Pioneering Aerospace
Messe Berlin
Booth: Hall 4, Booth 240
The Fraunhofer FHR presents its competencies in the fields of surveillance, reconnaissance and analysis of the space situation. Our space radar GESTRA will be presented.
The 1.5-meter-long hypersonic glider represents the interdisciplinary research initiative Hypersonic Signature Studies for Radar (HypS²tar). In this project, Fraunhofer researchers, together with the Institute of Aerodynamics and Flow Technology of DLR and the German-French Research Institute ISL, are developing technologies to counter hypersonic missiles (HyFLK). Hypersonic weapons fly at speeds above five times the speed of sound and are therefore extremely difficult to detect. Another uncertainty factor is high-temperature effects such as the formation of plasma or the erosion of surfaces, which can occur due to the high friction and compression of the incoming air, and can also complicate detection. Researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for High Frequency Physics and Radar Techniques FHR in Wachtberg have succeeded in making these effects visible in the radar signature and evaluating them.
Satellites in near-Earth space are threatened by a rapidly increasing number of debris particles. To better protect satellites, the Fraunhofer Institute for High Frequency Physics and Radar Techniques FHR has developed a powerful experimental radar sensor for space observation: GESTRA (German Experimental Space Surveillance and Tracking Radar).
The fully digital phased array system GESTRA is currently working in test mode. An evolutionary stage of another single receiver is currently being developed and set up by Fraunhofer FHR. The interaction of both systems will be the basis for a coherent network for SSA activities in the future. To enable the best performance of each system, continuous development of the technology and algorithms is necessary. To achieve these goals, Fraunhofer FHR continuously collaborates with industrial partners.
Fraunhofer Institute for High Frequency Physics and Radar Techniques FHR