One of the key ballistic missile defense system approaches is the use of hit-to-kill vehicles. Shrouds are used to protect the kill vehicles IR homing seekers. These protective shrouds need to be tightly held to the kill vehicle during flyout and then upon command, quickly released to expose the seeker. The shrouds have to be released with sufficient energy to prevent them from recontacting the kill vehicle. Conventional shroud release/ejection systems typically rely on explosive bolts, linear shaped charge, or explosively driven X-Cord to release the shroud haves. The pyrotechnic shocks imparted to the kill vehicle by the shroud removal system can create design and performance problems. The shroud separation pyroshocks can damage/misalign the relatively fragile seeker head of the kill vehicle and/or cause problems with the kill vehicles IMU sensors. Efforts to make the seeker and IMU strong enough to withstand these shocks add kill vehicle weight and complexity while reducing kill vehicle performance. AEP Technologies is proposing a shroud separation system that would greatly reduce the shroud separation induced shocks. The low shock shroud separation technology proposed by AEP is applicable to a wide range of military and commercial missiles deploying shrouds. Anticipated Benefits/Commercial Applications: Operation of current technology, shroud separation systems induce large shocks into the kill-vehicles. These shocks create design and operational problems for the kill-vehicles seeker and IMUs. These shocks can damage or misalign the seeker creating targeting problems. Similarly, these shocks can overwhelm IMU sensors (accelerometers, rate sensors, etc.) creating control problems and requiring more robust (and accordingly less sensitive) sensors. Efforts to minimize the problems caused by the shroud separation shocks increase kill vehicle weight, increase system complexity, reduces system performance and can reduce targeting and control accuracies. The Low Shock, Shroud Separation System (LSSS) reduces/eliminates these issues by greatly reducing shroud separation shocks imparted to the kill vehicle. The LSSS system is also applicable to protective shrouds of commercial missile launch vehicles. Induced pyroshocks associated with shroud removal are key design drivers for both commercial launch vehicles and their payloads. The LSSS shroud separator reduces launch system parasitic weights (i.e., allows larger/heavier payloads to be carried) and reduces launch stresses (increased payload reliability).
Keywords: Shroud, Separation, Interceptors, Kill Vehicle, Shock, Propellant, Piston
