Patent ID: 8599377

Claim:
A detection system with a staring imaging spectrometer, comprising: a dispersive optical element; a staring detector array in optical alignment with said dispersive optical element; a lens mounted between and in optical alignment with said dispersive optical element and said staring detector array; wherein said detector array has a two-dimensional array of pixels exposed substantially simultaneously to incoming light from a distant object and, in conjunction with said dispersive optical element, produces a two-dimensional image with spectral information combined with spatial information in at least one dimension; detection processing means, coupled to said staring detector array, including a spatial filter for isolating discrete spectral features in the image from said detector array, and threshold detection means for detecting among said discrete spectral features the pixels having an intensity above a threshold; spectral discrimination means for discriminating among the pixels above said threshold on the basis of inter-pixel spacing, said spectral discrimination means detecting pixels above said threshold that are separated by a predetermined pixel spacing; and temporal tracking and declaration processing means including means for tracking the pixels with said predetermined pixel spacing as candidate detections, and means for identifying a candidate detection as a threat if it persists and has defined characteristics of an airborne moving object.