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In the late 1960's and early 1970's, the much-heralded and precise performance of inertial guidance systems in space exploration challenged earth scientists to seek ways of turning those systems to their advantage in the nearearth environment. Russell Brown and Charles Mongan sensed and responded to that challenge. Over a 2-year period (1972-74), they shaped a workable research task and secured the endorsement of the top U.S. Geological Survey managers. As a result, the Geological Survey was committed to the development of a pioneering inertial instrument system for aerial surveying, through contract arrangements with The Charles Stark Draper Laboratory. The formal contract work began in mid-1974, at a time when a few military and civilian agencies were successfully operating less-precise generations of inertial guidance systems in motor vehicles and helicopters to establish control lines for topographic surveys. The Geological Survey's research commitment was to move rapidly beyond those techniques and to field a new and more precise inertial guidance system capable of obtaining similar or better control lines from a fixed-wing aircraft. The potential savings in dollars, manpower, and time in using the new system for field studies in the Geological Survey Operating Divisions more than justified this research commitment. After nearly a decade of work, a prototype model of this new instrument system has been successfully flight tested. Its demonstrated performance has exceeded in every respect the stringent design specifications. Although the full range in performance capabilities remains to be explored, the system will provide highly efficient, cost-effective support for scientific programs of the Geological Survey, including production of topographic maps, investigations of water resources, and assessment of mineral resources and geologic hazards. The system also has immediate potential to support the research and operational missions of other Federal, State, local, and private organizations. The Geological Survey is pleased to have played a major developmental role in this important scientific achievement.

A pulsed GaAs laser terrain profiler has been successfully tested and flown. Preliminary flight data indicate excellent resolution, with terrain features easily identifiable. Unique design features and typical flight results are given. The laser profiler is to be used as part of an airborne surveying package which will contain an inertial measurement unit and laser tracker to provide three-coordinate position information as well as base motion isolation and stabilization control for the profiler.

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