Atmospheric Reentry Measurements
Working with the French space agency, CNES, and Novespace of Bordeaux, France, SPC developed
the latest generation of its radar systems for observing atmospheric reentry - the airborne Reentry
Measurement System (RMS). The system employs both a VHF wide-beam radar and a wide
field-of-view high-resolution optical video camera. By operating at 50 MHz, the VHF radar is sensitive
to both reentry ionization and the ionospheric turbulence produced by a body passing through the Earth's
ionosphere. These are key signature elements for detecting and analyzing the destruction of the reentry body.
The airborne RMS can be deployed anywhere in the world and is capable of measurement observations at ranges
in excess of 500 km.
Airbus A300 Airborne Platform for SPC’s RMS
Since 1999, the RMS system has been used to observe the reentry of the Ariane 5 main cryogenic stage (EPC),
providing CNES with detailed data on the reentry process. By taking advantage of multipath signals created by
the airborne RMS’s unique observation geometry (below), SPC is able to determine the EPC altitude without the
use of complex and expensive tracking hardware.
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V119
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December 1999
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Papeete, Tahiti
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Success
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V158
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March 2004
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Acapulco, Mexico
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Success
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V164
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February 2005
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Cotonou, Benin
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Success
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V169
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December 2005
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Acapulco, Mexico
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Success
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Multipath Geometry
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Sample Data
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Radar Data Processing Tools
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Pseudocolor Video Image
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V169 Range-Time-Intensity
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V158 Range-Time-Intensity
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