Passive radar to track space junk above Australian skies
BUNDLE together Australia’s FM radio stations. Take one supersensitive astronomy radio telescope array. Tune-in to the right frequencies — and suddenly we can see objects 1000km away in space and travelling at 8km per second.
more…
Interesting.
Tau.Neutrino said:
Passive radar to track space junk above Australian skiesBUNDLE together Australia’s FM radio stations. Take one supersensitive astronomy radio telescope array. Tune-in to the right frequencies — and suddenly we can see objects 1000km away in space and travelling at 8km per second.
more…
Interesting.
what!
“It taps into the FM-band radio waves already being beamed around the country to carry news, gossip, and catchy tunes. It can do this because of the incredibly sensitive receivers already in place at the Murchison Widefield Array radio telescope in Western Australia (MWA).”
The frequency of FM is high enough to penetrate the ionosphere, but wouldn’t that deflect the signal path somewhat? Perhaps not, if handled correctly.
“The development of space surveillance capability is a significant activity that Australia can offer to the global space industry,”
Agree.