Inverse Synthetic Aperture LADAR for Geosynchronous Space Objects - Signal-to-Noise Analysis

Abstract

Inverse synthetic aperture LADAR (ISAL) provides high resolution images which are not limited in resolution by the diffraction limit of the telescope collecting the imaging data. This makes it an ideal method for imaging Geosynchronous Earth Orbit (GEO) space objects. Although LADAR is a well researched topic, little has been published on the suitability of ISAL for imaging GEO space objects and the associated SNR models. This paper derives an expression for the return signal detected by a coherent ISAL system. Using tomographic techniques common to synthetic aperture radar (SAR), a model is developed for the signal-to-noise ratio of the reconstructed image. Noise sources considered include photon noise and laser speckle noise.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Sep 01, 2011
Accession Number
ADA550680

Entities

People

  • Casey J. Pellizzari
  • Charles L. Matson
  • Rao Gudimetla

Organizations

  • Air Force Research Laboratory

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Air Platforms
  • Biomedical
  • Materials and Manufacturing Processes
  • Space

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Air Force
  • Air Force Research Laboratories
  • Detection
  • Detectors
  • Diagnostic Imaging
  • Earth Orbits
  • Frequency
  • Frequency Domain
  • High Resolution
  • Imaging Techniques
  • Laser Radar
  • Low Earth Orbits
  • Space Objects
  • Synthetic Aperture Radar
  • Three Dimensional
  • Tomography
  • Two Dimensional

Fields of Study

  • Physics

Readers

  • Aerospace Engineering.
  • Image Processing and Computer Vision.
  • Radar Systems Engineering.

Technology Areas

  • Directed Energy
  • Space
  • Space - Space Objects