Low cost TACSAT for NATO surveillance
Abstract
Cost and performance technology breakthroughs in recent years have made possible the near term development and deployment of a low cost TACSAT surveillance system. The potential for both the spacecraft and sensor to be launched on lower cost launch systems is the fundamental basis for reduced system cost. Additionally, the spacecraft and sensor must be amenable to low cost mass production. For all weather, day/night surveillance, an active synthetic aperture radar (SAR) is the ideal instrument, and the ability to mass manufacture thousands of very low cost transmit/receive (T/R) modules was developed at Hughes. Since the size of a SAR increases as the orbital altitude is increased, a final element of the economical basis for a low cost TACSAT is the definition of low earth orbit (LEO) space constellations with high mission utility. Tradeoffs are also provided to compare sparse or zero based peacetime constellations with surge launch capabilities to small peacetime early warning space constellations that can also instantly provide regional combat support on demand.
- Publication:
-
In AGARD
- Pub Date:
- February 1993
- Bibcode:
- 1993tsv..agarR....H
- Keywords:
-
- Cost Reduction;
- Military Technology;
- Remote Sensing;
- Surveillance Radar;
- Synthetic Aperture Radar;
- Earth Orbits;
- Low Cost;
- North Atlantic Treaty Organization (Nato);
- Spacecraft Instruments;
- Spacecraft Launching;
- Spacecraft Design, Testing and Performance