Improved FGAN/MPIFR Bi-Static Debris Observation Campaign: Experiment Outline, Analysis Algorithms and First Results

Paper number

IAC-06-B6.1.07

Author

Mr. Guillermo Ruiz, FGAN, Germany

Coauthor

Mr. Ludger Leushacke, Germany

Coauthor

Mr. Rudiger Jehn, European Space Agency/ESOC, Germany

Coauthor

Dr. Reinhard Keller, Germany

Year

2006

Abstract

Since 1994, eleven 24-hour beam-park experiments have been successfully conducted with FGAN’s TIRA L-Band radar covering the LEO range window. The detection threshold of these mono-static campaigns corresponds to 2 cm sized objects at 1000 km range. Higher detection sensitivity can only be achieved through a bi-static configuration with the help of an additional passive sensor with very large aperture and low noise receivers. The Effelsberg radio telescope, operated by the Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy (MPIfR), satisfies these requirements due to its 100 m aperture and 17 K cooled receivers. Ten years ago, in the so far only bi-static TIRA/Effelsberg beam-park experiment, named COBEAM-1/96, 9 mm sized space debris at 1000 km range could be detected for the first time in Europe. In addition to a very high sensitivity, this configuration ensures a large shared observation volume, due to the close location of the two sensors.

Although COBEAM-1/96 represented a major step towards the radar observation of sub-centimetre debris populations in Europe, an exact and unambiguous size determination of the detected objects smaller than 2 cm could not be performed due to the single-beam structure of the Effelsberg receiver pattern (giving no angular information required for RCS recalibration). Within the frame of ESA/ESOC study contracts, a 7-horn multifeed receiver at L-Band for the Effelsberg radio telescope and the necessary algorithms for multi-beam data analysis have been developed for improved space debris characterization in bi-static campaigns. The first bi-static beam-park experiment with the new multi-beam system is scheduled for June 2006.

This paper will outline several aspects of the experiment configuration like the experiment geometry, TIRA/Effelsberg synchronization, data collection system and multi-beam radiation diagram. Since monopulse processing (similar to TIRA) is not possible with the new multi-beam system, new analysis algorithms have been developed for the extraction of angular information from multi-beam amplitude data. The selected algorithm, based on Maximum-Likelihood estimation, a suitable multivariate optimization method and an information fusion strategy with the range and Doppler information, will also be explained in the paper. Finally, an important effort will be made to process the huge amount of collected data (more than 500 GB) in an efficient way in order to be able to show the most interesting results of the experiment and the outcome of a first comparison of these results with the ESA’s MASTER’05 model.

Abstract document

IAC-06-B6.1.07.pdf

Manuscript document

IAC-06-B6.1.07.pdf (🔒 authorized access only).

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