Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rpi!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!uwm.edu!lll-winken!sun-barr!olivea!oliveb!veritas!amdcad!amdcad!military
From: prentice%triton.unm.edu@ariel.unm.edu (John Prentice)
Newsgroups: sci.military
Subject: Re: Pegasus
Message-ID: <1991Apr18.032927.22679@amd.com>
Date: 17 Apr 91 22:24:39 GMT
References: <1991Mar30.020340.27985@amd.com> <1991Apr12.055442.14741@amd.com> <1991Apr17.055545.13756@amd.com>
Sender: military@amd.com
Organization: University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM
Lines: 30
Approved: military@amd.com


From: prentice%triton.unm.edu@ariel.unm.edu (John Prentice)


ke4zv!gary@gatech.edu (Gary Coffman) writes:
>.... Also the very 
>small payload of the suggested system would preclude the types of sensors 
>needed for effective tactical recon. For example, cameras capable of the kind 
>of resolution provided by our current recon satellites would be far too large 
>and heavy for the Pegasus to launch. 

Is this really true for a low earth orbit satellite?  Satellites like the
KH-11 are fairly high altitude compared to what could be done with a Pegasus
launched cheap and dirty satellite.  Also, you don't necessarily need
high resolution.  For example, to see a convoy you don't need to be able
to read their license plates.

I think a more interesting use of Pegasus would be to have small and cheap
off the shelf survellience satellites that could be launched on a moments
notice for strategic use.  Right now we have to maneuver a big satellite
over trouble spots and this is expensive.  Also, we don't have the ability
to put big satellites up as fast as one would like if a global confrontation 
were to occur.  I assure you, you can design a satellite for this purpose,
we have a proposal into DoD with such a design right now.  Getting funded 
to field it is another question entirely however :-) .

-- 
John K. Prentice    john@unmfys.unm.edu (Internet)
Dept. of Physics and Astronomy, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM, USA
Computational Physics Group, Amparo Corporation, Albuquerque, NM, USA