New radar calibration and performance monitoring techniques for enhanced flight test data

Flight testing of advanced weapon systems with improved performance characteristics has increased the need for more accurate and consistent measurement data from test ranges. Metric tracking systems measure vehicle position and velocity and provide an independent external source of data which is used to evaluate the capability of the weapon systems to satisfy design goals. While new systems, such as GPS, will play an increasing role in providing trajectory data, tracking radars and optical systems will continue to be the primary source of data for the immediate future. It is possible to improve tracking radar data by measuring errors in the radar system and correcting these errors with methods presently used at the Western Space and Missile Center. Instrumented satellites such as GEOS-3 and the GEOSAT (scheduled for launch in 1984) play an important role in measuring errors and in monitoring the overall performance of C-band radars. Numerous problems have been discovered by using GEOS which, if not detected, could have significantly degraded radar data used to support aircraft or missile flight testing.