DEVELOPMENT AND DEMONSTRATION OF A BALLISTIC MISSILE RANGE SAFETY TECHNOLOGY SYSTEM

SANDRA SLIVINSKY, CRAIG NESBIT, CHRIS G. BARTONE, RICHARD PHILLIPS, ROBERT REXRODE

Peer Reviewed

Abstract:	The purpose of the Ballistic Missile Range Safety Technology (BMRST) program is to develop and demonstrate a mobile launch range tracking and control system based on GPS that can provide range safety support for military and commercial launch vehicles. The BMRST System consists of a unit on board the launch vehicle that transmits, via an S-band data link, precise navigation information derived from GPS and inertial sensors to the ground BMRST Mobile Operation Center (MOC). These data are processed in the MOC and displayed to ensure the continuation of safe flight for the vehicle. When necessary, the command destruct system can be activated to terminate the mission. As part of this development, two significant tests were conducted: (1) initial aircraft dynamic testing (January 2001), and (2) the first operational missile test (March 2001) for the BMRST System. This paper describes the BMRST System and these two major test/demonstration efforts.
Published in:	NAVIGATION: Journal of the Institute of Navigation, Volume 49, Number 2
Pages:	91 - 102
Cite this article:	Export Citation https://doi.org/10.1002/j.2161-4296.2002.tb00258.x
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