Henrique Schmitt, Naval Research Laboratory; David Mozurkewich, Seabrook Engineering; Tom Armstrong, Naval Research Laboratory; Sergio Restaino, Naval Research Laboratory
Keywords: Geosats, optical interferometry, radio interferometry, imaging, instrumentation
Abstract:
Imaging geostationary satellites from the ground with a resolution better than a few meters is a problem that can be solved by using optical interferometry. However, the use of this technique is complicated by the fact that these targets are faint and comprise a relatively large angular size. Combining these facts with the need to detect and track interferometric fringes on short time scales (few ms) significantly impacts the number of telescopes and baseline lengths that can be phased in an optical interferometer array, thus limiting the imaging resolution that can be achieved. Here we present a novel approach we are currently investigating in which one uses the radio communications signal from the satellite to determine the atmospherically induced variations in optical path to different telescopes in the array, thus allowing for longer integration times on baselines for which there is not enough signal to track optical fringes directly.
Date of Conference: September 17-20, 2019
Track: Space Situational Awareness