On Track: Precise Method Of Locating Intercontinental-Range Ballistic
Missiles And Other Space Targets
Using signals from GPS satellites, an ONR-funded researcher has developed a
much more precise method of locating intercontinental-range ballistic
missiles and other exo-atmospheric (space) targets. Electromagnetic signals
from space are bent by the atmosphere much the same way light is bent when it
passes through water. Existing tracking methods use climatological data to
deduce the amount of bending the signal should incur due to air moisture and
temperature.
Because these deductions are not always entirely accurate, the target's
actual location and its presumed location can be off by several miles. A
researcher at University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR) in
Boulder, Colo., has devised a way to make this tracking more accurate.
Using a radio instrument to first track GPS satellites, whose exact positions
are known, the amount of bending the signal is enduring in a certain
atmospheric region can be determined. A target's signal in the same
atmospheric region should be experiencing the same degree of bending due to
similar atmospheric conditions, and thus an accurate position for the target
is discovered. This technology has applications in high-precision tracking
radars.
"The preliminary results are very successful," said ONR Program Manager Scott
Sandgathe, "but it will need to be tested in more environments and seasons"
before it finds its way into the Fleet. The next planned experiment will take
place in southern California during September to coincide with the strong
Santa Anna winds.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-- Note: This story has been adapted from a news release issued by Office Of Naval Research for journalists and other members of the public. If you wish to quote from any part of this story, please credit Office Of Naval Research as the original source. You may also wish to include the following link in any citation:http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2000/09/000913212548.htm
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : Mon Oct 02 2000 - 17:38:36 MDT