Claims
- 1. The method of supplementing inertial guidance missiles or other vehicles during selected portions of flights comprising the steps of:
- mounting a sensor on the missile with the sensor sighting axis intersecting at right angles the outer gimbal axis of the stable member of the missile inertial guidance system;
- acquiring a coordinate of a predetermined star by scanning the optical field of view about the assumed star direction through an elongated slit in the sensor, said scanning accomplished by selected rotation of the missile about one of its three orthogonal axes;
- rotating the missile 90.degree. and repeating said scanning step to obtain a second coordinate of said star;
- comparing the acquired coordinates with predicted coordinates based on computed missile position; and
- redirecting said missile to its destination in accordance with the position error information obtained in said scanning steps.
- 2. The method as defined in claim 1 wherein said missile is rotated additionally to obtain a single coordinate on a second star;
- the minutes of arc representing differences in assumed and acquired coordinates being supplied directly as vectors to said computer.
- 3. A stellar-assisted inertial guidance system for vehicles traversing the atmosphere or space and containing a guidance computer comprising:
- optical sensor means attached to said vehicle for detecting and acquiring celestial bodies; said sensor means mounted on the vehicle case and including an elongate, narrow opening for scanning across space and acquiring a selected celestial body; said vehicle rotatable about an axis parallel to said opening to cause scanning movement of said opening;
- a detecting means connected to said sensor means and the guidance computer of said vehicle for generating a signal upon acquisition of a celestial body and extracting vehicle position coordinates from said computer at the moment of acquisition of the celestial body,
- said computer adapted to compare assumed coordinates of said selected celestial body at the time of acquisition with the actual coordinates obtained at the time of acquisition; and
- vehicle control means connected to said computer and adapted to correct the flight of said vehicle in response to the difference in said assumed and actual coordinates to direct said vehicle to a selected destination.
- 4. The system of claim 3 wherein said opening is positioned parallel to one of the three orthogonal axes of said vehicle;
- said vehicle adapted to be rotated about said one orthogonal axis to cause said opening to sweep across a selected section of space.
- 5. The system of claim 4 wherein the vehicle inertial guidance system is provided with a stable member, an inner gimbal, a middle gimbal and an outer gimbal;
- said sensor means is mounted on said outer gimbal; and
- the line of sight of said sensor means is perpendicular to the axis of said outer gimbal.
Government Interests
The invention described herein may be manufactured and used by or for the Government of the United States of America for governmental purposes without the payment of any royalties thereon or therefor.
US Referenced Citations (6)