Interpolation Procedure to Patch 'Holes' in a Ground and Flight Test Data Base (MARS)

摘要

The technology for intercepting a threat missile (TM) by an interceptor missile (IM) requires numerous ground and flight tests to establish its validity. A huge amount of information is compiled from these tests and is contained, in a particular case, in the MARS (Mission Analysis Reporting Suite) data base. Often 'holes' occur in the data, that is, some desired data is not contained in the data base. The objective here is to give an example of how an interpolation procedure can supply estimates for missing data using only the experimental data. The example given herein is based on simulated notational data rather than on the MARS data, since the latter is classified. The example is taken from the following scenario: A TM is launched from Asia with Washington, D.C. as the target. Once it is acquired, an IM is launched from Alaska. The TM can first be intercepted, exoatmospherically, at t=t1 and continuously until t=tc. The interval t1,tc is called the time launch window (TLW). The problem is to develop vector interpolation functions BP and BV, the burnout position and velocity of the IM for any times in the TLW, that are dependent on the time to intercept, threat position, threat velocity, and closing velocity of the IM.