UNCLASSIFIED // PUBLIC RELEASERELEASE 06 · SEPTEMBER 18, 2026
PENTAGON UFO FILE · DOCUMENT · DOW-UAP-D143AAWSAP DIRD, Laser Lightcraft Nanosatellites, November 2010
This November 2010 DIRD, written for the AAWSAP program, looks at an unusual way to reach orbit: instead of carrying all its energy as fuel, a small vehicle would be pushed by a powerful laser beamed up from the ground, the sea or an aircraft. The concept is known as the “Lightcraft.” The release’s summary of it mentions no sightings.
The case for laser launch
The paper pairs a survey of trends in very small satellites with a review of Lightcraft propulsion, vehicle shapes, beam-control requirements and mission studies. Its conclusion is that the idea fits best at the tiny end of the market — nano- and pico-satellites, above all observation payloads, looking at Earth or out into space, of no more than a few kilograms — which it judges could be launched far more cheaply this way than on conventional multistage rockets.
The difficulties are spelled out too. The vehicle must stay precisely within the beam; the atmosphere absorbs and distorts the light; pointing and adaptive optics have to be extremely good; and the whole scheme depends on large laser installations.
Context
Lightcraft prototypes have been flown to modest heights in tests, but laser launch to orbit remains undemonstrated. The paper’s verdict is that it is technically plausible, with its appeal resting on making the laser and beam-control system reliable and affordable at scale. For the weapons side of high-power lasers, see State of the Art and Evolution of High-Energy Lasers.
The official description
From war.gov/UFO, released September 18, 2026, quoted in full
This document is a Defense Intelligence Reference Document (DIRD), a technical reference format used by the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) to capture baseline knowledge on a specific topic for later analytic use. DIRDs are best understood as reference and synthesis products rather than as original research. It is one of 38 DIRDs produced under the Advanced Aerospace Weapon System Applications Program (AAWSAP) between 2009 and 2011. Because AAWSAP’s scope permitted a broad range of supporting topics, not every DIRD in the series directly concerns aerospace systems or future threat assessment. The following summary reflects the DIRD’s scope and framing at the time of writing and should not be read as implying current validation of the concepts discussed.
This DIRD examines laser-propelled “Lightcraft” as a possible low-cost method to launch very small satellites into low Earth orbit by using a remote high-energy laser to supply most of the propulsion energy rather than relying entirely on onboard energy sources. The report combines a survey of nanosatellite trends with a review of “Lightcraft” propulsion concepts, vehicle design, beam-control requirements, and mission studies, and argues that the most promising application is the launch of nano- or pico-satellites, especially Earth- and space-observing payloads of a few kilograms or less. It presents the concept as potentially much cheaper than conventional multistage rockets for very small payloads, while also noting significant practical constraints including strict beam-riding geometry, atmospheric losses, demanding pointing and adaptive-optics requirements, and heavy dependence on large ground-, sea-, or air-based laser infrastructure. Overall, the document presents laser “Lightcraft” as a technically plausible launch concept whose attractiveness depends on whether the supporting laser and beam-control system can be made reliable and economical at operational scale.