Feasibility study of satellite system on target detection

Abstract

Passive radar is a rising technology for tracking and detecting targets. Comparing with traditional active radar, the absence of transmitter allows the system to be smaller in size, more portable, less expensive, and do not require spectrum allocation.

Implementation of passive radar is simulated and analyzed in this final year project. Satellite GPS signal is chosen from many illuminators for the passive radar system design. Through investigating four different kinds of satellite systems (GPS, Galileo, GLONASS, Compass), GPS is selected as the candidate of interest for passive radar detection. Theoretical power budget calculation is applied to determine the received signal power with addition of random white Gaussian noise; matched filter theory and ambiguity function are derived to analyze the processing gain and Doppler frequency processing. Simulation of a moving target is designed and performed to study the feasibility of moving target detection using passive radar. Power budget and moving target simulation are the key parameters analyzed to determine the feasibility for satellite based passive radar system.