Performance analysis of a command destruct subsystem of the spacelift range system
Rajendra Kumar, D. Taggart, C. Wang · 2004
The paper presents an analysis of a typical command destruct subsystem (CDS) of the U.S. Air Force Spacelift Range System. The command destruct system sends a signal comprising a sequence of pairs of tone signal pulses to the space vehicle, in case the space vehicle significantly deviates from its intended trajectory and results in safety concerns. By necessity, due to the safety-critical nature of such a system, the command link for the CDS is designed for relatively high signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and it is generally considered that high detection performance can be achieved due to the high SNR. However, a closer analysis shows the presence of some non-ideal factors which can potentially limit the achievable performance of the CDS system independent of the SNR. More specifically the paper analyzes the impact of narrowband tone filters present in a typical CDS receiver on the detection performance of the system. Another important source of possible performance degradation is the spill over effect of the FFT processor.