Guidance system with stellar correction

Claim 1

A GUIDANCE AND CONTROL SYSTEM FOR A VEHICLE COMPRISING MEANS FOR PRODUCING SIGNALS INDICATIVE OF LAUNCH PARAMETERS OF VEHICLE LAUNCH POSITION AND VERTICAL DIRECTION AT THE POINT OF LAUNCH WITH RESPECT TO A COORDINATE REFERENCE SYSTEM, ONE OF SAID LAUNCH PARAMETER SIGNALS BEING ONLY APPROXIMATELY KNOWN WITHIN A PREDETERMINED ERROR LIMIT, THE OTHER SAID LAUNCH PARAMETER SIGNAL BEING ACCURATELY KNOWN, SAID COORDINATE REFERENCE SYSTEM HAVING REFERENCE AXES WHICH ARE DETERMINED BY SAID LAUNCH PARAMETERS, MEANS FOR PRODUCING A SIGNAL INDICATIVE OF THE POSITION OF A TARGET, INERTIAL SENSOR MEANS CONNECTED WITH SAID VEHICLE FOR PRODUCING SIGNALS INDICATIVE OF VEHICLE ACCELERATION AND VEHICLE ORIENTATION, MEANS FOR PRODUCING FROM SAID VEHICLE LAUNCH POSITION SIGNAL AND FROM SAID VEHICLE ACCELERATION AND ORIENTATION SIGNALS AN APPROXIMATE VEHICLE PRESENT POSITION SIGNAL, MEANS RESPONSIVE TO SAID APPROXIMATE PRESENT POSITION SIGNAL AND SAID TARGET POSITION SIGNAL FOR PRODUCING A SIGNAL INDICATIVE OF A REFERENCE FLIGHT TRAJECTORY TO SAID TARGET, GUIDANCE MEANS FOR SAID VEHICLE, MEANS FOR FEEDING SAID FLIGHT TRAJECTORY SIGNAL TO SAID GUIDANCE MEANS TO GUIDE SAID VEHICLE ALONG SAID REFERENCE TRAJECTORY, A STELLAR SENSOR CONNECTED WITH SAID VEHICLE FOR VIEWING A STELLAR BODY AND PRODUCING A STELLAR SIGNAL INDICATIVE OF THE ORIENTATION OF SAID STELLAR BODY RELATIVE TO THE AXES OF SAID COORDINATE REFERENCE SYSTEMS, MEANS RESPONSIVE TO SAID STELLAR SIGNAL FOR GENERATING A PLURALITY OF DIRECTION COSINE SIGNALS INDICATIVE OF THE ORIENTATION ERROR IN SAID COORDINATE REFERENCE SYSTEMS AXES, MEANS RESPONSIVE TO SAID DIRECTION COSINE SIGNALS FOR DETERMINING AN ACCURATE VALUE OF SAID APPROXIMATELY KNOWN LAUNCH PARAMETER SIGNAL, MEANS FOR PRODUCING FROM SAID ACCURATE LAUNCH PARAMETER SIGNALS AND FROM SAID VEHICLE ORIENTATION AND ACCELERATION SIGNALS AND FROM SAID VEHICLE ORIENTATION AND PRESENT POSITION OF SAID VEHICLE, MEANS RESPONSIVE TO SAID ACTUAL VEHICLE PRESENT POSITION SIGNAL AND SAID TARGET POSITION SIGNAL FOR PRODUCING AN UPDATED TRAJECTORY TO SAID TARGET, MEANS FOR GENERATING AN ERROR SIGNAL INDICATIVE OF THE DEVIATION OF SAID UPDATED TRAJECTORY FROM SAID REFERENCE TRAJECTORY, AND MEANS FEEDING SAID TRAJECTORY ERROR SIGNAL TO SAID GUIDANCE MEANS TO CORRECT THE FLIGHT PATH OF SAID VEHICLE TOWARD SAID TARGET.