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ATLAS: Latest Advancements and First Observations

Authors: Pandeirada, J.; Bergano, M.; Marques, P.; Coelho, B.; Barbosa, D.; Figueiredo, M.

Ref.: Remote Sens. 16 (4), 704 (2024)

Abstract: The increasing amount of space debris poses a significant threat to operational satellites and space-based services. This article updates the community on the current status of the development of ATLAS, a tracking radar that is part of the EUSST network and aims to detect space objects in low Earth orbits. This article focuses on the latest activities performed: calibration of the pointing system and initial observations of space objects. The calibration procedure consisted of cross-scanning the Solar disk and yielded great results, obtaining an offset of 5.3 degrees in azimuth and 0.10 degrees in elevation. The first observation campaign resulted in 33 range detections of the International Space Station (ISS) with a probability of false alarm of 10-9. The observations were then used to readjust the radar equation to assess the real-world performance of the system.

DOI: 10.3390/rs16040704