Sentinel Prime: The Chronos-Vanguard Mission Architecture — A Multi-Launch 150-Ton SGL Infrastructure for Exoplanetary Surface Tomography

Abstract The Solar Gravitational Lens (SGL) offers an unparalleled optical gain of μ ~ 10¹¹, enabling sub-kilometer resolution of exoplanetary surfaces at distances exceeding 100 light-years. Historically, SGL mission concepts have been constrained by the "Tyranny of the Rocket Equation" and the temporal limitations of single-spacecraft raster scanning (rotational blur). This document establishes the systems engineering blueprint for the "Sentinel Prime" mission—a 150-ton interstellar dreadnought deployed via a four-flight Heavy-Lift Launch Vehicle (HLLV) campaign and integrated via On-Orbit Assembly (OOA) in High Earth Orbit (HEO). Key Architectural Breakthroughs Derived Within: • Propulsion Realism: Transition from standard electric propulsion to a Princeton Field-Reversed Configuration (PFRC) Direct Fusion Drive (DFD), delivering a specific impulse (Isp) of 15,000 seconds and achieving a 35-year transit to 750 AU. • The Chronos Protocol: A stroboscopic epoch-stacking integration framework that neutralizes target rotational blur, bypassing the Shannon-Nyquist temporal limits of spinning planetary bodies. • Thermodynamic Stability: Implementation of a non-parasitic, latent-heat Adipic Acid (C₆H₁₀O₄) thermal buffer to lock narrow-band Potassium/Oxygen FADOF filters at precisely 152.1°C during unpowered ballistic drift cycles. • Vibration Isolation & Noise Suppression: Utilization of a 1,000-node "Braid-Chain" swarm flying in a pure ballistic formation inside a decoupled Halo propulsion ring, shielded by a co-orbiting 50,000 km baseline external Starshade occulter. This engineering specification transitions the exploitation of the SGL from an abstract thought experiment into a mathematically closed, logistically viable multi-launch deep-space campaign.