Space based radar technology challenges

Space based radars are gaining significant acceptance for world-wide, all-weather, on-demand surveillance and earth resources monitoring. The main impediment has been affordability, followed closely by the limitations by satellite communications for providing near real time target detection data to the users. Recent advances in active electronic scanned arrays and on-board signal processing are enabling SBR development for both surface and fixed target imaging and moving target detection. The real challenge is for future surveillance of airborne targets. This paper outlines some critical SBR design architectures, and a roadmap for developing the enabling technologies to meet future surveillance needs