Data reduction for long aerial lines of relatively low elevation

Abstract

A field method and associated data reduction procedure are developed for the determination of direction and range between two non-intervisible distant ground stations. Because of the difficulty of observing an intermediary optical aerial target simultaneously from several ground stations in the presence of clouds and other adverse atmospheric conditions, the method is based on optical direction measurements from only one of the two stations. The remaining connections consist of simultaneous measurements of slant ranges from the aerial vehicle to the ground stations by means of all-weather electronics. The mathematical relationship involves a non-linear equation in three basic unknowns. For long aerial lines of relatively low elevation (such as when conventional aircraft are used) data reduction weakness is avoided by effectively applying the mathematical relationship as a linear equation in three unknowns.