Patent ID: 7307771

Claim:
A gimbal for use in a gimbaled mirror optical sensor system, comprising: a mirror support rotatable about a first axis along which an optical sensor suite lies, the first axis being spaced apart from a desired pivot point of a variable line of sight in an azimuthal direction perpendicular to the first axis; a generally planar first mirror supported by the mirror support and spaced apart from the optical sensor suite along the first axis, the first mirror being non-orthogonal to the first axis and rotatable with the mirror support so as to reflect light from a second axis to the optical sensor suite, the second axis sweeping an arcuate path about the first axis upon rotation of the mirror support; a generally planar second mirror supported by the mirror support along the second axis so as to follow the arcuate path upon rotation of the mirror support, the second mirror being pivotable with respect to the mirror support in the azimuthal direction so as to reflect light from the variable line of sight to the first mirror along the second axis; and a motion control subsystem operative to control the rotation of the mirror support and the azimuthal pivoting of the second mirror such that the variable line of sight pivots substantially about the desired pivot point in the azimuthal direction, the gimbal having an outboard configuration in which the distance from the first axis to the desired pivot point is generally greater than the distance from the desired pivot point to the second mirror.