Ballistic Missile Range Safety Technology (BMRST) is a mobile system designed and built by
Honeywell
Honeywell International Inc. is an American publicly traded, multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina. It primarily operates in four areas of business: aerospace, building technologies, performance ma ...
International in Clearwater Florida,
[ ] to monitor and provide space-vehicle position data during launches. The BMRST system consists of a control center van and two trailer-mounted tracking antennas. All data processing and
range safety
In the field of rocketry, range safety may be assured by a system which is intended to protect people and assets on both the rocket range and downrange in cases when a launch vehicle might endanger them. For a rocket deemed to be ''off course'' ...
displays are housed in the control center; the antennas are designed to receive data from launched rockets and space vehicles and transmit the information back to the control center. From the control center, the
Range Safety Officer
In the field of rocketry, range safety may be assured by a system which is intended to protect people and assets on both the rocket range and downrange in cases when a launch vehicle might endanger them. For a rocket deemed to be ''off course'' ...
will also be able to assist in destroying an off-course rocket or launch vehicle for safety reasons.
The tracking antennas combine the ability to receive an S-band telemetry data signal with the ability to transmit high-power UHF Command Destruct tones. Each of the antenna systems consists of a 5.4-meter
reflector
Reflector may refer to:
Science
* Reflector, a device that causes reflection (for example, a mirror or a retroreflector)
* Reflector (photography), used to control lighting contrast
* Reflecting telescope
* Reflector (antenna), the part of an ant ...
,
elevation
The elevation of a geographic location is its height above or below a fixed reference point, most commonly a reference geoid, a mathematical model of the Earth's sea level as an equipotential gravitational surface (see Geodetic datum § Vert ...
over
azimuth
An azimuth (; from ar, اَلسُّمُوت, as-sumūt, the directions) is an angular measurement in a spherical coordinate system. More specifically, it is the horizontal angle from a cardinal direction, most commonly north.
Mathematicall ...
pedestal, and a specialized telemetry tracking/UHF feed.
The system is currently operated by the Florida Air National Guard at
Cape Canaveral
, image = cape canaveral.jpg
, image_size = 300
, caption = View of Cape Canaveral from space in 1991
, map = Florida#USA
, map_width = 300
, type =Cape
, map_caption = Location in Florida
, location ...
Air Force Station, Florida. The system is capable of being transported by land, sea and
C-5 Galaxy
The Lockheed C-5 Galaxy is a large military transport aircraft designed and built by Lockheed, and now maintained and upgraded by its successor, Lockheed Martin. It provides the United States Air Force (USAF) with a heavy intercontinental-ran ...
,
C-17 military cargo aircraft.
The BMRST system is similar in design to the
Range Safety and Telemetry System Range Safety and Telemetry System (RSTS) is a GPS based, S-band telemetry receiving and UHF command destruct system, with two 5.4-meter telemetry and command destruct auto-tracking antennas. The system, built by Honeywell International, is capable o ...
(RSTS) being used at the
Kodiak Launch Center in Alaska.
See also
BMRST Interior
External links and sources
Honeywell To Provide Ballistic Missile Range Safety Technology System For The U.S. Air Force Rocket System Launch Program (October 2002)Contract from Honeywell Space Systems for Ballistic Missile Range Safety System
Challenges in Acceptance/Licensing of a Mobile Ballistic Missile Range Safety Technology (BMRST) System (PDF File)
Notes and references
{{Reflist
Telemetry