Interferometric Imaging of Geostationary Satellites: Signal-to-Noise Considerations

Abstract

Geostationary satellites are generally too small to image at high resolution with conventional single-dish tele- scopes. Obtaining many resolution elements across a typical geostationary satellite body requires a single-dish telescope with a diameter of 10's of m or more, with a good adaptive optics system. An alternative is to use an optical/infrared interferometer consisting of multiple smaller telescopes in an array configuration. In this paper and companion papers1, 2 we discuss the performance of a common-mount 30-element interferometer. The instrument design is presented by Mozurkewich et al.,1 and imaging performance is presented by Schmitt et al.2 In this paper we discuss signal-to-noise ratio for both fringe-tracking and imaging. We conclude that the common-mount interferometer is sufficiently sensitive to track fringes on the majority of geostationary satellites. We also find that high-fidelity images can be obtained after a short integration time of a few minutes to a few tens of minutes.

Open PDF

Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Sep 01, 2011
Accession Number
ADA550637

Entities

People

  • Anders M. Jorgensen
  • D. Mozurkewich
  • H. R. Schmidt
  • John Thomas Armstrong
  • R. L. Hindsley
  • S. Restaino

Organizations

  • United States Naval Research Laboratory

Tags

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Adaptive Optics
  • Artificial Satellites
  • Base Lines
  • Delay Lines
  • Detectors
  • Earth Orbits
  • Geosynchronous Orbits
  • Geosynchronous Satellites
  • H Band
  • Interferometers
  • Low Earth Orbits
  • Optics
  • R-Banding
  • Satellite Imaging
  • Space Situational Awareness
  • Standards
  • Telescopes

Fields of Study

  • Physics

Readers

  • Astronomy and Astrophysics.
  • Image Processing and Computer Vision.
  • Systems Analysis and Design

Technology Areas

  • Space
  • Space - Satellites