoy. It was very well written in a clear and simple way as to be a must have for anyone interested in the development of the latest technologies and their application in the world today and the near future. Much can be said for the applications of space technology and the importance of funding through congress now to keep from falling behind in the single most important issue we face today in maintaining our Global Reach, Global View and Global Power.

Wow antar, great job. I always liked long materials like that and this is certainly one of them. After you've posted here I went through the pages quickly and my eye caught something which sounded very interesting and realistic:

SPACECAST 2020 does not pretend to provide the vision of the future. The world in which we live is chaotic, filled with constantly changing, unknown and unknowable challenges and opportunities. The planet's political, economic and social instability is a general condition, not always or even necessarily a threat. Attempting to predict with certainty exactly how events and capabilities will unfold in an unstable world is a fool's errand. We cannot know in detail what the future holds. We can, however, speculate in an informed fashion on the technologies that would be of most value and wich are not beyond plausibility. We can also assess the relative merits and demerits of certain capabilities, consider the trade-offs among various investments and their returns, and identify the show-stoppers, the items without which we simply cannot progress further. Technological progress is one whose history has proven to be uneven, nonlinear and irregular and promises to be even more so in the future given the pace of change.

Nice and wise words.

reply to post by antar


Antar,

I can see that you read Spacecast 2020, a lot of that technology is now, you can see information from the gov. and NASA. But how do we use that technology for the good of mankind.

God Bless,
Joe Z

reply to post by Joe Z


Trust Joe, you have to know that there is always 2 sides to every coin.

I have an immense trust in Humanity and for our ability to advance as a civilization, yes there will be challenges, but without the pangs of birth and the chaos of change, we would never make it Joe.

Yes Trust, and keep your heart and mind open to something so much bigger than you can imagine.

Just as the Dark ages had to end, so will the day come that we as a Civilization will move into the higher levels of our existence.

Look at the brilliant and willing minds behind this project. They are still out there and so will we one day very soon.

I must also say, that our future will be a long road with every type of person needed, in the future perhaps, there will be those willing to do battles, and those that choose to use their minds or hearts, in the future we will need all types of people, without judgement.

They say that even the higher Angels in the furthest Heavens still Battle, so I would say we work with respect in a balanced way and we too one day will reach beyond our highest imaginations to a Golden Universe of our own design.

[edit on 24-6-2008 by antar]

SPACECAST 2020 was a USAF project report done in 1993. What they are saying is that space is not empty like a vacuum... space is FILLED with deadly radiation!!

www.fas.org...

"SPACECAST 2020 Technical Report
Volume I
SPACE-BASED SOLAR MONITORING AND ALERT SATELLITE SYSTEM (SMASS)
Overview

Space operations, both manned and unmanned, are in constant jeopardy of mission degradation or failure due to the impacts of space weather (i.e., variability of the near-Earth and interplanetary space environment). The primary driver of the interplanetary space weather affecting earth is the Sun's varying emission of electromagnetic radiation and solar wind plasma (i.e., an ionized gas consisting of protons, electrons, and other heavy, energetic particles ejected from the Sun's outer atmosphere (corona) at a mean velocity of 400-500 km/sec with a mean density of 5 particles per cubic centimeter). Galactic cosmic radiation contributes only 5-10 percent of the total radiation, and thus, is not a major driver of space weather from the earth's perspective. Near-Earth space weather (i.e., within the Earth-Moon orbital system) is primarily the resultant of the Sun's electromagnetic radiation and plasma interactions with the Earth's intrinsic geomagnetic field. The variability of space weather is closely tied to the 27 day rotation period of the Sun and the Sun's approximate 11-year sunspot cycle. During solar maximum (i.e., time of maximum sunspot activity and associated solar flare eruptions), the magnitude of the variability can become quite large, producing extremely hazardous space environmental conditions (figure 1).

The main space weather hazard to human life is the ionizing radiation resulting from exposure to high energy particles. These energetic particles may come from distant stars and galaxies (galactic cosmic radiation); they may be found trapped in planetary radiation belts, such as the Earth's Van Allen radiation belts; or they may be ejected into space by the Sun in the solar wind or more rapidly by solar flare eruptions (figure 2). To put the space weather radiation hazard to human life in perspective, at geostationary orbit, with only 0.1 gm/cm2 of aluminum shielding thickness, the predicted radiation dose (REM) for one year continuous exposure, with minimum-moderate solar activity, is estimated to be about 3,000,000; using 5.0 gm/cm2 of aluminum shielding, the REM for one year continuous exposure would be reduced to about 550. (Note: REM = dose (RAD) x Relative Biological Effectiveness (RBE) of particular ionizing radiation.) Although drastically reduced by shielding, 550 REM for a sample population would

cause radiation sickness and about 50 percent deaths. Astronauts protected with only a spacesuit during normal-length extra-vehicular activity at geostationary altitude could receive about 0.43 REM per day under minimum to moderate solar activity conditions, which is sufficient to damage the eyes and other vital organs. Under high solar activity, and most importantly during large solar flare occurrences, daily REM values could be a thousand-fold higher and probably lethal. In comparison, an earth-bound person would have an estimated total yearly radiation dosage in the range of 0.17 to 2.6 REM; the daily dosage would be approximately 4.7 x 10-4 to 7.1 x 10-3 REM (2 to 3 orders of magnitude less than the astronauts daily dosage in our example).

reply to post by Telos


I have wondered at times about this post as we have watched the new unfolding of NASA, the people behind it move forward into a more generic or global collaboration for future space technologies. If we were to pull something off of this magnetude it would in all probability have to be without boundaries of geographic nature.

Edit to add that I fully apologise for the run on paragraphs above, something I never learned until later, I had a private message from WOS who clued me in...

Was thinking about this FOIA document and wanted to share it with some of the newer members. I would love to learn more about the future and the planet my children and grandchildren will inherit long after I am gone. This document gave me an incredible feeling of hope and also concern for the technologies of the future and for which direction their purpose will be used. To me this is the ultimate and only useful disclosure needed at this point in humanities path. I think as a parent the current educational process is antiquated and destined to be replaced by something of this magnitude.

csat.au.af.mil...

Going to give this a bump for your viewing pleasure... timely...

a reply to: AboveTopSecret.com

My handwriting is bad...

Write for AutoCAD Schemantics and engineering notes of Albecurrie Drive, see names cited.

Remember the notary!

I'd get a Dr.'s note of sanity too....





:heart: :heart:

Nice time to take a read at the PDF...

It appears since this was posted (at least) one part of SpaceCast 2020 V. 2 has been DECLASSIFIED .

documents.theblackvault.com...

Well hello, interesting subject in light of new developments a reply to: antar