Mechanical design and modeling of an inertial reference unit for laser beam stabilization

Inertially stable platforms (ISPs) have numerous applications from precision laser pointing mechanisms to stabilizing camera images in airborne optical mechanisms. An inertial reference unit (IRU) is one such application that is typically used in line-of-sight optical systems, such as laser weapon systems. The mechanical design of a prototype ISP consisting of an IRU driven by large-angle positioning gimbal was completed. A working ISP with a pointing control system (PCS) will be built as an instructional tool to demonstrate the principles of and operation of feedback control systems.