Range Safety and Telemetry System
Encyclopedia
Range Safety and Telemetry System (RSTS) is a GPS based, S-band telemetry receiving and UHF command destruct system, with two 5.4-meter telemetry and command destruct auto-tracking antennas. The system built by Honeywell
International. The system is capable of providing four redundant telemetry links and expanding for added telemetry link receiving.
The prime purpose of the RSTS is to provide the range safety
and telemetry functions necessary to track and verify a safe rocket flight within prescribed boundaries or safely terminate an errant rocket.
One of the, operationally identical, RSTS systems is located at the Kodiak Launch Center (KLC) in Alaska
with the second mobile
unit at varying mission specific sites, such as off-axis locations. Either system can act in conjunction with each other or as a stand-alone unit.
The RSTS is similar in design to the Ballistic Missile Range Safety Technology (BMRST
) operated at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station
, Florida.
Honeywell
Honeywell International, Inc. is a major conglomerate company that produces a variety of consumer products, engineering services, and aerospace systems for a wide variety of customers, from private consumers to major corporations and governments....
International. The system is capable of providing four redundant telemetry links and expanding for added telemetry link receiving.
The prime purpose of the RSTS is to provide the range safety
Range safety
In rocketry, range safety is assured by the systems which protect people and assets on the rocket range in cases when a launch vehicle might endanger them. Range safety is usually the responsibility of a Range Safety Officer...
and telemetry functions necessary to track and verify a safe rocket flight within prescribed boundaries or safely terminate an errant rocket.
One of the, operationally identical, RSTS systems is located at the Kodiak Launch Center (KLC) in Alaska
Alaska
Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...
with the second mobile
unit at varying mission specific sites, such as off-axis locations. Either system can act in conjunction with each other or as a stand-alone unit.
The RSTS is similar in design to the Ballistic Missile Range Safety Technology (BMRST
BMRST
Ballistic Missile Range Safety Technology is a mobile system designed and built by Honeywell International in Clearwater Florida, to monitor and provide space-vehicle position data during launches. The BMRST system consists of a control center van and two trailer-mounted tracking antennas...
) operated at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station
Cape Canaveral Air Force Station
Cape Canaveral Air Force Station is an installation of the United States Air Force Space Command's 45th Space Wing, headquartered at nearby Patrick Air Force Base. Located on Cape Canaveral in the state of Florida, CCAFS is the primary launch head of America's Eastern Range with four launch pads...
, Florida.