Attitude determination using two transmitter/receiver stations and skewed reflectors
AssigneeThe United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Army
InventorsKynric M. Pell, David B. Brown
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Abstract
A system is provided for remote determination of the attitude of a vehicle. he system utilizes two remotely located transmitting-receiving stations and two retroreflecting single plane roof prisms mounted on a vehicle which may exhibit high angular rates about a roll axis relative to the angular rates about two other orthogonal axes. The two remotely located transmitter-receiver stations provide tracking of the vehicle, continuously illuminating the vehicle with a light source located at each station so that the position of the object relative to the remote stations is obtained.
Claims6
In a tracking system for determining the spatial attitude of an object having a longitudinal axis of rotation and wherein optical energy is directed from a tracking station toward the object and reflected back to the tracking station from the object, the improvement of first and second optical reflectors disposed on the surface of said object, said reflectors being disposed respectively along first and second axes skewed to each other for retroreflecting impinging optical energy within the respective planes formed by the normal to the surface of the object at each reflector and said first and second reflector axes respectively.
In a tracking systen having a transmitter-receiver disposed for tracking a moving vehicle, a method of tracking said vehicle comprising the steps of:
- launching a vehicle ito a general flight trajectory;
- directing a beam of optical energy from first and second separately established group stations toward said vehicle;
- retroreflecting impinging energy of said optical energy from first and second retroreflector arrays on the surface of said vehicle back toward said ground stations;
- receiving said retroreflected energy by said tracking stations for processing to provide vehicle attitude.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.