BEPoP
Brilliant Eyes Proof of Principle
The US Army Space & Strategic Defense Command selected SDL to perform
early studies for the BEPoP system, also known as the Space and Missile Tracking
System.
Designed, built, and calibrated by SDL, the BEPoP sensor incorporated an imaging
radiometer with three focal planes for collecting measurements at visible, LWIR,
and VLWIR wavelengths.
The sensor's modular design allowed upgrades in response to the evolving Brilliant
Eyes design and incorporated the capability for operation with an external laser
ranging system.
The BEPoP instrument successfully imaged space-based targets aboard a sounding
rocket launched on 13 April 1992 from the Firepond, MA observatory. The instrument
also underwent subsequent testing to observe contrived scenes in a cryogenically
cooled vacuum chamber.
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SDL's Infrared Capabilities