Haystack LRIR

The Haystack radar is large dish radar at the Lincoln Space Surveillance Center near Boston, and a contributing sensor to the U.S. Space Surveillance Network.[1]  From 1978 until April 2010, when it was shut down for a major upgrade to add a W-Band capability (which will be discussed in a future post), Haystack operated part-time as the X-Band Long-Range Imaging Radar (LRIR).  The LRIR was reportedly the only U.S. radar capable of imaging satellites out to geosynchronous orbit range.  The upgrade involved installing a new antenna and was due to be completed by about 2013, after which the radar will be known as the Haystack Ultrawideband Space Imaging Radar (HUSIR).  Under the upgrade, the LRIR’s X-band capability will be retained and is expected to return to operation in 2012.

September 2010: The top portion of the Haystack’s radome about to be reinstalled after the installation of the new antenna.  Photograph from MIT Lincoln Laboratory, 2010 Annual Report, p. 13.[2]

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ALCOR

ALCOR (ARPA Lincoln C-Band Observables Radar) was the world’s first high-power long-range wide-band radar.[1]  It played a key role in the development and early implementation of range-Doppler techniques for imaging satellites, producing images with a resolution of 0.5 meters (about 20 inches). ALCOR began operations at Kwajalein in late 1969.  Although it has since been exceeded in both range and resolution capabilities by the Millimeter Wave (MMW) Radar at the same Kwajalein site (and by other wide-band radars at other sites), it remains an important collateral sensor in the Space Surveillance Network.[2]  

 The ALCOR antenna viewed from behind inside its radome at Kwajalein. (Photograph from Camp, et.al.,  Lincoln Laboratory Journal)

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pALTAIR (ARPA Long-Range Tracking and Instrumentation Radar) is a large steerable dish-array radar at the U.S. ballistic missile test range on Kwajalein in the Pacific Ocean.[1]  Operating at both VHF and UHF frequencies, it is an important collateral sensor in the U.S. Space Surveillance Network, particularly for detecting and tracking newly-launched satellites and for tracking objects in deep-space and geosynchronous orbits.  Together with the Millstone Hill and GLOBUS II radars, ALTAIR provides complete coverage of the geosynchronous belt.

Background

The four SSN radars at Kwajalein.  The ALTAIR antenna is the large dish at upper center, viewed partially against the lagoon.  The antenna for TRADEX, which backs up ALTAIR in the Space Surveillance Network (SSN), is the dish antenna on top of the building near the center of the picture.  The antenna for the ALCOR imaging radar is in the dome at lower left, and the antenna for the MMW imaging radar is in the dome in the center of the picture between the ALTAIR and TRADEX antennas.  (Photograph from http://www.orbitaldebris.jsc.nasa.gov/measure/radar.html.)

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The Millstone Hill Radar

The Millstone Hill Radar (MHR) is a large (84 foot diameter) L-Band dish tracking radar located, appropriately enough, on Millstone Hill in Westford MA, a suburb of Boston (42.62˚ N, 71.49˚ W).[1]  It is an important contributing sensor in the Space Surveillance Network (SSN) and is used both for near- and deep-space surveillance.  Two other SSN contributing sensors, the Haystack Radar and the Haystack Auxiliary Radar, which are primarily imaging radars, are located at essentially the same site, and all three are operated by Lincoln Laboratories.  The MHR should not be confused with two other radars at the same site and sometimes also referred to as Millstone Hill radars, one with a 220 foot fixed zenith-pointing antenna and the other with a 150 steerable dish antenna.  Both of these radars operate in the UHF Band and are used almost exclusively for scientific (ionospheric) research, although the steerable dish serves as a backup to MHR for space surveillance purposes.

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