A PROPOSAL TO DEVELOP AN IONOSPHERIC TOMOGRAPHY SYSTEM

TRANSIONOSPHERIC C3I RADIO SYSTEMS AND OTH RADARS BENEFIT FROM KNOWLEDGE OF PLASMA DENSITY (RADIO REFRACTIVE INDEX) IN THE IONOSPHERE AND GRADIENTS HEREIN. WE PROPOSE TO ASSESS FEASIBILITY OF AN IONOSPHERIC TOMOGRAPHY SYSTEM (ITS) FOR PROVIDING SUCH INFORMATION IN THE FORM OF NEAR-REAL-TIME IMAGES, USING MUTUALLY COHERENT VHF-UHF SIGNALS PRESENTLY TRANSMITTED FROM THE NNSS ("TRANSIT") SATELLITES. WE PROPOSE ALSO, IN PHASE I, TO PREPARE PAPER DESIGNS FOR (1) A DIGITAL RECEIVING SUBSYSTEM TO RECORD THE PATH FROM SUCH A SATELLITE AND (2) A DATA COMMUNICATION SUBSYSTEM FOR TRANSFERRING THE TEC RECORDS FROM SEVERAL SUCH REMOTE RECEIVERS TO A CENTRAL PROCESSING FACILITY, HOPEFULLY IN CON-US REGARDLESS OF RECEIVER LOCATION. IN ADDITION, WE PROPOSE TO ASSESS AND ADAPT IMAGE-FORMATION SOFTWARE PRESENTLY EMPLOYED IN OCEAN ACOUSTIC TOMOGRAPHY FOR USE IN THE ITS. WE BELIEVE OUR RECEIVER DESIGN CONCEPT TO BE INNOVATIVE IN ITS SIMPLICITY, WHICH SHOULD LEAD TO LOW COST AND READY TRANSPORTABILITY. WE ENVISION DEVELOPMENT AND DEPLOYMENT OF A PROTOTYPE ITS IN A PHASE II EFFORT.