The High Altitude Balloon Experiment optical payload uses four on-board fast steering mirrors to accomplish its acquisition, tracking, and pointing function against boosting missile targets. The payload function requiring these high-performance mirrors include inertial line-of-sight stabilization in conjunction with an inertial sensor assembly, internal optical beam path auto- alignment, illuminator and marker laser boresight, alignment, and point-ahead. These mirrors are required to have high bandwidth, low noise characteristics, be very lightweight, and operate in various analog and digital closed loop modes. A goad of design commonality among the mirrors is set to facilitate interchangeability during field operations. All five fast steering mirrors, including one spare, have been successfully designed, fabricated, tested, and delivered to Phillips Laboratory.
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