A Defense That Defends: Blocking Nuclear Attack

xiv, 158, [2] p. Index. From Wikipedia: "Daniel O. Graham (April 13, 1925 December 31, 1995) was a U.S. Army officer. Graham was born in Portland, Oregon and grew up in Medford. He attended college at the United States Military Academy at West Point, the army's Command and General Staff College, and graduated in 1946. He also attended the U.S. Army War College and ultimately rose to the rank of lieutenant general in the United States Army. Graham served in Germany, Korea, and Vietnam and received several decorations including some of the highest the United States military bestows: the Distinguished Service Medal, the Legion of Merit with two oak leaf clusters, and the Distinguished Intelligence Medal during his distinguished 30 year military career. From 1963-1966, Graham worked for the CIA in the Office of National Estimates. During the Vietnam war from 1967-1968 he was chief of the army's military intelligence estimates. Graham served again in the Office of National Estimates during 1968-1971, then served as director of collections for the Defense Intelligence Agency in 1971. During 1973-1974 Graham served as deputy director of the CIA under Director William Colby and from 1974-1976 he was the director of the DIA. Ronald Reagan called upon General Graham to be his military advisor for his 1976 and 1980 campaigns. General Graham is a member of the Military Intelligence Hall of Fame. In later years, Graham devoted a lot of time to the research and development of Single-Stage To Orbit (SSTO) spacecraft in conjunction with NASA. McDonnell Douglas was awarded a contract to build an SSTO test vehicle on August 16, 1991, and named it the DC-X for Delta Clipper Experimental. The name honored the firm's successful Thor/Delta rocket and recalled the famous 19th-century commercial clipper ships. The McDonnell Douglas SSTO team saw the Delta Clipper as opening the "space trade routes in the same way that the Yankee Clipper ships opened the sea trade routes." The needs of the commercial launch industry thus were integral to the thinking of the McDonnell Douglas DC-X team. General Graham envisioned the DC-X as the perfect inexpensive launch and delivery vehicle for his proposed Brilliant Pebbles space-based ballistic missile defense shield. The first test launch of the DC-X was on August 18, 1993. The test flight verified flight control systems and vertical landing capabilities and was deemed a success after reaching a 46 m altitude in a 59 second flight. The second flight on 1993 September 11, 1993 tested ascent and landing mode control and ground effects survey, reaching 92 m in a 66 second flight. The third test flight on September 30, 1993 demonstrated 180 degree roll and provided aerostability data while reaching 370 m during 57 second flight. Unfortunately, this marked the last test of first series as the vehicle was mothballed when SDIO funding ran out. On June 20, 1994, the DC-X rose once again for the first flight of second series after additional SDIO funding was received. Operating with a full propellent load, the flight tested the radar altimeter in control loop and reached an altitude of 870 m during a 136 second flight. Demonstrating an unplanned event on June 27, 1994, the DC-X became the first unmanned vehicle to save itself when an in-flight abort occurred after a gaseous hydrogen explosion. The vehicle demonstrated autoland its capabilities after reaching an altitude of 790 meters during a 78-second flight. After repairs were made, the DC-X continued expansion of the flight envelope on May 16, 1995, demonstrating constant angle of attack after reaching an altitude of 1330 m during a 124 second flight. Graham was elated and continued to work closely with the program. Graham would not live to see the full glory of the DC-X program. He died in December 1995. On Friday, June 7, 1996 at White Sands, New Mexico, the second series vehicle designated DC-XA was successfully launched. It flew to a height of 485 meters (1, 600 ft).