Demonstration of a ring laser gyro system for pointing and stabilization applications

A system specifically designed to meet the requirements of the pointing and stabilization community is presented. Such applications include synthetic aperture radar (SAR) motion compensation and infrared sensor stabilization. Requirements peculiar to this application are discussed and contrasted with traditional inertial navigation requirements. Pointing and stabilization demand consideration of requirements such as high bandwidth, low noise, minimal data latency, dither effects, reference alignment, minimization of size, near-instantaneous turn-on, and analysis of structural resonances. The GG1320 RLG (ring laser gyro) was chosen for this application since it provided the necessary accuracy and could be contained in a small volume. Test results are presented indicating the performance of the IMU (inertial measurement unit). Testing techniques are also discussed and contrasted with traditional inertial navigation system testing. Results indicate that the GG1320 RLG IAU (inertial attitude unit) is capable of meeting the requirements of the pointing and stabilization community. Current and future development activities are discussed relative to performance enhancement, and further applications and requirements are identified