Radar techniques for the characterization of meter-sized objects in space

The Tracking and Imaging Radar (TIRA) system at the Forschungsgesellschaft fur Angewandte Naturwissenschaften e.V (FGAN) is the most capable experimental radar facility for non-cooperative observations of space objects in Western Europe. Several narrowband and broadband techniques have been investigated and verified in experiments to characterize space debris in low Earth orbits (LEO). This paper provides a short introduction to TIRA followed by an overview on methods used to characterize meter-sized objects in space based upon radar data measured with high range resolution. The analysis of range profiles, radar images, series of radar images, and radar films provides information about size, shape, and attitude of the observed objects. These methods have also been used for damage and fragmentation analysis of satellites in LEO. Results are presented to illustrate the capabilities of the applied methods. (C) 2001 COSPAR. Published by Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.