SIMO radar design for small space debris detection in the LEO

Space debris of size less than 10 cm in the Low Earth Orbit (LEO) present a growing collision threat to operational space craft due to their high speed of travel (up to 8 km/s). Collision avoidance manoeuvres are currently being performed as a prevention measure. Such manoeuvres are expensive and requires prior knowledge of the incoming debris. There are some instrumemnts that have performed small space debris detection and tracking, however most of the information obtained is from space debris models. The use of available radio telescope receivers in a radar system that performs space debris detection and monitoring is becoming popular. Most radio telescopes have large apertures (high gain) and low noise temperature, so have the potential to be sensitive radar receivers. In this paper, we discuss the feasibility test results of one of the Square Kilometre Array precursors, KAT-7 for space debris detection. Using the SIMO radar equation, the L-band KAT-7 radar system is able to detect debris with a radar cross section (RCS) of 10.5 dBsm up to a maximum range of 800 km with a signal to noise ratio (SNR) of approximately 35 dB and a range resolution of approximately 0.6 m.