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An unarmed Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile launches during an operational test Sept. 5, 2016, at Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif. (U.S. Air Force photo/Michael Peterson)

Dynamic Simulation

Our Contribution

With the clock ticking down to the first Minuteman III test flight to feature a miniature analog translator (MAT)—developed and built by APL to replace the obsolete full signal translator (FST) used for real-time range tracking and GPS signal data on prior test flights—qualification tests identified a need to change a configuration file in the MAT ground equipment. Short on time, and with no FSTs available to replace the new technology for the test flight, APL integrated the MAT into an existing hardware-in-the-loop simulation suite and added the missing processing components to create a full end-to-end simulation for various flight conditions. The Air Force then used this data to show with high confidence that the system would perform within specs, and the GT-219 missile flew successfully—and on time.

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