Rock,Cab & Doc
and all DD fans of GTE...
Look what my GOOGLEbot delivered yesterday. It came from the MDA(Missle Defense Agency). It is a comprehensive list of objectives for our Stratellite !!! In all fairness the proposed launch dates listed in ANNEX A show that this document is more than a year old. I'll bet this is what Lock/Mart was shooting for. ALSO note how those dates are very reminisent of some of Mr. Huff's past PRs.
STATEMENT OF OBJECTIVES (SOO) FOR
LIGHTER-THAN-AIR (LTA), HIGH ALTITUDE AIRSHIP (HAA) ACTD
Program Objectives:
Engineer, design, develop, construct, integrate, test, operate and maintain an unmanned, untethered, lighter-than-air (LTA), high altitude airship (HAA) with a government-designated payload.
Support Government operational demonstrations and military utility assessment.
Advance the technologies for an objective HAA system that will be capable of accommodating and powering a heavier payload and operating autonomously in the stratosphere for sustained, long endurance (greater than one year) operations as a stable, geostationary communications, sensor, and weapons platform.
While this HAA ACTD is not required to demonstrate a full year of continuous flight or provide objective power or payload capability, the contractor must show technical data that indicates with confidence that all of the required technologies necessary to achieve objective capabilities can evolve from this ACTD and be flown in the intended operational environment.
Objective Category
Task Description/Objectives
1.0
LTA/HAA Basic Requirements.
1.1
Untethered, unmanned, gas-filled.
1.2
Deployable within the continental US and sustainable at a nominal altitude of 70,000 feet above Mean Sea Level (MSL).
1.3
The Government will designate and provide the payload(s). The HAA System prime contractor shall assume sole responsibility for total ACTD system performance and integration, including the impact of airship performance on payload functionality. Refer to Annex B for a list (not all inclusive) of candidate missions
1.4
Payload specifications do not include the airship or any components/subsystems thereof.
Minimum payload capacity shall be 4,000 lbs.
Minimum power delivered to the payload shall be 15 kW. (Payloads and specific power requirements to be specified by the Government at a later date).
1.5
Autonomously sustain station-keeping for one continuous month during any part of the year within the continental US within following parameters:
2-km circular-error-probable (CEP) laterally, maximum excursion of 100 km 3-sigma (due to high-wind events)
Nominal cruise operating altitude of 70,000 ft MSL.
Airship stability and control parameters consistent with communications, EO/IR and radar operating limitations.
Wind speed profile at nominal cruise altitude: maximum continuous speed 35 kts for 23 out of 30 days, with a single wind excursion event over any 7 day period up to 90 kts (linear increase over first 3.5 days from 35 to 90 kts, then linear decrease over last 3.5 days from 90 to 35 kts)
Provide operational template for wind events in excess of above.
1.6
Maintain internal environment (humidity, gaseous composition and pressure, electromagnetic and vibration characteristics temperature and variations) for power, propulsion and payload components in accordance with applicable component specifications without degradation of performance.
1.7
Plan and document (CDRL 009) a growth path to extend key technologies to the requirements (below) for an Objective HAA, including complete airship specifications and an analysis of life cycle and degradation characteristics of components identified as part of the growth path.
Design for this ACTD shall utilize components, structures and subsystems that are demonstrably scaleable (documented and verified by measurements collected during ACTD demonstration).
Accommodate and ensure total integration (interface definition and coordination of sensor payloads) with airship, Government furnished payload package(s) with nominal weight of up to approximately 12,000 lbs.
Generate and supply power to support station keeping, payload power supply (> 75 kW) and all other airship functions for station time of at least one continuous year.
Sustain station time of at least one continuous year within following parameters:
1-km circular-error-probable (CEP) laterally, maximum excursion of 50 km 3-sigma (due to high-wind events).
Nominal cruise operating altitude of 70,000 ft MSL to 80,000 ft MSL.
Airship stability and control parameters consistent with payload/s operating limitations.
Wind speed profile at nominal cruise altitude: 45 kts continuous; with up to 2 wind excursion events per year, with each wind event reaching a maximum wind speed of 100 kts over a one week period.
Provide operational template for wind events in excess of above.
Provide a global, joint-interoperable C2 system capable of controlling the airship from a fixed command center in the US.
2.0
Monitoring and Instrumentation.
2.1
Acquire, transmit instrumentation data to the ground and record measurements characterizing the outside flight environment, airship performance, internal and payload bay environments, payload sensor measurements, payload sensor remote control and technology development performance measurements to include, but not limited to the following:
Airship stability and control.
Power generation, management and distribution.
Payload environment (thermal environment, humidity, gaseous composition, electro-magnetic, and mechanical jitter).
Other critical systems and components
Exterior atmospheric conditions (temperature, relative humidity, air chemical composition, wind velocity, etc.)
2.2
Provide any required ground-based sensor processing (sensor health and status monitoring, sensor calibration, image decompression, image formation, data description, and error detection and decoding) that is not performed on board the airship.
3.0
Command and Control (C2).
3.1
Provide a functional C2 capability from existing equipment or developed from scratch, for use in this ACTD airship and adaptable and/or expandable for use in and capable of achieving station-keeping metrics defined for the objective airship described in Section 1.7. The C2 capability shall provide:
Monitoring and instrumentation data and information related to integral airship operation and health and payload data.
Self sustaining (existing or planned) ground segment with any combination of communications, data processing, and mission planning hardware/software to demonstrate airship performance through launch, flight duration and recovery, including receiving and executing mission plans prior to flight and updated during flight.
The C2 system shall enable autonomous flight and navigation capability that will enable the airship to fly within the station-keeping metrics described in Section 1.5.
The C2 system shall enable complete way-point/route/trip navigation and remain at planned destinations until new mission requirements are provided.
3.2
Encrypt and secure all C2 communications to prevent unauthorized access to platform and telemetry data.
4.0
Risk Mitigation and Trade Space Analysis.
4.1
Develop and maintain risk mitigation plans and tradeoff analyses (CDRL 010) that adequately address, including potential technical and non-technical risk items, as a minimum, the following issues:
Materials, materials production and integration and airship construction.
Power generation, management and distribution, including the use of photovoltaic and energy storage systems.
Payload capability (payload weight and power).
Propulsion and station keeping.
Thermal management.
Launch and recovery.
C2.
System (including payload) integration.
4.2
The contractor shall establish parallel risk mitigation activities to increase the probability of successful flight tests and demonstrations. Efforts to be established shall include, but are not limited to:
1. Build and test (by releasing to 70 kft MSL altitude) balloons made of representative, instrumented airship materials.
2. Build and test representative coupon materials in chambers that represent the airship operational environmental conditions (temperature, UV, and ozone).
3. Build and test a mockup airship to test ground handling and deployment.
5.0
Ground Facilities.
5.1
The contractor shall provide all ground support equipment and personnel for launch and recovery during contractor testing and Government demonstrations.
5.2
Ground facilities for airship operations, to include airship fabrication, flight preparation, launch, recovery, and maintenance, shall be located at a fixed location in the contiguous 48 United States and provided, operated, and maintained by the contractor.
6.0
Testing and Demonstration.
6.1
Develop, integrate implement and document according to Section 10.6, testing program.
6.2
The contractor shall support all reviews, testing, and post-test analyses and reports, and provide input to the mission planning and flight operations to support the mission/systems objectives defined by the Government.
6.3
Contractor-flown demonstrations shall be conducted in accordance with Annex A.
7.0
Flight Safety and Regulatory Issues.
7.1
Flight safety shall not be sacrificed to meet any other system capability.
7.2
The contractor shall comply with FAA flight safety rules, regulations, and requirements for flight operations and shall obtain any waivers necessary to perform operations within the limits of this ACTD.
7.3
The HAA system design must consider Electromagnetic Compatibility (EMC) and include features that either eliminate or mitigate those issues to eliminate negative impact on operations and flight safety.
7.4
The contractor shall develop a set of airship emergency procedures and backup systems for storage, ground handling, launch, ascent, cruise, descent and recovery.
7.5
The airship shall include a non-explosive flight termination system for range safety and for operational use that would be used if loss of all flight control occurs or to prevent the aircraft from becoming a hazard or penetrating restricted or prohibited airspace, as well as for protecting the possession of sensitive payloads.
8.0
Operations and Maintenance Support (O & M).
8.1
The contractor shall provide O&M support under the direction of the Government for the duration of the development effort and for a period of 24 months following the conclusion of the ACTD. This shall include support during demonstrations conducted by the Government. Examples of O&M support include flight planning, airship launch and recovery, flight operations, equipment and facility maintenance and repair, routine inspections, software maintenance and upgrade, payload installation and integration support.
8.2
The contractor shall develop documentation necessary for successful operation and maintenance of the HAA. (CDRL 0006).
8.3
The contractor shall maintain certain "critical spares." These critical spares are additional parts that are intended to preclude loss of the entire program in case of catastrophic accident during early flight tests.
9.0
Software.
9.1
Provide documented open architecture, open source code and executables for all software associated with payload monitoring and instrumentation and C2. Documentation should be in sufficient form to retain the software design for re-use in later systems.
9.2
Software shall involve Users throughout the development process.
10.0
Data and Reports
10.1
Integrated Master Plan (IMP).
In accordance with CDRL 001, develop and update IMP to show the overall integration at critical system events, essential tasks to fully integrate the system, deliver to the field and support and conduct demonstrations.
10.2
Contract Work Breakdown Structure
The contractor shall update and maintain a contract work breakdown structure (CWBS).
10.3
Integrated Master Schedule (IMS).
In accordance with CDRL 002, develop and update IMS that complements IMP and provides continuous status of program accomplishments. IMS shall define: connectivity of major program events, as well as critical paths and their duration periods, including but not limited to, trade studies, design studies, component/subsystem requirements definition, design completion and fabrication/integration, test events (including component, subsystems and integrated airship).
10.4
Cost/Schedule Management.
In accordance with CDRL 003 establish, implement and maintain a cost performance system that provides for the planning and control of cost and schedule, measurement of performance and generation of timely and reliable information for reporting purposes.
10.5
Contract Data Status and Schedules.
In accordance with CDRL 004, develop and update Data Accession List (DAL), which contains periodic reports on the status of the Contractor's, as well as the Contractor's subordinate suppliers/subcontractor's data products.
10.6
Data Acquisition Handling and Analysis Plan (DAHAP).
In accordance with CDRL 005, develop and update (each separate flight test mission) DAHAP that describes the test data required and describes the data collection and data analysis methodologies, shows traceability to key issues and lists threshold levels for successful issue resolution.
10.7
Test Plans.
In accordance with CDRL 007, develop and update test plans that enumerate objectives, requirements and procedures for laboratory and field tests, along with the appropriate documentation that includes the following:
Detailed test schedule showing all start/stop dates for all phases of hardware/software tests, interface and performance tests, test facilities and test data to be obtained from each test.
Identification of all ground and flight test readiness reviews (Test Readiness Reviews, Flight Readiness Reviews, System Requirement Reviews, etc.) and show correlation with program objectives.
10.8
In Process Reviews (IPR).
In accordance with CDRL 008, schedule, conduct and document IPRs quarterly and/or at significant milestones, to include:
Preliminary Design Review (PDR) and Critical Design Review (CDR) to precede fabrication of subsystems and integration of airship.
Flight Readiness Review (FRR) prior to each flight.
Additional IPRs as directed or required by the Government (Government will provide advance notice and intended agendas).
10.9
Final Report.
The contractor shall provide an interim final report and briefing following the 24-month development effort and a final report and briefing at the end of the contract (CDRL 0011). The reports, in both white paper and briefing format, shall be a detailed and comprehensive report on work completed under this contract. As a minimum, the report shall contain the conceptualized design solutions for all subsystems and integration efforts, demonstration results, and discussion of the final growth path concept and its associated risk.
ANNEX A
High Altitude Airship
Demonstration Flight Requirements
The contractor is required to support Government demonstration of the High Altitude Airship. Part of that support will include contractor conducted flight operations to enable the Government to collect various data required to evaluate operational issues, measures of performance, and measures of effectiveness. All flight operations shall meet the safety and certification requirements of the SOW. While the following schedule represents a reasonable estimate of the number, location, and duration of flights that will be required for Government demonstration, the actual schedule (including number of flights, objectives, location, and duration) will likely change as more detailed demonstration planning is developed by the Government. For this reason, the information presented herein is to be used by offerors for preparation of their proposals in response to the Government's RFP only. The Government will provide the actual flight schedule after contract award. Please note that the flights shown below are in addition to all flights conducted in support of contractor testing prior to the Government demonstration.
Demonstration Flight Requirements
Demo
Where
When
Flight Duration
Altitude
Payload
Objectives
1
Contractor's Facility
4th Qtr FY 04 (Aug)
Hours
Low level
None
Launch, C2, low altitude flight and recovery.
2
TBD
1st Qtr FY 05 (Nov)
Days
70,000 feet MSL
Comms
Launch, C2, high altitude flight, station keeping, payload operation and recovery.
3
Fort Bliss, TX and White Sands Missile Range, NM
(Tentative)
2nd Qtr FY 05 (Mar-Apr)
30 days
70,000 feet MSL
Comms and / or TBD
Launch, C2, high altitude flight, station keeping, payload operation (free play) and recovery.
Note: RAM, data will be collected during all operations
ANNEX B
High Altitude Airship ACTD
Candidate Missions
This ACTD will prove technologies on a flying airship for a follow-on HAA program. The HAA is an autonomous, high-altitude and long-endurance platform that will enable continuous over-the-horizon communications, wide-area surveillance and protection to support theater operations without interruption even in mountainous terrain. Its unique performance characteristics can potentially supplant the use of otherwise unaffordable combinations of such assets as those of conventional ground, air, space, and UAVs.
Each individual HAA will provide up to 325 sm line-of-sight target reconnaissance, intelligence, surveillance, and target acquisition to support the low altitude air threat defense, cruise missile defense and theater missile defense missions. In addition, HAAs could potentially provide cueing and onboard weapons to defeat low flying objects, maritime targets, inaccessible land-based targets and short-range ballistic missiles. HAAs employed along the U.S. border or as contingency platforms could provide multifunction support to non-DoD agencies such as Office of Homeland Security, Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), Customs, Immigration and Naturalization Service and the Drug Enforcement Agency.
Listed below are candidate missions for objective system HAA platforms. Specific payload equipment that supports one or more of these missions will be selected by the Government (TBD) and demonstrated during the ACTD.
MDA and Theater Support
Optical/radar surveillance (horizontal/upward viewing)
Broadband data relay of beacon, sensor, lasercom, C2, and intelligence information to various level headquarter units
Weapons (boost-phase, theater cruise missile defense [CMD], ABL relay)
Intelligence sensors
Utility (MDA test-bed; flight test support; experimental use of new optical/radar subsystems, communication equipment, and Intel and CMD sensors; and test of new airship subsystems)
Civil Applications
Wireless telecommunication (receive/transmit, relay, range extension)
FAA communication range-extension relay, transponder radar beacon adjunct
Homeland Security
National CMD
Real-time multi-band persistent area surveillance (horizontal/downward viewing)
Border patrol
Counter terrorism operations
Drug smuggling operations
Communications linking and relay
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