Rendezvous radar for the orbital maneuvering vehicle

The rendezvous radar set (RRS) under development will be a key subsystem aboard NASA´s new orbital maneuvering vehicle (OMV). The RRS is an X-band all solid-state, monopulse tracking, frequency-hopping, pulse-Doppler radar system. Targets of 1 m² are detected at ranges greater than 4.5 nautical miles, and larger targets are detected at up to 10 nautical miles. The target is then tracked in angle, range, and range rate to a distance of 35 feet from the OMV. In addition to performance and cost, the design drivers for the RRS development have included the minimization of power consumption, size, and weight