Title :
Pattern synthesis for TechSat21-a distributed spacebased radar system
Author :
Steyskal, Hans ; Schindler, John K. ; Franchi, Peter ; Mailloux, Robert J.
Author_Institution :
Air Force Res. Lab., Hanscome AFB, MA, USA
Abstract :
The TechSat21 space-based radar employs a cluster of free-floating satellites, each of which transmits its own orthogonal signal and receives all reflected signals. The satellites operate coherently at X-band. The cluster forms essentially a multi-element interferometer with a concomitant large number of grating lobes and significant ground clutter. A novel technique for pattern synthesis in angle-frequency space is proposed, which exploits the double periodicities of the grating lobes in the angular domain and of the radar pulses in the frequency domain, and allows substantial gains in clutter suppression. Gains from 7 to 17 dB relative to the normal random, sparse array appear feasible
Keywords :
antenna phased arrays; antenna radiation patterns; artificial satellites; interference suppression; microwave antenna arrays; phased array radar; radar antennas; radar clutter; radiowave interferometers; remote sensing by radar; satellite antennas; search radar; surveillance; TechSat21 space-based radar; X-band operation; angle-frequency space; clutter suppression; distributed spacebased radar system; free-floating satellite cluster; grating lobes; ground clutter; multi-element interferometer; orthogonal signal transmission; pattern synthesis; radar pulses; reflected signal reception; surveillance mission; Doppler radar; Earth; Equations; Frequency; Gratings; Orbits; Phased arrays; Radar clutter; Satellites; Spaceborne radar;
Conference_Titel :
Aerospace Conference, 2001, IEEE Proceedings.
Conference_Location :
Big Sky, MT
Print_ISBN :
0-7803-6599-2
DOI :
10.1109/AERO.2001.931252
