Development of the Romanian Radar Sensor for Space Surveillance and Tracking Activities
The constant increase in the number of space objects and debris orbiting the Earth poses risks to satellites and other spacecraft, both in orbit and during the launching process. Therefore, the monitoring of space hazards to assess risk and prevent collisions has become part of the European Space Po...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2022-05-01
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| Series: | Sensors |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/22/9/3546 |
| _version_ | 1797502713626361856 |
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| author | Liviu Ionescu Alexandru Rusu-Casandra Calin Bira Alexandru Tatomirescu Ionut Tramandan Roberto Scagnoli Dan Istriteanu Andrei-Edward Popa |
| author_facet | Liviu Ionescu Alexandru Rusu-Casandra Calin Bira Alexandru Tatomirescu Ionut Tramandan Roberto Scagnoli Dan Istriteanu Andrei-Edward Popa |
| author_sort | Liviu Ionescu |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The constant increase in the number of space objects and debris orbiting the Earth poses risks to satellites and other spacecraft, both in orbit and during the launching process. Therefore, the monitoring of space hazards to assess risk and prevent collisions has become part of the European Space Policy and requires the establishment of a dedicated Framework for Space Surveillance and Tracking (EU SST) Support. This article presents the CHEIA SST Radar, a new space tracking radar sensor developed and installed in Romania with the purpose of being included in the EU SST sensor network and of contributing to the joint database of space objects orbiting the Earth. The paper describes the processes of design, simulation, and implementation of the hardware and software building blocks that make up the radar system. It emphasizes the particular case of using an already existing system of two large parabolic antennas requiring an innovative retrofitting design to include them as the basis for a new quasi-monostatic radar using LFMCW probing signals. The preliminary design was validated by extensive simulations, and the initial operational testing carried out in December 2021 demonstrated the good performance of the radar in the measuring range and radial speed of LEO space objects. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T03:40:02Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-645604413eb94df58f48990fb086671b |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1424-8220 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T03:40:02Z |
| publishDate | 2022-05-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Sensors |
| spelling | doaj.art-645604413eb94df58f48990fb086671b2023-11-23T09:20:02ZengMDPI AGSensors1424-82202022-05-01229354610.3390/s22093546Development of the Romanian Radar Sensor for Space Surveillance and Tracking ActivitiesLiviu Ionescu0Alexandru Rusu-Casandra1Calin Bira2Alexandru Tatomirescu3Ionut Tramandan4Roberto Scagnoli5Dan Istriteanu6Andrei-Edward Popa7RARTEL S.A., 011041 Bucharest, RomaniaFaculty of Electronics, Telecommunications and Information Technology, Politehnica University of Bucharest, 060042 Bucharest, RomaniaFaculty of Electronics, Telecommunications and Information Technology, Politehnica University of Bucharest, 060042 Bucharest, RomaniaFaculty of Electronics, Telecommunications and Information Technology, Politehnica University of Bucharest, 060042 Bucharest, RomaniaRARTEL S.A., 011041 Bucharest, RomaniaRARTEL S.A., 011041 Bucharest, RomaniaRARTEL S.A., 011041 Bucharest, RomaniaFaculty of Electronics, Telecommunications and Information Technology, Politehnica University of Bucharest, 060042 Bucharest, RomaniaThe constant increase in the number of space objects and debris orbiting the Earth poses risks to satellites and other spacecraft, both in orbit and during the launching process. Therefore, the monitoring of space hazards to assess risk and prevent collisions has become part of the European Space Policy and requires the establishment of a dedicated Framework for Space Surveillance and Tracking (EU SST) Support. This article presents the CHEIA SST Radar, a new space tracking radar sensor developed and installed in Romania with the purpose of being included in the EU SST sensor network and of contributing to the joint database of space objects orbiting the Earth. The paper describes the processes of design, simulation, and implementation of the hardware and software building blocks that make up the radar system. It emphasizes the particular case of using an already existing system of two large parabolic antennas requiring an innovative retrofitting design to include them as the basis for a new quasi-monostatic radar using LFMCW probing signals. The preliminary design was validated by extensive simulations, and the initial operational testing carried out in December 2021 demonstrated the good performance of the radar in the measuring range and radial speed of LEO space objects.https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/22/9/3546spacesurveillancetrackingSSASSTLEO |
| spellingShingle | Liviu Ionescu Alexandru Rusu-Casandra Calin Bira Alexandru Tatomirescu Ionut Tramandan Roberto Scagnoli Dan Istriteanu Andrei-Edward Popa Development of the Romanian Radar Sensor for Space Surveillance and Tracking Activities Sensors space surveillance tracking SSA SST LEO |
| title | Development of the Romanian Radar Sensor for Space Surveillance and Tracking Activities |
| title_full | Development of the Romanian Radar Sensor for Space Surveillance and Tracking Activities |
| title_fullStr | Development of the Romanian Radar Sensor for Space Surveillance and Tracking Activities |
| title_full_unstemmed | Development of the Romanian Radar Sensor for Space Surveillance and Tracking Activities |
| title_short | Development of the Romanian Radar Sensor for Space Surveillance and Tracking Activities |
| title_sort | development of the romanian radar sensor for space surveillance and tracking activities |
| topic | space surveillance tracking SSA SST LEO |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/22/9/3546 |
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