Bistatic radar meteorological satellite

Abstract

A technique is discussed that employs a radar transmitter with a moderate size antenna placed in a geosynchronous orbit with either a 0 degree or a low inclination orbit. The reflected signals from the precipitation are then received either on a single beam from a satellite having a beamwidth of about 6 degrees or preferably with a beam that scans the U.S. in a raster pattern with about 0.9 degrees beamwidth. While it would seem that a bistatic system with the transmitter at synchronous altitude and the receivers near the surface would not be a very efficient way of designing a radar system, it is somewhat surprising that the required power and antenna sizes are not that great. Two factors make the meteorological application somewhat more attractive than the bistatic detection of point targets. First, the bistatic reflections of radar signals from precipitation are to a large extent omnidirectional, and while raindrops are spheriods rather than spheres, the relationship of the reflectivity of the rain to rainfall rate can be easily derived. The second reason is that the rain echo signal level is independent of range from a receive only radar, and if the bistatic system works at all, it will work at long ranges.