Applied UV/IR for Rapid-Moving Objective Recognition (AUROR)

The detection and tracking of hypersonic weapons present a significant challenge for missile defense due to their high speeds, maneuverability, and low-altitude flight paths. Traditional infrared-based tracking systems struggle to reliably detect these threats because hypersonic vehicles can appear one order of magnitude dimmer than conventional missile targets. The MDA has identified ultraviolet (UV) and infrared (IR) multispectral sensing as a potential solution, leveraging the solar-blind UV spectral region to improve detection contrast against the background. The proposed technology, Applied UV/IR for Rapid-Moving Object Recognition (AUROR), is a space-based multispectral imaging payload designed to detect and track hypersonic threats by leveraging both IR and UV emissions. The system is built on a dual-telescope monolithic optical platform, integrating a Short-Wave IR (SWIR) sensor for thermal emissions and a tri-band UV imaging for detecting shock-layer radiation in the solar-blind UV spectrum. AUROR incorporates onboard Level-1 image processing, enabling radiometric and geometric corrections before data is downlinked to ground-based systems for further analysis. The payload electronics module utilizes a radiation-tolerant GPU-based architecture, ensuring real-time data processing while maintaining compatibility with low-SWaP satellite platforms. AUROR is also designed for modular integration with existing space-based tracking architectures. AUROR’s feasibility has been demonstrated through prior efforts, which included trade studies, radiometric modeling, and prototype testing to validate key system components. These efforts confirmed that the planned UV sensing approach can detect hypersonic shock-layer emissions, and that the payload architecture is compatible with space-based deployment. Additionally, physics-based simulations using the Digital Imaging and Remote Sensing Image Generation (DIRSIG) tool have been conducted to evaluate hypersonic target detection performance under real-world atmospheric conditions. The Phase II effort leverages an existing TRL11 platform (Deep Purple) and modifies the UV channel and software to meet MDA mission needs.  We will build a prototype of the UV subsystem and test it in the laboratory.  We will then show (by design) how the UV subsystem can be seamlessly reintegrated into the Deep Purple platform, ensuring a low-risk transition path to future operational deployment.