(U) High Performance CO2 Laser Radar (LADAR) (HI-CLASS)

(The effects of any budget/program decisions made since the information was collected during 1997-98 are NOT reflected in the National Security Space Road Map (NSSRM).)

Overview: (U)
U) The Hi-CLASS effort is a Congressionally-mandated program to build a CO2 laser at Maui Space Surveillance Site (MSSS) to work in conjunction with the Advanced Electro-Optical System (AEOS) passive sensor.  Hi-CLASS will use the laser to image satellites.  Predicted object metric measurement accuracies with Hi-CLASS are:  range resolution of 2 m, velocity resolution of 1 m/s, and an angular resolution of 8 microradians.  

Description: (U)
(U) The Hi-CLASS effort is a Congressionally mandated program to build a CO2 laser at Maui Space Surveillance Site (MSSS) to work in conjunction with the Advanced Electro-Optical System (AEOS) passive sensor.  Hi-CLASS is part of the Active Imaging Advanced Technology Development (ATD).  Technology development is subsumed in the ATD phase because Critical Design Reviews (CDRs) have already been presented and equipment is being built.  Predicted object metric measurement accuracies with Hi-CLASS are:  range resolution of 2 m, velocity resolution of 1 m/s, and an angular resolution of 8 microradians.  A detection range of 1500 km for 1 square meter target is expected, using 5 joule pulses.  The operational system on the AEOS telescope should have capability to detect and track 10 cm class objects with 30 J pulses at 30 Hz.  However, due to the narrow field of view (FOV), searching for such objects will be a problem.

(U) Tests for the ATD will start after delivery of the oscillator (wavelength tunable) in Jan-Feb 96, completing after delivery of the amplifier.  Direct costs for obtaining the device (design, tooling, fabrication, and installation) is $35-40M.  This includes the cost for checkout and test to prove the design and perform the ATD.  The ATD takes the majority of the money and time because the ATD is supposed to develop the 30 J /30 Hz system and demonstrate it at the MSSS.  The cost basis (ignoring inflation) for operation and maintenance of the system is $1000 per night mount time at 200 nights per year ($2M), operator and maintenance labor costs of $1M, spares and supplies of $500K.  Providing the unit is built and maintained properly, it can last up to 20 years; especially if upgraded for longer ranges.  Although, in the 15-20 year time frame, the technology may become badly dated.  

User Impact: (U)
(U) Expected to provide 24 hour-a-day tracking and imaging capability for ground-based telescopes.

Programmatics: (U)
(U) Operational.

(U) Organizations and Funding:
	(U) USSPACECOM: Funding Source.

Related Initiatives: (U)
(U) AEOS

Related Requirements: (U)
(U) None.

Related Categories: (U)
(U) Dedicated Sensors

Road Map Placements: (U)
(U) SPACE CONTROL: S.S. NETWORK.

Lead Office: (U)
(U) Air Force.

Date of Information: (U)
26 February 1998

(The effects of any budget/program decisions made since the information was collected during 1997-98 are NOT reflected in the National Security Space Road Map (NSSRM).)