FOXNews.com: Military seeks super-cheap satellites for on-demand, eyes in the sky

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Military seeks super-cheap satellites for on-demand, eyes in the sky Mar 22nd 2012, 14:15 Disposable satellites may zap tactical imagery from space straight to a U.S. warfighter's handheld in just two to three years. On March 27, the military's research arm will issue a call for a rapidly deployable constellation of small, inexpensive, disposable satellites, a project called "SeeMe," or Space-Enabled Effects for Military Engagements. These satellites would let soldiers, airmen, seamen or whoever push a button on a  handheld device to "see me" -- and receive an image of their exact location within 90 minutes -- an unprecedented capability currently unavailable from military or commercial satellites. So why is the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) reaching out to non-aerospace communities like automobile racing, industrial machinery, medical pneumatics and advanced optics? The agency is smartly leveraging off-the-shelf capabilities to reduce costs, keep weight and size low, and accelerate production. The goal is for each satellite to cost about $500,000. For example, DARPA hopes to harness the high-pressure nitrous oxide gas used in the automobile racing industry for propulsion, and the mobile phone industry's expertise at rapid, low-cost manufacturing. The agency hopes industrial machinery can assist with the solid-state parts, while medical pneumatics can provide valve technology and the world of optics can supply non-traditional RF membranes and visual apertures for these eyes in space. The SeeMe program is an effort to dramatically lower the costs traditionally associated with new satellites -- and at the same time improve our abilities on the battlefield with these speedy low-altitude satellites. It will comprise a constellation of approximately two dozen satellites. They will last from 60 to 90 days in a very low-Earth orbit, and when de-orbited they'll completely burn up, a safer way to dispose of space debris that won't cause a re-entry hazard or leave any space debris. There are three phases to See Me, in DARPA's eyes: independent execution in phase 1; integration of those efforts in phase 2; and satellite constellation launch in Phase 3, culminating in a demo in two to three years of 24 SeeMe satellites. These days to get a satellite into space you need to launch it from the ground with a booster rocket. Not only can this take a month or longer to prepare, it comes at a hefty cost and can be scuppered at the last minute by even the weather. Plus it can cost more than $30,000 per pound to launch a small satellite, and the launcher is shared with other satellites. And today's fixed launch sites can limit orbit direction and timing and simple rain or clouds shuts them down. Instead, SeeMe satellites may launch from space. DARPA's has a way to launch 100-pound payloads off airplanes, a platform called Airborne Launch Assist Space Access (ALASA). ALASA It can reduce delays and weather restraints as well as costs -- to the tune of only one third of the current commercial and military costs. With ALASA, the fast, cheap satellite would be carried either externally or internally by a plane, and released at a designated direction and altitude with a booster to carry it into space. The ability to relocate and launch from any major runway in the world rather than a handful of sites is a key advantage: DARPA says it could launch a satellite within a day of being called up. U.S. military forces deployed to remote locations don't have on-demand satellite imagery. Unmanned drones provide some local and regional coverage, but they require refueling for extended coverage. SeeMe wouldn't require refueling and could support fighters in several locations simultaneously -- they'd just need a handheld gadget. According to DARPA, anti-U.S. insurgents exploit commercial imagery services to gain information, giving them an advantage against our warfighters. A technology like SeeMe would help level this playing field. If SeeMe succeeds, it would be a great tool for mission planning for small squads and individual teams. Ballet dancer turned defense specialist Allison Barrie has travelled around the world covering the military, terrorism, weapons advancements and life on the front line. You can reach her at wargames@foxnews.com or follow her on Twitter @Allison_Barrie

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