Cameron Ultraviolet Radiation Contrast Enhancement Sensor (CURCES)

Ballistic missile location often relies on rocket plume infrared radiation. However, ultraviolet (UV) radiation detection offers hardware system advantages. CO Cameron UV radiation is attractive for detecting high altitude plumes -- it is intense and is present for both solid and liquid propellent. The CURCES concept uses a Fabry Perot etalon filter to discriminate against bright daytime atmospheric backgrounds, which can obscure plume signatures. By modulating the wavelengths of the etalon filter peaks, the plume radiation can be absorbed periodicially, while the background radiation remains largely unaffected. The target will be therefore enhanced to background contrast as the background signal is suppressed relative to the plume signature.