The Satellite Tracking using Ambient RF (STAR) concept involves a new space surveillance methodology. STAR uses non-cooperative, commercial television transmissions to obtain satellite state vectors and thus may augment the Air Force Space Surveillance Network (SSN). With the number of objects in space increasing, the requirements for space tracking capability are more challenging. However, decreasing budgets make the construction of additional conventional radar sensors unlikely. Existing television transmitters provide a free source of radio frequency (RF) energy for detecting and tracking Low Earth Orbiting (LEO) satellites. Since this technique relies on passive collection, it is relatively inexpnesive to operate and maintain. The STAR demonstration had four basic objectives: (1) characterize the environment to determine the availability of RF energy and determine performance limiting constraints (2) detect and track space objects using existing element sets as basis for initial position determination and sensor track initialization (3) detect and track space objects assuming no a-priori knowledge of the element set to demonstrate a capability to detect and track unknown object, (4) investigate the capabilities, limitations, and cost of the proposed equipment needed for the STAR system. The results indicate that the STAR concept represents a potentially feasible and inexpensive supplement to the current capabilities of the SSN.
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