BEAR (Beam Experiments Aboard a Rocket) Project. Volume 1: Project Summary
Abstract
The U.S. Department of Defense's Strategic Defense Initiative Organization is sponsoring the development of neutral particle beam (NPB) technology for strategic defense applications. The first step in demonstrating the functioning of an NPB in space was the development and launch of the Beam Experiments Aboard a Rocket (BEAR) in New Mexico in July 1989. A government, laboratory, and industrial team, under the technical coordination of Los Alamos National Laboratory, designed, developed, and tested the BEAR payload. The primary objective of BEAR was the operation of an NPB accelerator in space. The payload was also designed to study (1) the effects on the space vehicle of emitting an NPB and associated charged beams into the space environment; (2) the propagation and attenuation characteristics of an NPB in space; (3) the dynamics of the charged particle components of the beam in the geomagnetic field; (4) the effects of neutral effluent from the vehicle; and (5) any anomalous or unanticipated phenomena associated with operating an NPB in the space environment. The BEAR experiment successfully demonstrated operation of an NPB accelerator and propagation of the neutral beam as predicted in space, obtained first-of-a-kind NPB space physics data, and demonstrated the ability of the BEAR accelerator to survive recovery and to continue operating normally. No unanticipated phenomena were encountered that would significantly delay further development of NPB technology for defensive, space-based weapon systems.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jan 01, 1990
- Accession Number
- ADA338597
Entities
People
- G. J. Nunz
Organizations
- Los Alamos National Laboratory