Passive bistatic radar sensing with LEOS based transmitters

In this paper we describe the concept of a bistatic SAR system which involves a purpose built stationary ground based receiver but which utilizes existing or proposed low earth orbit satellite (LEOS) communication systems, such as Globalstar or ICO as the transmitting signal sources. In general, such a system has a 3-D configuration (in contrast to the 2-D bistatic SAR systems examined previously in the literature). We analyse this system. With earth observation applications in mind, we characterize quantitatively the 2-D resolving capability within the ground plane. This is demonstrated via a meaningful simulation.