DEVELOPMENT OF A MILLIMETER WAVE DOPPLER RADAR FOR DETECTION OF PRECIPITATION

THIS PROJECT ADDRESSES THE NEED FOR BOTH SATELLITE AND SUPPORTING IN-SITU OBSERVATION OF PRECIPITATION RATES AND CLOUD-COVER PARAMETERS. THE GOAL IS TO DESIGN A FULLY PRODUCTIVE, HIGHLY COMPACT, MILLIMETER-WAVELENGTH DOPPLER RADAR PACKAGE FOR AIRCRAFT AND GROUND-BASED OPERATION THAT ALSO HAS THE POTENTIAL FOR SATELLITE APPLICATION. INNOVATIONS WILL INCLUDE A HIGH-POWER, FULLY COHERENT RADAR TRANSCEIVER OPERATING IN A DUAL POLARIZATION MODE, AS WELL AS THE NARROW BEAM WIDTHS OF MILLIMETER ANTENNAE IN CONJUNCTION WITH PULSE-COMPRESSION TECHNIQUES. METEOROLOGICAL MODELING AND ANALYSIS WILL BE DONE TO GUIDE THE RADAR DESIGN TO DETERMINE THE OPTIMUM PERFORMANCE TRADE-OFFS BETWEEN RADAR HARDWARE CAPABILITY AND THE RADAR REFLECTIVITY OF THE METEOROLOGICAL PHENOMENA. THE PRIMARY FREQUENCY OF CONSIDERATION WILL BE 95 GHZ, BUT OTHER FREQUENCIES WILL ALSO BE INVESTIGATED. IN THE PHASE I RESEARCH, THE OBJECTIVES OF THE SCIENTIFIC OBSERVATIONS APPROPRIATE TO A MILLIMETER-WAVE DOPPLER RADAR WILL BE DEFINED AND THE DOPPLER RADAR SYSTEM ENGINEERED TO MEET THESE OBJECTIVES. PHASE I WILL CULMINATE IN A REPORT THAT DETAILS THE SCIENTIFIC CAPABILITIES, TOTAL SYSTEM AND COMPONENT DESIGN, AND FABRICATION COST ELEMENTS. THIS PROJECT WILL DEMONSTRATE THE FEASIBILITY AND SCIENTIFIC NEED FOR A DEVELOPED, RELIABLE, COMPACT, AND PERFORMANCE-DOCUMENTED MILLIMETER RADAR INSTRUMENT. THIS PROJECT ADDRESSES THE NEED FOR BOTH SATELLITE AND SUPPORTING IN-SITU OBSERVATION OF PRECIPITATION RATES AND CLOUD-COVER PARAMETERS. THE GOAL IS TO DESIGN A FULLY PRODUCTIVE, HIGHLY COMPACT, MILLIMETER-WAVELENGTH DOPPLER RADAR PACKAGE FOR AIRCRAFT AND GROUND-BASED OPERATION THAT ALSO HAS THE POTENTIAL FOR SATELLITE APPLICATION. INNOVATIONS WILL INCLUDE A HIGH-POWER, FULLY COHERENT RADAR TRANSCEIVER OPERATING IN A DUAL POLARIZATION MODE, AS WELL AS THE NARROW BEAM WIDTHS OF MILLIMETER ANTENNAE IN CONJUNCTION WITH PULSE-COMPRESSION TECHNIQUES. METEOROLOGICAL MODELING AND ANALYSIS WILL BE DONE TO GUIDE THE RADAR DESIGN TO DETERMINE THE OPTIMUM PERFORMANCE TRADE-OFFS BETWEEN RADAR HARDWARE CAPABILITY AND THE RADAR REFLECTIVITY OF THE METEOROLOGICAL PHENOMENA. THE PRIMARY FREQUENCY OF CONSIDERATION WILL BE 95 GHZ, BUT OTHER FREQUENCIES WILL ALSO BE INVESTIGATED. IN THE PHASE I RESEARCH, THE OBJECTIVES OF THE SCIENTIFIC OBSERVATIONS APPROPRIATE TO A MILLIMETER-WAVE DOPPLER RADAR WILL BE DEFINED AND THE DOPPLER RADAR SYSTEM ENGINEERED TO MEET THESE OBJECTIVES. PHASE I WILL CULMINATE IN A REPORT THAT DETAILS THE SCIENTIFIC CAPABILITIES, TOTAL SYSTEM AND COMPONENT DESIGN, AND FABRICATION COST ELEMENTS. THIS PROJECT WILL DEMONSTRATE THE FEASIBILITY AND SCIENTIFIC NEED FOR A DEVELOPED, RELIABLE, COMPACT, AND PERFORMANCE-DOCUMENTED MILLIMETER RADAR INSTRUMENT.