Lockheed Martin Corporation

Timothy Roland Hilby

Michael L Tartaglia

Jesse William Fisher

Luke L Wieczorek

Provided herein are various improvements to optical-inertial stabilization systems, such as those employed on electro-optical systems that receive or emit optical energy. In one example, a system includes an optical reference element rigidly coupled to a primary mirror. The optical reference element propagates a reference signal through optic elements that form at least a portion of an optical path corresponding to the primary mirror. A measurement of the reference signal is made after propagation through the optic elements to determine errors associated with the optical path. The system can also include inertial sensors rigidly coupled to the primary mirror and optical reference element to form an assembly. The inertial sensors are configured to measure inertial rotation of the assembly. Rotational adjustments about two axes can be produced for the assembly based at least on the inertial rotation properties to correct for disturbance or drift.

Optical-inertial stabilization for electro-optical systems

A gravimeter is disclosed that comprises a base, a reference device coupled to the base and configured to move along a first axis, a falling device configured to free fall from a first position to a second position on a second axis that is parallel to the first axis, a measurement module coupled to the reference device and configured to provide a first signal of the displacement of the reference device relative to the base and provide a second signal of the displacement of the falling device relative to the reference device. A processing unit accepts the first and second signals and computes a displacement of the falling device in inertial space by processing the first and second signals and subtracting the processed first signal from the processed second signal.

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San Mateo, CA, United States of America

Timothy Roland Hilby