Invited Paper Sunlit ICBM Trajectories

Arthur S. Jensen; Fred L. Schaff; Leslie L. Thompson

doi:10.1117/12.941821

10 November 1987 Invited Paper Sunlit ICBM Trajectories

Arthur S. Jensen, Fred L. Schaff, Leslie L. Thompson

Proceedings Volume 0819, Infrared Technology XIII; (1987) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.941821
Event: 31st Annual Technical Symposium on Optical and Optoelectronic Applied Sciences and Engineering, 1987, San Diego, CA, United States

Abstract

Even under the worst conditions, a surprisingly large fraction of practical ICBM trajectories from launch sites in the Soviet Union to targets in the U.S. are sunlit for a signifi-cant portion of the trajectories' midcourse. Many trajectories are never wholly within the night shadow of the earth. Graphs and tables are presented to illustrate this. The impli-cation is that SDI space sensor systems can advantageously use visible light cameras. Since visible light cameras are much simpler and less costly than infrared cameras, this can both simplify some systems, reduce their weight, and reduce their cost. This should be of importance especially for the earliest deployed SDI systems.

Citation Download Citation

Arthur S. Jensen, Fred L. Schaff, and Leslie L. Thompson "Invited Paper Sunlit ICBM Trajectories", Proc. SPIE 0819, Infrared Technology XIII, (10 November 1987); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.941821

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