Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) proposes to conduct a captive flight test of a prototype Brilliant Pebble (BP) at the Nevada Test Site (NTS). A Brilliant Pebble is a small, maneuverable, rocket powered, laser-equipped vehicle being designed to detect, track, and intercept ballistic missiles. The tests described in this Environmental Assessment would allow the vehicle to be tested at the earth's surface, before the more expensive tests in space take place. To simulate the zero gravity conditions found in space, the BP vehicle would be hung from a very high tower, allowing the vehicle to maneuver freely in the horizontal plane. To simulate tracking and interception, a way to produce rapidly approaching laser light reflections must be devised. The proposed action is to install a long line of shuttered reflectors, which would be capable of opening and closing extremely rapidly under remote control. These reflectors would be installed in a straight line leading toward, but not exactly at, the BP hanging from the tower. These reflectors would then be opened and shut in a very rapid sequence, beginning at the far end. As the BP's laser touched the sequence of opening reflectors, the return signals would appear to the BP to be the reflections from a rapidly approaching ''target.'' An on-board computer would then calculate the speed and (apparent) trajectory of the ''target,'' as indicated by the reflected light signals. The computer would then direct the rocket motors to fire in a specific direction to intercept the ''target'' as it approached the tower. The sequence of increasingly complex tasks required to suppose this test are described in detail in the following pages, along with an analysis of potential environmental, health, and safety effects.


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    Title :

    Environmental Assessment for the Brilliant Pebbles Tether Test at the Nevada Test Site


    Publication date :

    1992


    Size :

    28 pages


    Type of media :

    Report


    Type of material :

    No indication


    Language :

    English




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