Nanosatellite SAR Preliminary System

Design for New Zealand Maritime and

Dept. of Electrical, Computer,
Terrestrial Remote Sensing and Software Engineering
2023 Simone Mencarelli, Andrew C. M. Austin, Michael J. Neve
smen851@aucklanduni.ac.nz, a.austin@auckland.ac.nz, mj.neve@auckland.ac.nz

I. INTRODUCTION II. SHIP DETECTION SYSTEM DESIGN

• The prob. of detect. (Pd)
depends on the SNR and
image resolution.
NZ • The SNR is a function of Aperture: 2 x 0.3 m
Exclusive the integrated ground
Economic f= 10 GHz
Zone illumination pattern. N+L= 10 dB
Altitude Pavg= 50 W
h = 500 km

G/r

≈30x7 m
vessels

TRADEOFF
GOALS: • Azimuth - ambiguous acquisitions
• Low power ship detection in → Arbitrary Swath width 2x
the NZ EEZ needed to detect → No range ambiguity.
illegal fishing activities. • Pd > 0.5, Prob. false alarm Pfa=10-6.
• Use the same sensor for land • Power  aperture length.
1
subsidence and deformation
imaging (secondary obj.). DESIGN
• Timing constraints included to avoid transmit blind ranges and nadir returns.
METHODS: • Pulse Repetition Frequency (PRF) and looking angle Pd model validity range [2].
• High-resolution ambiguous optimized to:
acquisition mode for ship Nadir Return
detection [1, 2]. 1. Maximize the Transmit Event
Duty cycle:
• Doppler under-processing for ground swath. 25%
land unambiguous imaging [3]. + Swath after
2. Minimize range + compression

CONSTRAINTS: ambiguities
ηi = 17.9°
• Power ηi = 36.0° ηi = 58.2°
• Size ηi = 38.5° ηi = 25.6°
ηi = 45.3° ηi = 30.8°
0
The Antenna has to be
0.3 m

deployed in length

• Acceptable probability of detection.

III. UNAMBIGUOUS IMAGING
• Low Range Ambiguity to Signal Ratio (RASR).
• Signal bandwidth 100-250 MHz.
Bp/Bd = 0.54
• The Azimuth Ambiguity PRF = 7195 kHz
Bn = 100 MHz
to Signal Ratio (AASR) AASR = -18 dB
can be reduced under- IV. CONCLUSIONS
processing the Doppler
bandwidth (Bp/Bd <1) [3]. Improves
lowering Bn • Vessels can be detected using an X-band antenna of 0.3
m x 2 m from LEO with a peak RF radiated power of 200
• Acceptable RASR. W over a ground swath of approx. 60 km.
27 km
• Low SNR. • The same system can be utilized for land imaging at
• Limited incidence angle choice. narrower incidence angles if a low SNR or resolution is
• Smaller swath, lower resolution. Resolution area tolerated by the application.
≈5mx1m

REFERENCES: [1] J. Krecke, M. Villano, N. Ustalli, A. C. M. Austin, J. E. Cater, and G. Krieger, “Detecting Ships in the New Zealand Exclusive Economic Zone: Requirements for a Dedicated SmallSat SAR Mission,”
IEEE Journal of Selected Topics in Applied Earth Observations and Remote Sensing, vol. 14, pp. 3162–3169, 2021. [2] N. Ustalli, G. Krieger, and M. Villano, “A low-power, ambiguous synthetic aperture radar concept for
continuous ship monitoring,” IEEE Journal of Selected Topics in Applied Earth Observations and Remote Sensing, vol. 15, pp. 1244–1255, 2022. [3] A. Freeman, “Design principles for smallsat SARs,” in in Proc. 32nd Annual
AIAA/USU Conference on Small Satellites. Pasadena 2018.