SBIR-STTR Award

Develop a titanium, welded metal bellows extendable sunshade to deploy over seeker system optics in kinetic kill vehicles and other military missile systems that employ optical tracking. One object of the sunshade is to offer an alternative technology to help improve the durability of optical coatings by minimizing thermal gradients on the coatings as would be generated by free airflow across the reflective surfaces following ejection of the protective nosecone in the upper atmosphere. An additional benefit to the optical coating is protection from insolation (solar radiation) over a 50% solid angle. Still another benefit of the all metallic sunshade is protection of the optics and sensor, and hardening of associated circuitry from effects nuclear blast energy. A long-term benefit is protection of the optical surfaces from slow outgas or migration of volatile compounds to optical surfaces that occur with organic materials.Anticipated Benefits/Commercial Applications: Use in military observation satellites for shielding from sunlight, moonlight and earth reflections. Use in new space telescopes, providing a compact, collapsible sunshade that can be deployed as needed.

Keywords:
sunshade, optical seeker, shielding, optical coatings, space telescope, radiation shielding

A space-saving, economical, collapsible alternative to rigid sunshades-and particularly a replacement for beryllium sunshades-for the protection of optical coatings and heat seeking sensors on kinetic kill vehicles and similar equipment. The bellows sunshade is a self-deploying, non-toxic, titanium, all metallic, non-outgassing cylindrical shield that can expand up to twelve times its stowed length and lock permanently to reduce thermal optical distortion and increase infrared signal-to-noise ratio. In the stowed condition, it can double as an impermeable wall to retain high vacuum protection of optical systems for ten years or more. Other areas of application include shielding of satellite optical systems and compact, hand-held optical apparatus. A legacy version of the concept has proven reliable in twenty years of military surveillance satellite service.

Keywords:
BELLOWS SUNSHADE SATELLITE KINETIC KKV EKV MKV OPTICS