DIVERSITY TECHNIQUES FOR OMNIDIRECTIONAL TELEMETRY COVERAGE OF THE HiMAT RESEARCH VEHICLE

Abstract

The control system for the highly maneuverable aircraft technology (HiMAT) remotely piloted research vehicle uses airborne and ground-based computers that communicate via uplink and downlink telemetry. It is imperative for this communication to be uninterrupted. Since antenna radiation patterns are normally less than ideal for continuous reception or transmission at all aircraft attitudes, a frequency diversity concept and an antenna diversity concept were developed, implemented, and tested on the HiMAT vehicle. This paper describes the system and the results of the flight tests.