A Midcourse Discrimination Algorithm Based On Solar Radiation Pressure

Applied Optimization proposes a new midcourse discrimination algorithm to identify a RV, which is concealed in a balloon, from an empty decoy balloon, for the situation of daytime missile attack. The algorithm is based on a calculation that a sunlitballoon, when vented, will collapse by over fifty percent of its size within two minutes, due to solar radiation pressure. We show that a baseline decoy balloon can be vented with a laser that can input 1.9 Joules/cm2 onto the balloon surface. For aballoon that conceals a RV, the collapsing skin will drape over the RV surface, and this balloon will have a different signature in the infrared and visual spectrum, as compared to an empty balloon. We propose to determine the rate of balloon collapse foreight different missile trajectories, and then fuse the simulated signature data as a function of time. Next, we will compare the difference in the fused data, for a concealed RV and a decoy, with the SBIRS-Low capabilities. The result would be theduration of time after which the SBIRS-Low will be able to identify the concealed RV. We expect this time to be about two minutes. The benefit of the proposed algorithm is that it will deprive the balloon decoys of their `laser sump' ability, and enablethe high-energy laser assets within NMD to conserve themselves for real targets. The software for signature calculation and data fusion has commercial applications as a non-contact technique for accurate determination of a part size, while it is beingmanufactured.