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Chapter 264 Sentinel-1 Anti-Satellite and Anti-Missile Testing

That evening, Song Yumin led some engineers from the Institute of Aerospace Research to carry out testing of the Sentinel-1 laser satellite overnight.

At this time, the United States, the Soviet Union and other countries had not had time to deploy forces to observe the satellite that was already at an orbital altitude of 1200 kilometers, so they had to complete the test as soon as possible within this time window.

The Sentinel laser satellite is the core of future space-based anti-missile forces. If the test is successful and the subsequent 70-plus satellites can be successfully deployed, the deterrent capability of all ballistic missiles in the world will disappear.

The Sentinel space-based anti-missile system can destroy all ballistic missiles during takeoff, and all ballistic missiles will not be able to fly beyond the Kármán line.

The more than 70 satellites of the entire Sentinel space-based anti-missile system that have been successfully deployed will be distributed in equatorial orbits and polar orbits, with staggered altitudes.

Every corner of the world, including the two-level regions, will be closely guarded.

Even a ghostly nuclear submarine, launching a submarine-launched intercontinental missile in the deep ocean, cannot escape the attack of the Sentinel space-based anti-missile system.

Of course, in order to detect these ballistic missiles as soon as possible, another monitoring system also needs to be established simultaneously.

That's the Space-Based Infrared System.

They use infrared sensors and optical equipment to detect the tail flame and flight trajectory of missiles when they are launched, providing critical warning time for the Sentinel anti-missile system and also providing target data.

Currently, this project is being led by a newly formed team.

The design and manufacturing of some subsystems, such as short-wave infrared (SWIR) and long-wave infrared (LWIR) sensors, were entrusted to Xingyao Electronics' Myanmar branch.

The reason for choosing infrared detection has its technical principles.

When a ballistic missile is launched, the temperature of the rocket engine's tail flame reaches 2000-3000K, and it radiates strongly in the infrared band (2-3 microns).

Under normal fire conditions, the flame temperature is unlikely to exceed 1500K, so there is basically no possibility of misjudgment.

In addition, infrared detection satellites are also useful in normal times.

That is to use it as an agricultural production estimation satellite.

Different crops have different infrared characteristics.

In addition, the infrared characteristics of the same crop will be significantly different at different growth stages.

If the satellite's infrared detector is sensitive enough, it can track the growth of crops in a certain area.

When Wang Jiankun learned about the application scenarios of this technology, the first thing he thought of was to use it to protect the confidentiality of agricultural futures trading.

According to information collected previously, the United States and the Soviet Union have developed and launched several such infrared detection satellites to test ballistic missile early warning systems.

However, the sensitivity of the sensors they used at that time was relatively low, which was not enough to observe and record the temperature changes of 0K in crops.

In order to complete the space-based infrared detection system as soon as possible, Wang Jiankun took some time out to participate in the research and development of infrared detectors.

Accelerated by his super powers, the material research of the detector progressed by leaps and bounds.

Currently, three materials have been successful in ground tests and are waiting to be manufactured into satellite modules and launched into space for testing.

Once tested, geosynchronous orbit (GEO) satellites and highly elliptical orbit (HEO) satellites can be urgently produced.

……

At 9 o'clock that night, Sentinel-1 flew over the African continent from Kenya and arrived in the Indian Ocean.

A previously launched navigation experimental satellite flew out from over Antarctica and arrived in the southern Indian Ocean.

The distance between the two satellites gradually approached from 2200 kilometers.

With the coordinated cooperation of the global satellite communication system, the Mozambique ground station, and the Yaowang 1 survey ship, the test firing of space-based laser weapons began.

"Is the target tracking situation normal?" Song Yumin asked about the target tracking situation again in the underground command room in Myitkyina.

"normal."

"What's the status of Sentinel 1? Has the laser cannon completed its self-test?"

"In good condition, self-test results show that all systems are functioning normally."

"Okay, launch on time at 9:18, no need to ask for permission, the time window is only 2 minutes, you have 4 chances."

"Roger that!"

At this time, the atmosphere in the underground command room gradually became tense.

At exactly 9:18, the engineer responsible for pressing the strike button pressed the button firmly.

The information is transmitted to Sentinel-0.5 within 1 microseconds.

To record this historic moment, a specially built reconnaissance satellite flew at a distance of 20 kilometers from the target star.

The orbital altitude is slightly higher by 10 kilometers to prevent the target star from being ablated by the laser and causing a large amount of debris, so it cannot fly at the same altitude.

The camera of the reconnaissance satellite was firmly aimed at the side of the target star that was about to be illuminated by the laser, and the signal was transmitted to the large screen in front of Song Yumin and others through a dedicated channel.

In the field of vision, the satellite only had a faint reflection in the darkness.

But at a certain moment, the light on its west side became brighter.

A light spot about 20 centimeters in diameter continued to flicker on the surface of the satellite.

No matter how the satellite escapes, the light spot remains tightly attached to its surface.

After 3 seconds, some smoke appeared in the light spot area.

That was the protective material shown by the satellite being vaporized by a high-energy laser.

As the light spot continued to shine, the smoke became more and more.

The satellite's trajectory gradually changed.

That's because its weight is decreasing rapidly and its structure is losing stability, so it can't maintain its original track.

About 15 seconds later, the target star in the field of vision suddenly shattered.

A solar panel broke away from the target satellite, carrying a small part of the satellite's main structure, and a large number of small fragments flew out from the gap.

At 18 seconds, another part broke apart, and the entire satellite was in tatters.

The fragments have all left their original orbits because of their different structures and weights.

The light spot also disappeared, only at a certain moment, some small fragments broke into the original orbit, and then quickly melted and vaporized in the field of vision.

After 30 seconds, the laser cannon on Sentinel 1 was shut down.

The reconnaissance satellite adjusted its focus to try to include more debris in the observation field, so as to provide more analysis materials for ground personnel.

"How is the laser cannon? Is the cooling system working properly?" After finishing the laser strike test, Song Yumin immediately asked about the working condition of the laser cannon's cooling system.

A 20-megawatt laser cannon will instantly generate a large amount of heat when working, and this heat must be quickly dissipated by the cooling system.

If there is a fault in the cooling system, the laser cannon will definitely break down, and the experiment cannot be called a success.

"Report, the cooling system is working normally. The data sent back by the laser cannon's sensors are all within the design range. It will be able to fire again in 5 seconds."

After hearing the answer from another tester, Song Yumin finally felt relieved.

So far, the experimental results of this laser cannon have been perfect.

However, two other tests need to be completed. If they are successful, it means that this space-based anti-missile satellite can be finalized.

"Then we will proceed to the second test, the 70km altitude interception test."

"receive."

At this time, at an altitude of 80 meters above the ocean 4 kilometers east of Mauritius, a target aircraft specially made by Wang Jiankun was flying from southwest to northeast under the control of an automatic driving system.

It is used to simulate the take-off phase of a ballistic missile.

Wang Jiankun installed a rotating detonation engine on it, which enabled it to reach a speed of Mach 10 and fly to an altitude of about 80 kilometers above sea level.

Its take-off base is its main African base in Mozambique.

Guided by its own onboard computer and signals from communication and navigation satellites, it first flew along the Tropic of Capricorn, crossed the island of Madagascar, and then turned northeast.

At 9:20, its altitude reached 50 kilometers, 120 kilometers away from Mauritius, and its speed was Mach 6.

Another reconnaissance satellite in the sky also aimed its camera at the target aircraft.

At 9:25, all I could see was the screen.

A 30-centimeter light spot suddenly appeared on the skin behind the nose of the gray-black painted target aircraft.

The skin was illuminated by the high-energy laser and emitted a dazzling purple light.

Of course, because the target aircraft was climbing up at an altitude of 73 kilometers at this time, the position of the light spot still had a large displacement, but it was always in the area of ​​the main body behind the nose.

Although the air density at this altitude is already very low, the speed of the target aircraft is already close to Mach 10. At such a high speed, the aircraft still has some lateral vibration and displacement in this situation.

However, with the positioning of the global satellite navigation system and the precise tracking of the remote measurement ship below, the real-time position of the target is continuously transmitted to Sentinel-1 via communication satellite.

Therefore, the laser cannon can continuously aim at the target aircraft that is moving at high speed.

After about 10 seconds, the illuminated skin in the field of view changed.

Some smoke began to rise.

At 15 seconds, a small gap appeared.

Then in the blink of an eye, the target plane broke into two pieces at an altitude of more than 70 kilometers, and a large amount of debris was scattered in the air.

Under the action of inertia, several large parts of the aircraft flew upwards for several hundred meters, rolling as they flew and throwing out the parts inside.

The technicians quickly converted the footage into slow motion.

At 0.2x speed.

Several soybean-sized cracks appeared first, and then instantly connected into one, forming a crack with a diameter of 3 cm.

At this time, the high-energy laser has penetrated the gap and irradiated into the interior of the body.

For a target aircraft that can fly at speeds approaching Mach 10, a hole in its skin would be a fatal blow.

This is different from a subsonic aircraft. Even if it has many holes in it, it can still continue to fly.

At such a high speed, the speed of the surface vortex is also very fast, and after the breach occurs, negative pressure is generated in the body.

I saw the skin began to tear from the gap, and then because of the structural imbalance of the aircraft, the part of the skeleton that was irradiated by the high-energy laser became more fragile.

So within a few microseconds, the target drone broke apart from the irradiated part.

Seeing this, Song Yumin recalled the simulation animation materials that Wang Jiankun had shown him before and knew that this situation was normal.

I saw that it took only 15.8 seconds (less than 16 seconds) from the irradiation to the target breaking.

The result is absolutely perfect.

This means that in the future, after irradiating the body of a ballistic missile, it will be able to burn a hole in the ballistic missile in about 16 seconds, and the ballistic missile will then be unable to maintain balance, deviating from its trajectory or breaking directly.

"Record the data and prepare for the third experiment." Song Yumin looked at his watch. The time was 9:27 p.m. There were still 3 minutes before the third experiment began.

"receive."

At this time, in the sky above the Bay of Bengal near the Myanmar coast, a C-47 transport plane captured during the War of Unification was hovering at an altitude of 2 kilometers.

It is the target aircraft for the third experiment.

This experiment is to verify whether the laser cannon of Sentinel-1 can be useful in dealing with cruise missiles in the future.

It would be a waste if such a laser cannon with incredible performance was only used to prevent ballistic missiles in the future.

After all, ballistic missiles are generally only launched when a nuclear war is coming, and at other times there are only sporadic experimental launches.

Cruise missiles, anti-ship missiles and other low-altitude large missiles may be weapons that appear frequently in future conventional wars.

It would be great if this laser cannon could also be effective against the enemy's low-altitude targets.

However, the lower the altitude, the greater the air density and the greater the loss of laser energy.

Moreover, on days with heavy fog or smog, the effectiveness of laser will be greatly reduced.

However, it is better to test it in practice to see how much it will be weakened.

It's hard to get this time window, and once you miss it, it will be difficult to get it again.

So the tattered C-47, which was originally recovered from the United States by the former Burmese government, was used as a low-altitude, low-speed target.

At this time, Sentinel-1 was almost near Singapore.

At 9:30 sharp, after the target data was transmitted, the high-energy laser was immediately launched.

Over the Myanmar Sea, if one is in the right location and looks up at the sky, one can see a purple pillar of light slanting down from the sky toward the northwest.

The light column was still moving. The position of the Sentinel-1 satellite was flying rapidly eastward, so the angle between the light column and the sea level was getting lower and lower.

On a Y-1 plane flying with him, the experienced pilot who had mastered all the skills saw the purple beam of light descending from the sky.

Although we had been informed of what we were about to see before takeoff, we were still shocked by the sight.

When the light column reached a low altitude, its diameter was close to 1 meter, so it was like Sun Wukong's Dinghai Shenzhen, except that its color was purple.

That was the original ultraviolet high-energy laser. After coming into contact with the air, its wavelength lengthened and turned into purple light.

At first, the beam of light just brushed past the belly of the C-47. One second later, the beam of light moved up two meters and aimed at the modified position on the side of the fuselage.

The skin used for the modified parts was a material commonly used in cruise missiles at that time.

This is done to obtain more realistic experimental data.

The Y-1 pilot was watching the purple light moving over the C-1 from 47 kilometer away.

Wherever the light spot passed, puffs of smoke rose.

That was the cruise missile's body material being continuously vaporized by the laser.

However, after 30 seconds, the C-47 target aircraft was still intact, and there was no gap where the light spot passed.

This scene was recorded by the camera on the Y-1 and transmitted back to the underground command center in Myitkyina.

"Report, 30 seconds of attack is over."

"Report, the target drone's target position has not been burned through, and the target drone has returned as planned."

"Report, the light intensity detector on the target drone shows that the power is only 0.5 megawatts."

Each person involved in the plan reported the situation one by one.

Song Yumin felt a little regretful when he learned that the target plane was not burned through.

This shows that the 1-megawatt laser cannon carried by the Sentinel-20 is still not capable of dealing with low-altitude targets.

Fortunately, with the continuous research of Quanjiezhen's laser research team, more powerful laser cannons will definitely be designed and manufactured.

By then, the Sentinel laser satellites launched earlier can be updated.

He sorted out the contents of the three experiments, uploaded them to the central computer through a confidential channel, and told Wang Jiankun the results.

Then return to the ground to rest.

Tomorrow he will have to accompany three aerospace experts from China, so he has to stay alert and not let them take away some confidential information.

After receiving Song Yumin's report, Wang Jiankun was somewhat disappointed although he had anticipated the results of the third experiment.

But he adjusted quickly because there was still a series of research that required his full attention.

(End of this chapter)