Pacific Barrier Radar III (PACBAR III)

The Pacific Barrier (PACBAR III) C-band radar is being installed at the Western Space and Missile Center to furnish Revolution 0 detection of foreign launches. Previously installed on a tracking ship, the upgraded system will also identify and target space objects, maintain a catalog, and cover maneuvers and decay of space objects. Nominal operation will comprise a search of a predesignated 15 deg azimuth with the capability of detecting a 6 sq m target in a 400 km orbit, track spacecraft in orbits up to 800 km altitude, have a range resolution of about 80 yd, provide realtime payload and rocket body discrimination, and transmit two-way digital message traffic between the Center and NORAD in Cheyenne Mt. Interlaced vertical and horizontal pulses will augment the search and acquisition capabilities, and the antenna will have a 140 deg plunge range. The transmitter will function at 5.4-5.65 GHz, 320 p/sec, with a peak power of 0.8 MW, and the system will have a nonambiguous range of 32,768 nmi.