<p>Abstract</p><p>The focus of this paper is to discuss ballistic missile defense (BMD) systems and their impact on international relations. I have a profound interest in the correlation between technological innovation/improvement and changes in international politics. I have therefore chosen the impact of BMD on global politics as the subject of discussion in my paper.</p><p>I begin the discussion by describing the technological segment of Ballistic Missile Defense systems, after which I indulge in the political aspect of it. There are three primary actors in the field: the United States of America, China, Russia. These three are the main focus of the debate, though not the only ones. During the Cold War it was the USA and Russia which pursued BMDS with most vigor, with China keeping a close eye on their progress as well as initiating its own BMD program. The emergence of the “New World Order” in the aftermath of the Cold War resulted in restructuring and re-organizing of the countries` strategic thinking, interests as well as defenses. The strongly criticized 2002 US withdrawal from the Anti-Ballistic Missile (ABM) Treaty of 1972 became the latest milestone in the sphere of strategic defenses. US withdrawal from the Treaty paves way for a new kind of arms race between the three major powers of today: USA, China, Russia.</p><p>My conclusion is that US policy regarding strategic defenses is completely unacceptable. The US quest for “invulnerability”, by many experts seen as futile, is extremely dangerous and just another proof that USA continues to relentlessly pursue complete global military, political and economic domination. The international community, with China and Russia leading, must not ignore US strategic defense ambitions and it must act today. Tomorrow might be too late.</p>

<p>In this thesis various subjects at the crossroads of quantummechanics and device physics are treated, spanning from afundamental study on quantum measurements to fabricationtechniques of controlling gates for nanoelectroniccomponents.</p><p>Electron waveguide components, i.e. electronic componentswith a size such that the wave nature of the electron dominatesthe device characteristics, are treated both experimentally andtheoretically. On the experimental side, evidence of partialballistic transport at room-temperature has been found anddevices controlled by in-plane Pt/GaAs gates have beenfabricated exhibiting an order of magnitude improvedgate-efficiency as compared to an earlier gate-technology. Onthe theoretical side, a novel numerical method forself-consistent simulations of electron waveguide devices hasbeen developed. The method is unique as it incorporates anenergy resolved charge density calculation allowing for e.g.calculations of electron waveguide devices to which a finitebias is applied. The method has then been used in discussionson the influence of space-charge on gate-control of electronwaveguide Y-branch switches.</p><p>Electron waveguides were also used in a proposal for a novelscheme of carrierinjection in low-dimensional semiconductorlasers, a scheme which altogether by- passes the problem ofslow carrier relaxation in suchstructures. By studying aquantum mechanical two-level system serving as a model forelectroabsorption modulators, the ultimate limits of possiblemodulation rates of such modulators have been assessed andfound to largely be determined by the adiabatic response of thesystem. The possibility of using a microwave field to controlRabi oscillations in two-level systems such that a large numberof states can be engineered has also been explored.</p><p>A more fundamental study on quantum mechanical measurementshas been done, in which the transition from a classical to aquantum "interaction free" measurement was studied, making aconnection with quantum non-demolition measurements.</p>

Thesis--School of Advanced Airpower Studies, Maxwell Air Force Base, Ala., 1992-93. / Title from title screen (viewed Oct. 28, 2003). "28 June 1993." Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis--School of Advanced Airpower Studies, Maxwell Air Force Base, Ala., 1993-94. / Title from title screen (viewed Nov. 5, 2003). "October 1995." Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M.A. in National Security Affairs)--Naval Postgraduate School, September 2003. / Thesis advisor(s): H. Lyman Miller, Gaye Christoffersen. Includes bibliographical references (p. 91-96). Also available online.

Preliminary interplanetary trajectory designs frequently use simplified two-body orbital mechanics and linked conics methodology to model the complex trajectories in multi-body systems. Incorporating gravity assists provides highly efficient interplanetary trajectories, enabling otherwise infeasible spacecraft missions. Future missions may employ powered gravity assists, using a propulsive maneuver during the flyby, improving the overall trajectory performance. This dissertation provides a complete description and analysis of a new interplanetary trajectory design tool known as TRACT (TRAjectory Configuration Tool). TRACT is capable of modeling complex interplanetary trajectories, including multiple ballistic and/or powered gravity assists, deep space maneuvers, parking orbits, and other common maneuvers. TRACT utilizes an adaptable architecture of modular boundary value problem (BVP) algorithms for all trajectory segments. A bi-level optimization scheme is employed to reduce the number of optimization variables, simplifying the user provided trajectory information. The standardized optimization parameter set allows for easy use of TRACT with a variety of optimization algorithms and mission constraints. The dissertation also details new research in powered gravity assists. A review of literature on optimal powered gravity assists is presented, where many optimal solutions found are infeasible for realistic spacecraft missions. The need was identified for a mission feasible optimal powered gravity assist algorithm using only a single impulsive maneuver. The solution space was analyzed and a complete characterization was developed for solution types of the optimal single-impulse powered gravity assist. Using newfound solution space characteristics, an efficient and reliable optimal single-impulse powered gravity assist BVP algorithm was formulated. The mission constraints were strictly enforced, such as maintaining the closest approach above a minimum radius and below a maximum radius. An extension of the optimal powered gravity assist research is the development of a gravity assist BVP algorithm that utilizes an asymptote ΔV correction maneuver to produce ballistic gravity assist trajectory solutions. The efficient algorithm is tested with real interplanetary mission trajectory parameters and successfully converges upon ballistic gravity assists with improved performance compared to traditional methods. A hybrid approach is also presented, using the asymptote maneuver algorithm together with traditional gravity assist constraints to reach ballistic trajectory solutions more reliably, while improving computational performance.

The objective of this study is to investigate the penetration and perforation resistance of alumina ceramics against kinetic energy projectiles. There are several different mechanisms by which a target can fail when it is subjected to impact of a projectile and these may occur singly or in combinations of two or more. The presence of large number of penetration and failure mechanisms makes the investigation of the perforation very difficult. Because of this difficulty, the analytical investigations of penetration and perforation processes usually assume one type of failure mechanism. One of these analytical investigations is reviewed and it is seen that this analytical model is capable of predicting after impact parameters reasonably accurately. A parallel investigation of this problem is also been carried out numerically by using Autodyn hydrocodes. Numerical study is capable of simulating the main changes in ceramic/steel composite target during penetration process of kinetic energy projectile. Results of analytical and numerical investigations are parallel to each other. A set of experiments was carried out for checking the results of analytical and numerical calculations with the experimental data.

Solid propellant rocket motors are the most widely used propulsion systems for military applications that require high thrust to weight ratio for relatively short time intervals. Very wide range of magnitude and duration of the thrust can be obtained from solid propellant rocket motors by making some small changes at the design of the rocket motor. The most effective of these design criteria is the geometry of the solid propellant grain. So the most important step in designing the solid propellant rocket motor is determination of the geometry of the solid propellant grain. The performance prediction of the solid rocket motor can be achieved easily if the burnback steps of the rocket motor are known. In this study, grain burnback analysis for some 3-D grain geometries is investigated. The method used is solid modeling of the propellant grain for some predefined intervals of burnback. In this method, the initial grain geometry is modeled parametrically using commercial software. For every burn step, the parameters are adapted. So the new grain geometry for every burnback step is modeled. By analyzing these geometries, burn area change of the grain geometry is obtained. Using this data and internal ballistics parameters, the performance of the solid propellant rocket motor is achieved. To verify the outputs obtained from this study, rocket motor tests are performed. The results obtained from this study shows that, the procedure that was developed, can be successfully used for the preliminary design of a solid propellant rocket motor where a lot of different geometries are examined.

The intent of this study is to assess the role of fundamental Japanese security policy objectives in driving the significant shifts in Japan???s approach towards missile defence cooperation with the United States from 1993 to 2003. In studying the relative influence of the objectives that guided Japan???s approach towards missile defence cooperation, this thesis seeks to address a gap in the literature. A debate has occurred over the direction of Japanese security policy that is based on widely different assumptions on the importance attached to various fundamental security objectives. At the same time, Japan???s approach to missile defence has been the subject of considerable analysis that identified the crucial importance of the issue for the attainment of these fundamental security policy objectives. But no linkage has been established between these two levels of analysis. In particular, there has been an absence of assessments of what Japan???s decisions on missile defence cooperation indicate about the relative influence of the various objectives. This thesis developed an analytical framework to enable such an assessment by examining the structure of missile defence cooperation undertaken. Japan possessed a range of options in the level and type of involvement in missile defence cooperation. That involvement would determine the eventual type of benefits and costs incurred against the affected objectives. Cooperation agreed to (or rejected) over the ten year period thereby provides a means to determine the influence of key objectives on Japan???s approach, and in particular those objectives that restrained involvement. The thesis finds that a clear hierarchy existed in the influence of the various objectives on Japan???s approach with changes in their influence explaining the evolution of Japan???s commitment. The desire to strengthen the alliance, weakening domestic political constraints, and disregard of China???s opposition provide the key explanations. These findings not only point towards the respective strengths and weaknesses of the various approaches employed to explain Japanese security policy, but they also suggest the value of greater attention to the state???s ability to overcome domestic constraints in determining policy in order to fully understand the broader transformation of Japanese security policy.

Thesis (M. S.)--Aerospace Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, 2009. / Committee Chair: Mavris, Dimitri; Committee Member: Biltgen, Patrick; Committee Member: Ender, Tommer.