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Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

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At least 19 records
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1976

Switchable Beamwidth Monopulse Method and System

A switchable beamwidth monopulse method and system are described. An antenna comprising a curved reflector and a first set of monopulse feeds positioned in the effective region of the airy disc of the antenna includes a second set of monopulse feeds. The second set of monopulse feeds is positioned outside the airy disc in the region of first bright airy ring. In narrow beamwidth monopulse operation, monopulse sum and difference channel patterns are obtained from the first set of feeds within the airy disc. In wide beamwidth monopulse operation, the difference channel pattern is obtained from the second set of feeds in the airy ring; the sum channel pattern is obtained by attenuation and phase shifting the sum channel signal obtained from the first set of feeds, and adding the resultant to the sum channel signal obtained from the second set of feeds. In a simplified form of the invention, the difference channel patterns for both narrow and wide beamwidth mode operation are obtained from the second set of feeds, while the sum channel patterns are obtained as described above.

Deerkoski, L. F.↗
DOE OSTI2024

Notes on Amplitude versus Phase Comparison Monopulse Antennas for Radar

Monopulse is a technique for determining the Direction of Arrival (DOA) of a radar echo by comparing the simultaneous signal responses from two or more antenna beams or apertures. Two principal architectures are employed: 1) amplitude-comparison monopulse, and 2) phase-comparison monopulse. For a constrained-size fully and uniformly illuminated aperture, there is no meaningful difference between the DOA angle precision achievable by an amplitude monopulse architecture versus a phase monopulse architecture. DOA angle estimation precision is almost exclusively a function of antenna size, operating wavelength, and SNR, regardless of amplitude versus phase monopulse architectures.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗
DOE OSTI2020

Two-Channel Monopulse Antenna Null Steering

Traditional dual-channel phase-monopulse and amplitude-monopulse antenna systems might electrically steer their difference-channel nulls by suitably adjusting characteristics of their constituent beams or lobes. A phase-monopulse systems' null might be steered by applying suitable relative phase shifts. An amplitude-monopulse systems' null might be steered by applying a suitable relative beam amplitude scaling. The steering of the null might be employed by a continuously mechanically-scanning antenna to stabilize the null direction over a series of radar pulses.

42 ENGINEERING↗
NASA NTRS1993

Topographic mapping using a monopulse SAR system

Terrain height variations in mountainous areas cause two problems in the radiometric correction of SAR images: the first being that the wrong elevation angle may be used in correcting for the radiometric variation of the antenna pattern; the second that the local incidence angle used in correcting the projection of the pixel area from slant range to ground range coordinates may vary from that given by the flat earth assumption. We propose a novel design of a SAR system which exploits the monopulse principle to determine the elevation angle and thus the height at the different parts of the image. The key element of such a phase monopulse system is an antenna, which can be divided into a lower and upper half in elevation using a monopulse comparator. In addition to the usual sum pattern, the elevation difference pattern can be generated by a -pi phase shift on one half of the antenna. From the ratios of images radiometrically modulated by the difference and sum antenna pattern in cross-track direction, we can derive the appropriate elevation angle at any point in the image. Together with the slant range we can calculate the height of the platform above this point using information on the antenna pointing and the platform attitude. This operation, repeated at many locations throughout the image, allows us to build up a topographic map of the height of the aircraft above each location. Inversion of this map, using the precisely determined aircraft altitude and the accurate flight path, leads to the actual topography of the imaged surface. The precise elevation of one point in the image could also be used to convert the height map to a topographic map. In this paper, we present design considerations for a corresponding airborne SAR system in X-Band and give estimates of the error due to system noise and azimuth ambiguities as well as the expected performance and precision in topographic mapping.

Zink, M.↗
NASA NTRS1996

Ka-band monopulse antenna-pointing systems analysis and simulation

NASA 's Deep Space Network (DSN) has been using both 70-m and 34-m reflector antennas to communicate with spacecraft at S-band (2.3 GHz) and X-band (8.45 GHz). To improve the quality of telecommunication and to meet future mission requirements, JPL has been developing 34-m Ka-band (32-GHz) beam waveguide antennas. Presently, antenna pointing operates in either the open-loop mode with blind pointing using navigation predicts or the closed-loop mode with conical scan (conscan). Pointing accuracy under normal conscan operating conditions is in the neighborhood of 5 mdeg. This is acceptable at S- and X-bands, but not enough at Ka-band. Due to the narrow beamwidth at Ka-band, it is important to improve pointing accuracy significantly (approximately 2 mdeg). Monopulse antenna tracking is one scheme being developed to meet the stringent pointing-accuracy requirement at Ka-band. Other advantages of monopulse tracking include low sensitivity to signal amplitude fluctuations as well as single-pulse processing for acquisition and tracking. This article presents system modeling, signal processing, simulation, and implementation of Ka-band monopulse tracking feed for antennas in NASA/DSN ground stations.

Lo, V. Y.↗
NASA NTRS1996

Ka-Band Monopulse Antenna-Pointing Systems Analysis and Simulation

NASA's Deep Space Network (DSN) has been using both 70-m and 34-m reflector antennas to communicate with spacecraft at S-band (2.3 GHz) and X-band (8.45 GHz). To improve the quality of telecommunication and to meet future mission requirements, JPL has been developing 34-m Ka-band (32-GHz) beamwave guide antennas. Presently, antenna pointing operates in either the open-loop mode with blind pointing using navigation predicts or the closed-loop mode with conical scan (conscan). Pointing accuracy under normal conscan operating conditions is in the neighborhood of 5 mdeg. This is acceptable at S- and X-bands, but not enough at Ka-band. Due to the narrow beamwidth at Ka-band, it is important to improve pointing accuracy significantly (approx. 2 mdeg). Monopulse antenna tracking is one scheme being developed to meet the stringent pointing-accuracy requirement at Ka-band. Other advantages of monopulse tracking include low sensitivity to signal amplitude fluctuations as well as single-pulse processing for acquisition and tracking. This article presents system modeling, signal processing, simulation, and implementation of Ka-band monopulse tracking feed for antennas in NASA/DSN ground stations.

Lo, V. Y.↗
NASA NTRS2006

Advanced Ka-Band Transceiver With Monopulse Tracking

A proposed Ka-band transmitting/ receiving system would embody a unique combination of established and semi-proven design features. The proposed system (see figure) would include a monopulse receiving feedback loop and a mirror that could be moved by piezoelectric actuators in the feedback loop to adjust the aim of the transmitted and received radio beams. Unlike in a phased-array tracking system, phase shifters (which can be complex and expensive) would not be needed in this monopulse tracking system. Moreover, the monopulse-tracking loop could be combined with other subsystems used in established subreflector and antenna designs. The final transmitter power amplifier in the proposed system would be a quasi-optical power amplifier (QOPA) -- a combination of a planar array of 25 amplifiers and corresponding planar arrays of antenna elements, such that free-space power combining would take place at the output.

Khan, Abdur↗
DOE OSTI2024

Notes on Real-Beam Ground Mapping with Monopulse Radar

The spatial awareness required of modern flight systems is facilitated by images generated by ground-mapping radar. In the forward and aft directions, synthetic aperture techniques are not viable, leaving us with enhancing real aperture radar data. Enhancing real aperture radar data with monopulse information can be achieved with any of several monopulse beam sharpening techniques. Two such algorithms are discussed.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗
NASA NTRS1974

Variable-beamwidth monopulse antennas

The merits of nine methods for zooming microwave amplitude-sensing monopulse antenna patterns are discussed. Of these, six are directly related to the TDRSS (Tracking Data Relay Satellite System) and are compatible with a deployable-mesh pseudo-paraboloidal main reflector. The remaining three methods utilize radically different geometrical configurations that depart considerably from the TDRSS parameters existing at this time. Preservation of the monopulse postulates is considered to be of prime importance for any variable-beamwidth candidate, however, it is allowed that approximate satisfaction of the postulates should be accepted for practical reasons. All of the methods discussed admit free choice of the polarization state, and the zooming function is never predicated on polarization. Exploration of the zooming techniques was carried out almost entirely by means of the Kirchhoff-Kottler vector diffraction program. The program generates electric and magnetic field intensity, associated phase, and time-average Poynting vector power flow in the intermediate near-field and far-field zones in both receive and transmit modes of operation. A few of the concepts have been verified experimentally with excellent agreement between theory and practice.

Schmidt, R. F.↗
DOE OSTI2023

Curvilinear Aperture Monopulse

By a symmetry argument, a synthetic aperture radar collection along a linear path does not collect three-dimensional information about the scene. However, it is known that vertical curvature can be used to derive some vertical position information. This paper approaches the problem from a monopulse perspective, resulting in a non-iterative computation that commutes with efficient image formation algorithms.

Story, Mark↗
DOE OSTI2026

Practical Three-Dimensional Curvilinear Aperture Monopulse Synthetic Aperture Radar

When collected over a curved path, Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) contains information about the three-dimensional content of a scene that can aid interpretation of this difficult imaging modality. In a point scatterer simulation with amplitudes and heights derived from a real SAR image pair, we supplement confocal processing with a monopulse-based algorithm to compute heights of certain bright points, which we find automatically. In SAR, bright points often reflect man-made infrastructure central to scene interpretation.

Story, Mark [ORNL] (ORCID:0000000289148911)↗
DOE OSTI2025

Notes on Bayliss Taper for Monopulse Radar

A radar system’s antenna characteristics are fundamental to its performance. A principal defining feature of an antenna’s performance are its often problematic sidelobes. Often in monopulse antenna topologies, the emphasis has been on the sum channel sidelobes at the expense of difference channel sidelobes. Edward Bayliss published a paper detailing a design procedure for managing the difference channel sidelobes. The resulting aperture taper now is identified by his name. This report analyzes his taper derivation, and resulting performance attributes, after which some implementation comments are rendered.

42 ENGINEERING↗