The passive sensor subsystem for DITP-current status and projected performance

The passive sensor subsystem (PSS) is under development as part of the DITP, which is a BMDO and tri-service flight demonstration of advanced interceptor technologies. We describe the PSS in terms of its three basic constituents the LWIR focal plane array (FPA), the flight cryostat assembly, and the malleable signal processor. We first review each of these basic constituents. We then describe how these constituents relate in the overall system, including the FPA in the operating environment provided by the flight cryostat assembly; the operation of, and data acquisition from, the FPA by the malleable signal processor; and the optical configuration used to achieve the desired pixel and FPA fields of view in both flight and ground-test embodiments.