AERIAL CABLE TEST CAPABILITY INSTRUMENTATION SUPPORT

Abstract

The U. S. Army is developing an aerial cable range for testing missile weapon system components and other DOD material. The main component of the aerial cable range will be a three-mile-long Kevlar cable, fully suspended between two mountains, with an elevation difference of 2450 feet. Test vehicles (targets, test platforms, and retrieval trolleys) will travel along the cable at different speeds and different altitudes that conform to different test requirements. The main electronic support system for the aerial cable range will be the Ground Command and Control System (GCCS). The GCCS is being designed to control targets, retrieval trolleys, test fixtures, and test platforms on the aerial cable range. The GCCS will control up to four vehicles on the aerial cable at the same time. In the long term, the goal is to control test vehicles of 20,000 pounds in weight and 550 knots/hour in speed. The initial capability will control targets and test platforms of 10,000 pounds, at speeds of up to 250 knots/hour. The GCCS will consist of: • Telemetry links to communicate to and from various vehicles • A position measuring system to determine the position of the vehicle on the aerial cable • A control system to generate all commands necessary to activate events in the airborne vehicles • An operator console The control room will have the capability to display the vehicle parameters, meteorological data, lightning prediction data, video and real-time simulation.