FEKO™ Simulation of Radar Scattering from Objects in Low Earth Orbit for ISAR Imaging

摘要

Objects in low earth orbit such as CubeSats and theInternational Space Station (ISS) move with constant velocityalong a linear trajectory when viewed from a ground-based radar.The small change in attitude of the object as it flies overheadpermits the generation of an inverse synthetic aperture radar(ISAR) image. In this paper, Altair’s FEKO™ software is used tomodel the monostatic radar scattering from the ISS as a functionof frequency and aspect angle. The computed data is used forgenerating a simulated ISAR image from a ground-based radar.The system design requirements for the radar are calculated fromthe radar equation.