Abstract: A method for velocity match transfer alignment between a carrier vehicle and a carried vehicle. The method includes repeatedly measuring a velocity difference between the carrier vehicle and the carried vehicle, updating a state vector that include a predicted value of the velocity difference, propagating the vector forward in time, and moving the carrier vehicle and the carried vehicle along a trajectory.

Abstract: A method of determining an orientation of a body. The method includes the steps of measuring an acceleration of the body in a first direction, measuring an acceleration of the body in a second direction different from the first direction, the first direction and the second direction defining a plane. Measuring an acceleration perpendicular to the plane in a coordinate system rotating about an axis perpendicular to the plane, and inferring the orientation of the body from the three measurements.

Abstract: A method for velocity match transfer alignment between a carrier vehicle and a carried vehicle. The method includes repeatedly measuring a velocity difference between the carrier vehicle and the carried vehicle, updating a state vector that include a predicted value of the velocity difference, propagating the vector forward in time, and moving the carrier vehicle and the carried vehicle along a trajectory.

Abstract: A method for determining the initial conditions for an inertial measurement nit (IMU) of a second vehicle launched from a wing of a first vehicle is provided. The method includes the steps of defining a state vector x as including (a) the rotation .zeta. of the computed coordinate axes with respect to the real coordinate axes of the second vehicle and (b) the projection .delta..alpha. along the Z axis of the first vehicle of the rotation of the second vehicle from its nominal coordinate axes to its real coordinate axes. A measurement z is defined as the projection .delta..beta. of a rotation angle .beta., along the Z axis of the first vehicle, between the nominal coordinate axes and a current computed coordinate axes. The method also includes the steps of estimating x over time with a Kalman filter, wherein the projection .delta..beta. is the measurement vector and the state vector x changes only due to random noise and processing x to produce the attitude about the Z axis of the first vehicle.