AUTOMATED BEST SOURCE SELECTOR

THIS PROPOSAL ADDRESSES THE NEED TO PROVIDE AN AUTOMATIC BEST SOURCE SELECTION OR BEST DATA ESTIMATE FOR UP TO SIX SPACE-DIVERSIFIED SOURCES OF TELEMETRY DATA. AN AUTOMATED BEST SOURCE SELECTOR IS PROPOSED WHICH MEETS THE REQUIREMENT WITH THREE OUTPUT MODES; A BEST SOURCE SELECTION, A BEST ESTIMATE VIA MAJORITY VOTING, AND COMBINED MODE WHICH AUTOMATICALLY OUTPUTS THE BEST SOURCE WHEN AT LEAST ONE OF THE SIX SOURCES EXHIBITS A HIGH BER AND A BEST ESTIMATE WHEN ALL SOURCES EXHIBIT A LOW BER. SWITCHOVER BETWEEN SOURCES AND BETWEEN THE BEST SOURCE AND BEST ESTIMATE IS AUTOMATIC WITHOUT PHASE OR TIMING TRANSIENTS WHICH COULD DISTURB RECORDING, PROCESSING, OR DISPALY EQUIPMENTS RECEIVING THE OUTPUT OF THE AUTOMATED BEST SOURCE SELECTOR. KEY FEATURES OF THE DESIGN INCLUDE RATE BUFFERING OF THE DATA SOURCES TO ALLOW FOR DIFFERENTIAL RANGE VARIATIONS AMONG THE RECEIVING STATIONS DURING THE COURSE OF THE MISSILE FLIGHT BEING MONITORED, AND THE ACQUISITION AND MAINTENANCE OF DATA SYNCHRONIZATION AND ANALYSIS TO DETERMINE DESIGN PARAMETERS, A DETAIL DESIGN OF THE UNIT, AND BREADBOARDING TO DEMONSTRATE THE CONCEPT.