Zenith Star was a

Directed-energy weapon A directed-energy weapon (DEW) is a ranged weapon that damages its target with highly focused energy without a solid projectile, including lasers, microwaves, particle beams, and sound beams. Potential applications of this technology include ...

that started development as part of the US

Strategic Defense Initiative The Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI) was a proposed missile defense system intended to protect the United States from attack by ballistic nuclear missiles. The program was announced in 1983, by President Ronald Reagan. Reagan called for a ...

. It included the Alpha laser, a high energy hydrogen fluoride chemical laser, and the LAMP mirror which was a 7 segment

adaptive optics Adaptive optics (AO) is a technique of precisely deforming a mirror in order to compensate for light distortion. It is used in Astronomy, astronomical telescopes and laser communication systems to remove the effects of Astronomical seeing, atmo ...

mirror. Zenith Star was never put in orbit, but the Alpha LAMP Integration (ALI) project carried out some ground-based tests.

History

The Zenith Star program was a key component of President Ronald Reagan's Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI), popularly known as "Star Wars," which aimed to create a space-based ballistic missile defense system. Initiated in the mid-1980s, Zenith Star represented an ambitious attempt to develop and deploy a

chemical laser A chemical laser is a laser that obtains its energy from a chemical reaction. Chemical lasers can reach continuous wave output with power reaching to megawatt levels. They are used in industry for cutting and drilling. Common examples of chemical ...

weapon in space. Following SDI's establishment in 1984, the office took over directed-energy weapons research from

DARPA The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is a research and development agency of the United States Department of Defense responsible for the development of emerging technologies for use by the military. Originally known as the Adva ...

. By 1986, with more exotic technologies like nuclear X-ray lasers still far from realization, the chemical laser became the focus for near-term deployment. In December 1986, President Reagan made a secret decision to accelerate the program, aiming for a space-based test of Zenith Star by 1990, four years earlier than originally planned. The Zenith Star spacecraft as designed was massive, measuring 80 feet long and over 40 feet in diameter, with a weight exceeding 43 tons. It incorporated TRW's "Alpha chemical laser", a large focusing mirror, and advanced targeting systems. Construction was managed by Lockheed Martin Missiles & Space Company. Despite its presidential support and very large budget, the program faced significant technical challenges, schedule delays, and funding issues. By 1989, every component was at least a year behind schedule. The end of the Cold War ultimately led to the program's apparent cancellation in the early 1990s, yet it laid the groundwork for subsequent directed-energy weapons research.

Legacy

Around 1998 Space-Based lasers were reconsidered and led to the Space Based Laser - Integrated Flight eXperiment (SBL-IFX) project 2000-2002.''The Space-Based Laser Integrated Flight Experiment: Global Missile Defense in the Boost Phase'' Team SBL
/ref>''Overview of the space-based laser (SBL) program'' J.F.Riker 2002
/ref>

History

Legacy

See also

References

Further reading