Patent ID: 7227111

Claim:
A system for stabilizing an optical reference beam comprising: a base; a platform attached to said base supporting an optical source; a first plurality of sensors attached to said platform for measuring the motion of said platform in inertial space; a second plurality of sensors measuring the relative displacement of said platform with respect to said base; a plurality of actuators for changing the position of said platform with respect to said base; and a control system connected to said actuators and said first and second plurality of sensors for positioning said platform in space at a fixed orientation, said control system comprising (a) a Kalman filter that estimates a system inertial state and relative state for said platform from said first and second plurality of sensors and current from said actuators; and (b) a controller for receiving attitude pointing commands and combining said commands with said inertial state and said relative state to generate commands for said actuators to position said platform.