The Tracking & Imaging Radar (TIRA) system serves as the central experimental facility for the development and investigation of
radar
Radar is a detection system that uses radio waves to determine the distance (''ranging''), angle, and radial velocity of objects relative to the site. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, w ...
techniques for the detection and reconnaissance of objects in space, and (to a certain degree) of air targets. TIRA has a 34-metre
parabolic dish antenna
A parabolic antenna is an antenna that uses a parabolic reflector, a curved surface with the cross-sectional shape of a parabola, to direct the radio waves. The most common form is shaped like a dish and is popularly called a dish antenna or p ...
is a
monopulse radar
Monopulse radar is a radar system that uses additional encoding of the radio signal to provide accurate directional information. The name refers to its ability to extract range and direction from a single signal pulse.
Monopulse radar avoids prob ...
operating at 1.333 GHz or 22.5 cm (
L band
The L band is the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) designation for the range of frequencies in the radio spectrum from 1 to 2 gigahertz (GHz). This is at the top end of the ultra high frequency (UHF) band, at the lower en ...
) and 16.7 GHz or 1.8 cm (
Ku band
The Ku band () is the portion of the electromagnetic spectrum in the microwave range of frequencies from 12 to 18 gigahertz (GHz). The symbol is short for "K-under" (originally german: Kurz-unten), because it is the lower part of the ori ...
)
wavelength
In physics, the wavelength is the spatial period of a periodic wave—the distance over which the wave's shape repeats.
It is the distance between consecutive corresponding points of the same phase on the wave, such as two adjacent crests, tro ...
s.
The L-band is usually used for tracking debris with a 0.45° beam width, at 1 MW peak power. The system is capable of determining
orbit
In celestial mechanics, an orbit is the curved trajectory of an object such as the trajectory of a planet around a star, or of a natural satellite around a planet, or of an artificial satellite around an object or position in space such as a p ...
s from direction angles, range and
Doppler shift
The Doppler effect or Doppler shift (or simply Doppler, when in context) is the change in frequency of a wave in relation to an observer who is moving relative to the wave source. It is named after the Austrian physicist Christian Doppler, who d ...
for single targets. The detection size threshold is about 2 cm at 1000 km range.
The radar conducts regular ‘beam park’ experiments, where the radar beam is pointed in a fixed direction on the
celestial sphere
In astronomy and navigation, the celestial sphere is an abstract sphere that has an arbitrarily large radius and is concentric to Earth. All objects in the sky can be conceived as being projected upon the inner surface of the celestial sphere, ...
for 24 hours, scanning 360° in a narrow strip a complete Earth rotation.
The tracking sensitive can be enhanced when the TIRA system is used as a transmitter, part of a
bistatic radar
Bistatic radar is a radar system comprising a transmitter and receiver that are separated by a distance comparable to the expected target distance. Conversely, a conventional radar in which the transmitter and receiver are co-located is called ...
system. In conjunction with the
Effelsberg Radio Telescope
The Effelsberg 100-m Radio Telescope is a radio telescope in the Ahr Hills (part of the Eifel) in Bad Münstereifel, Germany. For 29 years the Effelsberg Radio Telescope was the largest fully steerable radio telescope on Earth, surpassing the ...
, functioning as a receiver, the combined system has a detection size threshold of 1 cm. The Ku-band is used for
imaging
Imaging is the representation or reproduction of an object's form; especially a visual representation (i.e., the formation of an image).
Imaging technology is the application of materials and methods to create, preserve, or duplicate images.
...
in
Inverse Synthetic Aperture Radar
Inverse synthetic-aperture radar (ISAR) is a radar technique using radar imaging to generate a two-dimensional high resolution image of a target. It is analogous to conventional SAR, except that ISAR technology uses the movement of the target rathe ...
(ISAR) mode, with 13 kW peak power, the radar is capable of producing images with range resolutions better than 7 cm.
The dish can be turned full 360° in
azimuth
An azimuth (; from ar, اَلسُّمُوت, as-sumūt, the directions) is an angular measurement in a spherical coordinate system. More specifically, it is the horizontal angle from a cardinal direction, most commonly north.
Mathematicall ...
with speed of 24° per second and 90° in
elevation
The elevation of a geographic location is its height above or below a fixed reference point, most commonly a reference geoid, a mathematical model of the Earth's sea level as an equipotential gravitational surface (see Geodetic datum § Vert ...
. The radar is protected by a
radome
A radome (a portmanteau of radar and dome) is a structural, weatherproof enclosure that protects a radar antenna (radio), antenna. The radome is constructed of material transparent to radio waves. Radomes protect the antenna from weather and ...
with 47 meters diameter – one of the largest in the world.
[
Due to its capabilities, the system is used as a radar tracking system for ]space debris
Space debris (also known as space junk, space pollution, space waste, space trash, or space garbage) are defunct human-made objects in space—principally in Earth orbit—which no longer serve a useful function. These include derelict spacecr ...
and other in-orbit object in the ESA
, owners =
, headquarters = Paris, Île-de-France, France
, coordinates =
, spaceport = Guiana Space Centre
, seal = File:ESA emblem seal.png
, seal_size = 130px
, image = Views in the Main Control Room (1205 ...
's Space Situational Awareness Programme
The Space Safety Programme, formerly the Space Situational Awareness (SSA) programme, is the European Space Agency's (ESA) initiative to monitor hazards from space, determine their risk, make this data available to the appropriate authorities and w ...
(SSA).Wachtberg
Wachtberg is a municipality in the Rhein-Sieg district, of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is situated approximately 15 km south of Bonn. In 2021 the Wachtberg municipality had approximately 20,352 inhabitants.
The municipality was form ...
near Bonn
The federal city of Bonn ( lat, Bonna) is a city on the banks of the Rhine in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, with a population of over 300,000. About south-southeast of Cologne, Bonn is in the southernmost part of the Rhine-Ruhr r ...
, Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
. It is run by the Fraunhofer-FHR – the Fraunhofer-Institut für Hochfrequenzphysik und Radartechnik (High Frequency Physics and Radar Techniques).
External links
Space observation radar TIRA
References
Radar networks
Space Situational Awareness Programme