A Low-Cost Small Satellite Space Radar System

The advantages of space-based radar have been frequently noted for such applications as environmental monitoring, crop detection, soil-moisture determination, coastal ice measurement, and all-weather surveillance, to name just a few. The FLAPSTM ( Flat Parabolic Surface ) antenna technology developed by Malibu Research, enables the conception of a smallsatellite radar system. The design described in this paper is that of a lightweight surveillance satellite capable of being launched on a Pegasus booster. It is capable of detecting small ships and aircraft, such as may be required for drug-interdiction missions and other all-weather surveillance applications. The FLAPSTM antenna has many of the features of a phased array antenna at a small fraction of the cost or mass ordinarily associated with phased arrays. Moreover, a FLAPSTM antenna can be folded or rolled and stowed in a variety of ways to enhance the possibility of fitting within the limited volume available in a small ELV. We describe approaches to packaging and deployment of such an antenna, and the mating of these assemblies to a Fairchild-developed small satellite, and to the Pegasus air-launched vehicle. The satellite features a fiber-optic data bus, and the integration of an on-board processor with a solid-state recorder as has been provided to NASA for its recently launched Small Explorer satellite