SISAR imaging for space debris based on nanosatellites

Abstract

The increasing amount of space debris poses a growing challenge in the development of space travel. In previous work, a proposed system comprising of a low budget space-borne passive radar based on CubeSAT, flying in Low Earth Orbit (LEO), demonstrated promising results in terms of space debris detection performance. In this work a novel Shadow ISAR (SISAR) model for space debris imaging based on nanosatellite is presented. An analysis of the received Forward Scattering (FS) signal is provided along with a novel model for moving transmitters and receivers SISAR imaging. Using simulated data and assuming different scenarios the performance of the new algorithm is assessed wherein, a classification scheme is applied using the output of the SISAR algorithm for classification between simple target shapes.

Forward Scatter Shadow Ratio: Concept and Its Application in Shadow Profile Retrieval

“…The opportunistic use of signals form a network of a large number of LEO satellites can potentially serve monitoring purposes such as measuring rain and cloud [21], [22], [23]. It has been proposed that these signals can be used as IOs in an FSR setup for flying object detection [24] and for space debris tracking and imaging [24], [25], [26], [27], [28].…”

Doppler Analysis of Forward Scattering Radar With Opportunistic Signals From LEO Satellites

“…By exploiting various opportunistic signals, such as GNSS signals [2], cosmic radio emissions [3], terrestrial broadcasting signals [4], DVB-S signals [5], recently ground based forward scattering (FS) passive radars have attracted a lot of attention for their capability in air object detection. Using opportunistic signals from satellites, CubeSat-based FS passive radars have also been proposed for space debris detection [6], [7].…”

“…However, in a FS passive radar setup where opportunistic signals of a large bandwidth such as the communication signals are employed, a rigorous analysis has not been available. Furthermore, to date only static coordinate systems were used for research in FS bi-static radars [2]- [6], [10], [12]. When signals from LEO satellites are employed opportunistically, a static coordinate system cannot accommodate the continuously moving signal source, as in such a scenario the optical axis of the diffraction system is continuously moving.…”