Patent ID: 11947349
Assignee: NORTHROP GRUMMAN SYSTEMS CORPORATION
Field: Other special machines (Mechanical engineering)
Classification: CPC F  G | IPC F  G

Claim 16:
17. An intercept vehicle comprising:
alignment thrusters configured to rotate the intercept vehicle about an axis orthogonal to a longitudinal axis of the intercept vehicle to at least substantially align the longitudinal axis of the intercept vehicle with an intercept vector via a pitch maneuver;
one or more sensors configured to acquire data regarding conditions during flight of the intercept vehicle; and
a controller operably coupled to the alignment thrusters and the one or more sensors, the controller comprising:
at least one processor; and
at least one computer-readable storage medium storing instructions thereon that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to:
receive data from the one or more sensors; and
responsive to the received data, adjust a flight path of the intercept vehicle by causing one or more of the alignment thrusters to fire.