Aperiodic phased arrays for space situational awareness applications

This paper presents a study of the characteristics and the potentials of aperiodic arrays for application in the ground-based radar for Low Earth Orbit (LEO) space surveillance, in the frame of ESA´s Space Situational Awareness (SSA) program. In aperiodic arrays, the unequally element spacing breaks the periodicity of the layout and of the radiation pattern. Their most interesting characteristics are array thinning, beamwidth narrowing, element interaction reduction, high resolution with relatively few elements, and scan angle capability. Given that, the application of aperiodic arrays to the SSA phased array radar could be straightforward, but performance capabilities and synthesis procedures need to be evaluated. This paper considers and discusses a thinned array solution.