Applications of Control Theory to Design of Line-of-Sight Stabilization Systems

Line-of-sight stabilization systems control the inertial orientation of critical payloads. Requirements for these systems have steadily increased due to improved resolution of payloads, higher maneuverability of host vehicles, and increased overal precision necessary to accomplish mission objectives. The conventional design approach is to develop a stabilization subsystem to minimize inertial jitter and then design a track subsystem to control the overall orientation. Achieving these goals is dependent upon the capability to reject environmental and application induced disturbances.