Stray Light Test Station for Ballistic Missile Defense Sensors

Controlling stray light in ballistic missile defense (BMD) sensors is essential to target detection, discrimination and acquisition. The most effective way to control stray light is to move or block the offending stray light source, in the hostile environment of missile defense this is not an option. The enemy dictates the stray light environment. Defense sensors must contend with the sun, the moon, the earth limb, and countermeasures, at virtually any angle relative to the sensor boresight. If a sensor is blinded by the sun or lured away by a countermeasure the result is no different than a failed launch. Therefore, mission assurance depends on defining realistic stray light requirements, designing sensors to meet those requirements, and tests that verify sensor stray light performance. While controlling stray light in missile defense sensors is critical, stray light testing is sporadic. There is a need for a permanent stray light test station for missile defense sensors, staffed by personnel well versed in stray light, and allowed to grow over time with the support of multiple programs. During Phase 2 we propose to build a stray light test station and measure stray light performance in a BMD sensor qualification unit.