Analysis of RF Signatures for Space Domain Awareness using VHF radar

Heading, Emma; Nguyen, Si Tran Nguyen; Holdsworth, David A.; Field, Daniel J.

doi:10.1109/radarconf2248738.2022.9763899

Cited by 3 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 13 publications

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“…Further, ref. [30] illustrates that the micro-D pler periodicity of Telkom 3 decreased from 12 to 6.5 s between 2017 and 2020, indica an increase in rotation rate over time. 8964) does no hibit micro-Doppler periodicity; rather, it indicates symmetric sidebands spaced a proximately 1.6 Hz intervals.…”

Section: Spectrogram Analysismentioning

confidence: 92%

“…[30] illustrates that the micro-Doppler periodicity of Telkom 3 decreased from 12 to 6.5 s between 2017 and 2020, indicating an increase in rotation rate over time. The periodic variations observed in spectrograms obtained using the BPST r have previously been used to investigate the micro-Doppler signatures of three non-o ational satellites: RHESSI (NORAD ID 27370), TOPEX/Poseidon (NORAD ID 22076), Telkom 3 (NORAD ID:38744) [30,31]. These papers also use computational electrom netic modelling of simple computer-aided design (CAD) models to provide informa on the satellite orientation and spin axis.…”

Section: Spectrogram Analysismentioning

confidence: 94%

“…The periodic variations observed in spectrograms obtained using the BPST radar have previously been used to investigate the micro-Doppler signatures of three non-operational satellites: RHESSI (NORAD ID 27370), TOPEX/Poseidon (NORAD ID 22076), and Telkom 3 (NORAD ID:38744) [30,31]. These papers also use computational electromagnetic modelling of simple computer-aided design (CAD) models to provide information on the satellite orientation and spin axis.…”

Section: Spectrogram Analysismentioning

confidence: 99%

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Space Domain Awareness Observations Using the Buckland Park VHF Radar

Holdsworth,

Spargo,

Reid

et al. 2024

Remote Sensing

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There is increasing interest in space domain awareness worldwide, motivating investigation of the use of non-traditional sensors for space surveillance. One such class of sensor is VHF wind profiling radars, which have a low cost relative to other radars typically applied to this task. These radars are ubiquitous throughout the world and may potentially offer complementary space surveillance capabilities to the Space Surveillance Network. This paper updates an initial investigation on the use of Buckland Park VHF wind profiling radars for observing resident space objects in low Earth orbit to further investigate the space surveillance capabilities of the sensor class. The radar was operated during the Australian Defence “SpaceFest” 2019 activity, incorporating new beam scheduling and signal processing functionality that extend upon the capabilities described in the initial investigation. The beam scheduling capability used two-line element propagations to determine the appropriate beam direction to use to observe transiting satellites. The signal processing capabilities used a technique based on the Keystone transform to correct for range migration, allowing the development of new signal processing modes that allow the coherent integration time to be increased to improve the SNR of the observed targets, thereby increasing the detection rate. The results reveal that 5874 objects were detected over 10 days, with 2202 unique objects detected, representing a three-fold increase in detection rate over previous single-beam direction observations. The maximum detection height was 2975.4 km, indicating a capability to detect objects in medium Earth orbit. A minimum detectable RCS at 1000 km of −10.97 dBm2 (0.09 m2) was observed. The effects of Faraday rotation resulting from the use of linearly polarised antennae are demonstrated. The radar’s utility for providing total electron content (TEC) measurements is investigated using a high-range resolution mode and high-precision ephemeris data. The short-term Fourier transform is applied to demonstrate the radar’s ability to investigate satellite rotation characteristics and monitor ionospheric plasma waves and instabilities.

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Section: Spectrogram Analysismentioning

confidence: 92%

Section: Spectrogram Analysismentioning

confidence: 94%

Section: Spectrogram Analysismentioning

confidence: 99%

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Space Domain Awareness Observations Using the Buckland Park VHF Radar

Holdsworth,

Spargo,

Reid

et al. 2024

Remote Sensing

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“…Existing radar systems have been considered to contribute to the SDA effort in Australia including an experimental HF line-of-sight system [6,7], the Murchison Widefield Array used in a passive radar configuration [3,4] and the Australian Telescope Compact Array used in a bistatic configuration [10]. In South Australia, a VHF radar system at Buckland Park typically performs lower atmosphere wind profiling measurements, and further research dedicated to SDA has resulted in reliable detections of up to 1000 space objects per day [1,11].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In comparison to optical sensors, radar sensors have the advantage of operating in poor visibility and can also provide widearea surveillance for the detection and tracking of resident space objects by utilising broad transmit beamwidths, and multiple receive beams from antenna arrays. The Buckland Park VHF radar in South Australia demonstrated that the defunct satellite Telkom 3 (NORAD ID: 38744) increased in rotation rate prior to decaying to Earth, indicating the importance of monitoring these features [11]. Earlier work with the S band Chibolton radar also observed a periodic radar cross section (RCS) from the defunct GEO-IK-2 satellite (NORAD ID: 37362) at a rate of 0.47 Hz from the object's rotational motion [15].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Micro-Doppler Signature Analysis for Space Domain Awareness Using VHF Radar

Heading,

Nguyen,

Holdsworth

et al. 2024

Remote Sensing

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The large quantity of resident space objects orbiting Earth poses a threat to safety and efficient operations in space. Radar sensors are well suited to detecting objects in space including decommissioned satellites and debris, whereas the more commonly used optical sensors are limited by daylight and weather conditions. Observations of three non-operational satellites using a VHF radar system are presented in this paper in the form of micro Doppler signatures associated with rotational motion. Micro Doppler signatures are particularly useful for characterising resident space objects at VHF given the limited bandwidth resulting in poor range resolution. Electromagnetic simulations of the micro Doppler signatures of the defunct satellites are also presented using simple computer-aided design (CAD) models to assist with interpretation of the radar observations. The simulated micro Doppler results are verified using the VHF radar data and provide insight into the attitude and spin axis of the three resident space objects. As future work, this approach will be extended to a larger number of resident space objects which requires a automated processing.

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