Low Cost, Radiation Hardened, Inertial Measurement Unit

The Missile Defense Agency (MDA) requires the development of a miniaturized, lightweight, radiation hardened, inertial measurement unit (IMU) to provide high accuracy inertial knowledge in both absolute location/velocity and angular orientation. Proposed MDA systems, such as the Space Tracking and Surveillance System (STSS), are required to track objects at great distances and relay inertial information. Currently available IMU systems do not concurrently meet the size, weight, power, and radiation hardening performance requirements for use in the target applications. Applied Technology Associates (ATA) proposes to realize a Modular Inertial Measurement Unit (MIMU) which is inherently radiation hardened by design to meet a 300 krad total ionizing dose (TID) goal. The proposed Phase I MIMU effort will entail producing the preliminary design for an inertial measurement unit (IMU) which is low-cost, rad-hard, modular, low-power, and compatible for use with aiding sensors (e.g., GPS and star-tracker) in order to provide accurate position and attitude determination which is suitable for MDA on-gimbal applications as well as for use in spacecraft and interceptors. The approach proposed herein seeks to use decades of experience in the area of precise inertial sensors with recent innovations in sensor blending, electronics, and a novel mechanical design.