HIGH-PERFORMANCE, LOW-COST INERTIAL GUIDANCE SYSTEM

Abstract

One or more strap-down star tracker modules and a strap-down gyro module cooperate to provide a high-performance and low-cost inertial guidance system especially well suited for ballistic missiles. The one or more star tracker modules include an alignment laser that cooperates with one or more gyro module autocollimation mirrors to measure three-axis bending and twist between the one or more strap-down star tracker modules and the strap-down gyro module. The one or more strap-down star tracker modules and the strap-down gyro module respectively determine inertial angle independently of one another. The strap-down gyro module is compensated for gyro drift whenever any difference remains between the inertial angle measured thereby and the same inertial angle measured by the one or more star tracker modules after isolating the contribution thereto of the measured three-axis bending and twist. Ring lasers are exemplary of the gyros of the strap-down gyro module, and an optical tracker that includes a beam expander/compressor telescope assembly and a high-bandwidth mosaic array sensor having a multi-spot tracking capability is exemplary of the one or more strap-down star tracker modules.

Source: Google Patents

35 USC §181 Secrecy Order

Inventor

• 1WILLIAM M. JOHNSON

Sensitive facility: Cambridge MA (Draper Lab/MIT)

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