High-Resolution Imagery of a Space Object using an Unconventional, LaserIllumination, Imaging Technique

摘要

We report on the results of an experiment performed to demonstrate high-resolution imaging of a space object from the ground using an active illumination imaging technique. The experiment featured an imaging technique known as imaging correlography. The use of an inverse synthetic aperture receiving scheme allowed a modest effective receiving aperture to be realized. The target for the experiment was a low-earth satellite that carried a set of four retro-reflectors. The satellite was illuminated with a low-power, coherent, visible laser beam and the reflected light was received by a simple linear array of intensity detectors. The paper contains an overview of the experiment, a discussion of the imaging correlography technique as it applies to this experiment, and the image results.