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With the number of new satellites increasing dramatically, comprehensive space surveillance is becoming increasingly important. Therefore, high-resolution inverse synthetic aperture radar (ISAR) imaging of satellites can provide an in-situ assessment of the satellites. This paper demonstrates that pseudo-noise signals can also be used for satellite imaging, in addition to classical linear frequency-modulated chirp signals. Pseudo-noise transmission signals offer the advantage of very low cross-correlation values. This, for instance, enables the possibility of a system with multiple channels transmitting instantaneously. Furthermore, it can significantly reduce signal interference with other systems operating in the same frequency spectrum, which is of particular interest for high-bandwidth, high-power systems such as satellite imaging radars. A new routine has been introduced to generate a wideband pseudo-noise signal with a peak-to-average power ratio (PAPR) similar to that of a chirp signal. This is essential for applications where the transmit signal power budget is sharply limited by the high-power amplifier. The paper presents both theoretical descriptions and analysis of the generated pseudo-noise signal as well as the results of an imaging measurement of a real space target using the introduced pseudo-noise signals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In view of the increasing number of space objects, comprehensive high‐quality space surveillance becomes ever more important. Radar is a powerful tool that, in addition to detection and tracking of objects, also enables spatially high‐resolution imaging independent of daylight and most weather conditions. Together with the technique of Inverse Synthetic Aperture Radar (ISAR), very high‐resolution and distance‐independent two‐dimensional images can be obtained. However, advanced high‐performance radar imaging of space objects is a complex and demanding task, touching many technological and signal processing issues. Therefore, besides theoretical work, the Microwaves and Radar Institute of German Aerospace Center (DLR) has developed and constructed an experimental radar system called IoSiS (Imaging of Satellites in Space) for basic research on new concepts for the acquisition of advanced high‐resolution radar image products of objects in a low earth orbit. Based on pulse radar technology, which enables precise calibration and error correction, IoSiS has imaged space objects with a spatial resolution in the centimetre range, being novel in public perception and accessible literature. The goal of this paper is therefore to communicate and illustrate comprehensively the technological steps for the construction and successful operation of advanced radar‐based space surveillance. Besides the basic description of the IoSiS system design this paper outlines primarily useful theory for ISAR imaging of objects in space, together with relevant imaging parameters and main formulae. All relevant processing steps, necessary for very high‐resolution imaging of satellites in practice, are introduced and verified by simulation results. Finally, a unique measurement result demonstrates the practicability of the introduced processing steps and error correction strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Microwave Temperature Profiler (MTP), an airborne passive microwave radiometer, records radiances in order to estimate temperature profiles around flight altitude. From these data the state of the atmosphere can be derived and important dynamical processes (e.g. gravity waves) assessed. DLR has acquired a copy of the MTP from NASA-JPL, which was designed as a wing-canister instrument and is deployed on the German research aircraft HALO. For this instrument a thorough analysis of instrument characteristics has been made. This is necessary to correctly determine the accuracy and precision of MTP measurements, and crucial for a retrieval algorithm to derive vertical profiles of absolute atmospheric temperatures. Using a laboratory set-up, the frequency response function and antenna diagram of the instrument was carefully characterised. A cold-chamber was used to simulate the changing in-flight conditions and to derive noise characteristics as well as reliable calibration parameters for brightness temperature calculations, which are compared to those calculated from campaign data. Furthermore, using the radiative transfer model Py4CAtS, the sensitivity to the atmospheric layers around flight altitude was investigated. It was found that using the standard measurement settings, the DLR-MTP's vertical range of sensitivity is limited to 3 km around flight altitude, but can be significantly increased by adjusting the standard measurement strategy, including slightly weaker oxygen absorption lines and a different set of viewing angles. Calibration parameters do clearly depend on the state of the instrument; using a built-in heated target for calibration may yield large errors in brightness temperatures, due to a misinterpretation of the measured absolute temperature. With here presented corrections to the calibration parameter calculations, the measurement noise becomes the dominant source of uncertainty and it is possible to measure the atmospheric temperature around flight level with a precision of 0.38 K. This is the first time such a thorough instrument characterisation of a MTP instrument is published. With the presented results, it is now possible to identify significant temperature fluctuation signals in MTP data and choose the best possible measurement strategy fitting the purpose of the measurement campaign. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]