SIGNAL PROCESSING ARCHITECTURE FOR A DISTRIBUTED SPARSE ARRAY (DSA) RADAR SYSTEM

WE PROPOSE TO DEVELOP A NOVEL SIGNAL PROCESSING ARCHITECTURE FOR THE DISTRIBUTED SPARSE ARRAY (DSA) RADAR. THE SYSTEM IS A SPACE-BASED, THINNED PHASED ARRAY RADAR IN WHICH EACH ARRAY ELEMENT IS A SEPARATE SPACECRAFT (CALLED A MINI-RADAR). MINI-RADARS COOPERATE TO FORM A SINGLE COHERENT RADAR BEAM. THE NEW ARCHITECTURE DISTRIBUTES SIGNAL PROCESSING ALMOST EQUALLY THROUGHOUT THE MINI-RADARS AND ALLOWS FOR PROCESSING RECONFIGURATION IN THE EVENT OF A SINGLE (OR EVEN MULTIPLE)MINI-RADAR FAILURE OR DESTRUCTION. THE KEY IDEA IS TO DISTRIBUTE ARRAY PROCESSING AMOND THE SPACECRFT ACCORDING TO RANGE OR DOPPLER SHIFT. THIS IS DONE BY DIVIDING THE TOTAL RANGE/DOPPLER INTERVAL COVERED INTO N EQUAL RANGE/SOPPLER SUBINTERVALS AND ASSIGNING EACH SUBINTERVAL TO ONE OF THE MINI-RADARS FOR PROCESSING. IN OTHER WORDS,EACH MINI-RADAR BECOMES THE CENTRAL PROCESSOR OR "MASTER" FOR A PARTICULIAR GROUP OF RANGE/DOPPLER BINS. RECONFIGUREABILITY OF PROCESSING IN THE EVENT OF A LOSS OF ONE OR MORE MINI-RADARS IS STRAIGHTFORWARD: DIVIDE THE TOTAL NUMER OF RANGE/DOPPLER BINS OF INTEREST EQUALLY AMONG THE SURVIVORS. WE SHOW THAT THIS PROCESSING STRATEGY REQUIRES A MINIMUM OF DATA STORAGE AND GOES HAND-IN HAND WITH STATE-OF-THE-ART SELF-COHERING, BEAM NULLING, AND CLUTTER REJECTION TECHNIQUES.