Advanced Inertial Reference Sphere
- Advanced Inertial Reference Sphere
The Advanced Inertial Reference Sphere, or AIRS, is a highly accurate inertial guidance system designed for use in the LGM-118A Peacekeeper ICBM.
Details
AIRS is a fluid stabilized system, as opposed to one using gimbals. It consists of a beryllium sphere floating in fluid. Jet nozzles are used to stabilize the inertial platform as commanded from the sensors. This design not only eliminates the problem of gimbal lock, but also makes it extremely accurate, accurate enough so any further improvement would give a negligible benefit to the missile's CEP.
The sensors used in AIRS are floated gas bearing gyroscopes and SFIR accelerometers which are derivatives of PIGA accelerometers. Although this type of accelerometer is most accurate it contains many precise parts which makes them very expensive to build (approximately $300 000 per unit). PIGA/SFIR accelerometers are also very susceptible to failure because of complicated design.
Usage
The AIRS was originally developed for the LGM-118A Peacekeeper. The first AIRS's were manufactured by Northrop. They are used in Minuteman III ICBM after Peacekeeper missiles were retired in 2005.
External links
* [http://nuclearweaponarchive.org/Usa/Weapons/Airs.html Detailed description]
Wikimedia Foundation.
2010.
Look at other dictionaries:
Inertial navigation system — An Inertial Navigation System (INS) is a navigation aid that uses a computer and motion sensors to continuously track the position, orientation, and velocity (direction and speed of movement) of a vehicle without the need for external references … Wikipedia
AIRS — • Advanced Inertial Reference Sphere ( > IEEE Standard Dictionary ) • Automatic Information/Image Retrieval System • Atmospheric Infrared Sounder Luftfahrt … Acronyms
LGM-118 Peacekeeper — LGM 118A Peacekeeper Test launch of a Peacekeeper ICBM by the 1st Strategic Aerospace Division (1 STRAD), Vandenberg AFB, CA (USAF) Type … Wikipedia
PIGA accelerometer — A PIG accelerometer (Pendulous Integrating Gyroscopic Accelerometer) is a type of accelerometer that can measure acceleration and simultaneously integrates this acceleration against time to produce a speed measure as well. The PIGA s main use is… … Wikipedia
LGM-118 Peacekeeper — Peacekeeper beim Start von der Vandenberg Air Force Base Die LGM 118 Peacekeeper (englisch für Friedenswächter), auch bekannt unter der Entwicklungsbezeichnung MX Missile oder kurz nur MX, war eine landgestützte Interkontinentalrakete der US… … Deutsch Wikipedia
Peacekeeper (missile balistique) — Test de lancement d un Peacekeeper par le 1st Strategic Aerospace Division (1 STRAD) à la Vandenberg Air Force Base Présentation Fonction ICBM … Wikipédia en Français
AIRS — [1] Advanced Inertial Reference Sphere ( > IEEE Standard Dictionary ) [2] Automatic Information/Image Retrieval System [3] Atmospheric Infrared Sounder {Luftfahrt} … Acronyms von A bis Z
AIRS — 1. Advanced Inertial Reference Sphere Contributor: CASI 2. Atmospheric Infrared Sounder Contributor: CASI … NASA Acronyms
Global Positioning System — GPS redirects here. For other uses, see GPS (disambiguation). Geodesy Fundamentals … Wikipedia
Mass — This article is about the scientific concept. For the substance of which all physical objects consist, see Matter. For other uses, see Mass (disambiguation). Classical mechanics … Wikipedia
