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FIGURE 1.6.3 (a) B-52 Aerial Wurtsmith AFB 11 March 1965

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Payload Behavior - The radar payload itself performed within
nominal specification limits during the generation of the
imagery presented in this section. The payload variables
which were the key factors in determining image quality
weret
o Time coincidence of the CRT sweep with the
returns from the most strongly illuminated portion
of the terrain; that is, from the terrain lying between
the upper and lower 3 db directions of the illuminating
beam. Adjustment of the prf is used to effect this coincidence;
o Behavior of the clutterlock oscillator in response
to initial attitude of the vehicle at turn-on, and to
subsequent angular rotations and accelerations of the
vehicle; and
o Sehavior of the AGC circuit in response to various

target distributions.

Image quality is of course also dependent upon local terrain
reflectivity and atmospheric conditions, but these are not

controlled payload variables.

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SL March 1969

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AM AP

IIL

PROGRAM ie

VEHICLE 2355 SYSTEM REPORT (U)

Volume I - Summary

Contract
Supplemental Agreement Number 13

me

f
Prepared: Cy « .

Program cae

Approved: Approved;
David D. Bradburn

Lt. Colonel, USAF
SAFSP

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was processed to yield optimum ground painting on the left
half of the scene (position 2}, and the right half now

appears underexposed,

Figure 1.6.17(b) was processed to yield optimum ground
painting on the right half of the scene (position h) and
the left half appears quite heavily exposed. The left half
of (a) can now be compared with the right half of (b) in
order to permit a quality judgement to be made. A better
judgement would be possible if both extended terrain and
strong point targets were available on both sides of the
switchs one would ther. look for the combination of good
ground painting with minimum derradation or blooming of the

point targets.

A radar image of similar terrain, viewed in the AGC mode,
has been presented earlier in this report (Figure 1.6.7
of the section on Typical Imagery, above), and permits an
interesting comparison, At the time of generation of
Figure 1.6.7, the receiver ¢ in, controlled by the AGC
circuit, was equal to the gain of step l in the fixed-gain
node. Figure 1.6.17(t), left half therefore shows the
image quality which would be obtainable in the AGC mode
were the final video staves and the CRT recorder driven
harder and allowed to limit more frequently than was the
case. A more detailed examination of point-target returns

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PRY Adjustment Status:

The radar prf was 8381 pps during generation of this image
i (P/L step 10). The range-gate occurrence was not properly
| synchronized with the returning video--the former was too

early, A reduction in prf and consequent increase in inter=

pulse time would have led to a better coincidence. The poor
image intensity distribution was partially compensated in the
optical processor.

Scale Factors of Figure 1.6.8 Print:

Azimuth: 2.09 ngmi/inch

Ground Range: 3.48 nemi/ineh
Highlights of Imagery:

The disastrous floods that occurred in northern Pacific
Coastal areas just before Christmas of 1964 were sampled by
some of the imagery generated during this mission. In the
example shown, the flood plain around the mouth of the Eel
River is largely under water. Only occasional portions of
the lowlands show above the water. The thin-line returns
mostly border streams, hence are probably vegetation projecting
above the flood waters, One short, straight, very bright
return suggests a bridge whose approach roads are not visible.
The streaked pattern on the flood waters sucgests areas of
wind-caused waves with quieter surface in the lee of obstructions;

if so, the wind direction within this small area was SW

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the capsule so that its re-entry trajectory falls within a prede-
termined recovery area.
o To recover the recovery capsule with its payload by air or surface

units deployed for that vurposee

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Figure 1.6.19 Azimth Ambiguity

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Figures 1.6.19 and 1.6.20 have illustrated the avpear=
ance of range and azimuth ambiguities. ‘Such appearances
were rare occurrences in the 2355 flight, and were only
found where a radical receiver gain change or misalignment
o? range gate and video return enhanced their levels.
However, the ambiguity vroblem places important constraints

on radar parameters for satellite systems. Further con=

sideration will be given to this problem i
| report. The illustrations are

presented here vrimarily in the interest of completeness.

report which is referred

to in several places above will be entitled

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Figure 1.6.7 Summary

Mountainous Terrain: Pass 25

System Time: 29213.0(0M) - 29217.3(H.V. ON) secs ZT, 23 December 196
Local Time and Date: 01:07 AWM. MST, 23 December 196)

Local Surface and Weather Conditions:

Ground dry, some snow on mountain tops. No precipita-
tion; winds from south at 20 mph, gusts to 30 mph.
Temperature about 55°F, dewpoint 22°F, Near
northern edge of high pressure area, Overcast 8500
feet, scattered clouds at 6000 feet, Clouds extending
to 20,000 feet, contained ice ad turbulence.
Vehicle Attitude Behavior:
Patch: Holding constant pitch attitude at
positive edge of deadband,
Roll: At center of deadband, slowly rolling
toward negative side,
Yaw: Holding constant yaw attitude at center
of deadband,
Clutterlock Integrator Behavior (F-60):
Wandering slowly about constant value.
RF Signal-to-Noise Ratio (Computed from F=53):

R F signal-to-noise ratio ranges from 13 to 15 db.

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when the processor is optimally adjusted for the particular
target area being viewed. As explained above, the behavior
of the clutterlock, which in turn responds to vehicle
attitude motions and initial conditions, may necessitate
repeated readjustments of the processor, In situations where
the processor was focused only once near the start of the
pass, overall azimuth resolution is typically of the order
of 15 to 30 feet. The resolution figures quoted here are
applicable tc the imagery as recorded, directly at the
processor output, on photographie transparency material.
The photographic prints shom in this report are limited
by the characteristics of the paper to a resolution of the
order of 6 lines per mm; at the scales chosen for most of
the figures, ground-range resolution is degraded to about
150 feet, and azimuth resolution is degraded te 90 to 100

feet.*

Two independent measures of achieved resolution are availaic«
The first of these is obtained from the imagery of Pasa No,

8 itself--a test array of radar corner reflectors at fs

P| fell within the mapped swath. The image

of this array showed that azimuth resolution of roughly 10

feet, and ground-range resolution of roughly 75 feet, were

“ihe two figures are different because of the difference
in the azimuth and ground-range scale factors in the print.

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Effects of PRF Changes and Range Gate Alignment

On most vasses, the orf at turn-on, which had been pre-
selected on the basis of the best available tracking
data, did not provide the optimum time-coincidence of
the range gate with the returning signal; the alignment
of the two was then improved hy a human controller on
the ground, who adjusted the prf on the basis of the
appearance of the video being received over the Wide
Band Data Link. One such adjustment was made at system
time 2273.2 secs. ZT on Pass 8, from P/L step 1h to
P/L step 13. The prf prior to the switch (i.e., on the
right-hand half of Figure 1.6.14) was (8248 21) ops,
corresponding to an interpulse period of (121.2 * 0.02)
nsec; after the switch, the prf was (8281 £1) ops cor=

responding to an interpulse period of (120.76 * 9.02) usec.
On the basis of the nost-flight ephemeris and S-LOOK cal-

culation of slant range it appears that the transmission
of the nth pulse preceded the recording of signal induced
by reflection of the (n - 17th pulse. Therefore, the
effect of the change in prf on this occasion was to de-
crease by 7.5 pseconds the time interval between trans-
mission of a particular pulse and the initiation of the
sweep in which the reflected energy associated with that
pulse was recorded. At the nominal incidence angle, this

change implies a decrease of 1,1 n. mi. in the

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Weather - Radar imagery was generated under a wide variety of
atmospheric and ground-surface conditions during the 2355
flight. Generally speaking, the northeastern part of the U.S.
was experiencing rain, snow, some freezing rain, heavy over-
casts and some high clouds during the operation, The ground
was wet or snow covered in many areas. Frontal activity was
generally weak where present; some imaging through turbulent
clouds occurred on Pass 25, In the central Atlantic states
the ground was generally drier, although fog and haze were
frequently present. Heavy rainfalls were in progress during
Pass 16 in Northern California, and had been for several days
previously; the ground was flooded in some areas along this
pass. In the Southwestern portion of the country, the air

was generally clear with the ground in its usual dry state.

As a consequence of this synoptic weather situation, a

sampling was obtained of most of the lower-atmosphere phenomena
which tend to degrade radar performance. In particular, the
presence of widespread light precipitation goes largely unde-
tected in the imagery, and the heavy precipitation along the
California coast does not severely obscure underlying structure.
The reduction of terrain reflectivity resulting from the wet
and snow-covered surfaces was not sufiicient to cause obscur-

ation of surface details, although the ground-painting signal-

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PASS 30

FIGURE 1.6.1; OHIO TURNPIKE CROSSING:


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o That the next flight of an orbiting system be instrumented to
permit more frequent sampling of received signal levels and
of clutterlock behavior, and more accurate monitoring of

certain receiver and transmitter functions.

o That future systems incorporate available state-of-the-art
improvements to provide an even more stable platform for

radar imaging.

The reader is referred to the Goodyear Aerospace Corporation report
recommendations for further specific comments pertaining to the radar

payload.

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steps, which essentially provided a vernier adjustment on the
inter-pulse period. It was furthermore convenient to trigger
the CRT sweep in the recorder from the same source which
controlled the transmitter timing. The sequence of events
was as follows: the radar transmitted a pulse, the receiver
and recorder waited 25 microseconds, anc the CRT was then
swept for 73 microseconds; the system then repeated the cycle
after an additional wait of 16to 2h microseconds (depending
on the choice of prf). When the prf was at its optimum
value, signal return from the slant range corresponding to
the lower half-power point of the elevation beam (the near-
edge of the swath) started arriving as the ORT-sweep started,
and video from the uprer half-power point (the far-edge of
the swath) had completed its arrival 73 microseconds later

as the sweep was about to be completed.

On certain occasions, the sweep started a few microseconis
before the return from the near-range arrived; the imagery
corresponding to these occasions lacks contrast and SNR at
the near edge, but is better at the far-edge. Conversely,
the opposite occured when the sweep was late in starting. On
still other occasions, the sweep was begun as the return from
the far-edge was arriving, continued while the instantaneous

return power level passed through its minimum, and was almost

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The line of bright dots running vertically just right ef Ligonier
is part of an electric power transmission line, each dot being
one steel tower. The returns within Lake Wawasee represent

ice, The strong returns in the small towns located on railroads
are characteristics similar towns served only by roads generally
lack these stronger returns. While most of the Elkhart River

is teo narrow to be seen as a watercourse, its route is easily
traced by the band of uncut vegetation that borders it through

the surrounding farmland,

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ground-range to the swath being imaged. The USGS map

of Figure 1.6.1) shows this translation, as does the
corresponding radar image; the apparent break in U.S.
Highway 52 as imaged by the radar clearly illustrates
this phenomenon. The translation as measured on the
radar image is in agreement with the figure quoted above.
Note that the illumination in the left half of the radar
display is considerably more uniform that was that on
the right; another subsequent one-step correction was
necessary to achieve optimum coincidence of the range

gate with the returning radar energy.

Another consequence of such a switch is a degradation
(not apparent from the paper print) of azimuth reso~
lution in the vicinity of the switch itself. Also, when
data obtained via the Wide Band Data Link is used for
image generation, an extensive loss of data sometimes
occurs because of the properties of the time-averaging
synchronizer used to provide sweep-synchronization for

i the ground-based recorder.

The situation depicted in Figure 1.6.1) is characteristic
of the use of a nearly-correct prf. It is also of
interest to observe the effect of a gross misalignment

of the range gate with the returning video. Such a case

is seen in Figure 1.6.15 generated from video collected

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as illustrated in Figure 1.6.19a. The energies sssociated
with the three indications are denoted by % (the true
response), @_, and ©. The quantity a is given by

a. ABs

ww P

where A is the radar wavelength, v is the Magnitude of the
along-track component of the satellite velocity, and fp
is the prf in pulses/sec. If the receiver gain remains
constant over a time interval long enough for the satellite
to pass all three physical locations, then Oy and Oy
are equal in magnitude; the parameters of the 2355 system
were such that @y and 1 should each have been about
40 db smaller than Tos provided the clutterlock was
properly settled. No azimth ambiguities have been found
in regions where the gain remained unchanged over a suf-
ficient time interval about the time of passage of a point

target; such ambiguities would be difficult to detect.

An example of an azimuth ambiguity which was enhanced in
level due to a sudden change in receiver gain is shown

in Figure 1.6.19b; this image was generated on south-
bound Pass 30, as the southern shoreline of Lake Erie
was being crossed at Cleveland. The system time interval
corresponding to the image shown was 57h70.) to S778
secs on 23 December 196l, the first shoreline encounter

being at system time 57:71.3. The gain of the receiver

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variation with range, it anpears that the range gate was
being initiated too soon. A lower prf would have led to
a more balanced distribution. Some compensation was
employed during the ontical processing.

Scale Factors of Figure 1.6.1 Print:

Azimth: 2.09 nemi/inch
Ground Range: 3.48 nemi/inch

Highlichts of Imagery:
The radar display included most of Richmond, Virginia,
and clearly shows the radial transportation network
centered on this large city. Many bridges crossing the
James River are evident, including one mile-long elevated
railway structure nearly narallelling the river inside
the city. Very large areas of block and street patterns
can be seen. Numerous industrial areas stand out, showing
their frequent relationship to transnort routes, esnecial-
ly to railroads (generally, thin dark lines are roads,
while bright ones are railroads). Outside the city,
cultivation, wooded areas, and drainage features can be

recognized.

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Ships were seen by the system on the Pacific, Atlantic,
Great Lakes, and some inland rivers. The two shown as examples
were spotted off the California coast, during the fourth mapping
pass. The one seen first, and giving the smaller return, was
20 nemi. off the Golden Gate, between the lightship and the
Farallon Islands; specifically, at 37.74°N, 122.90°W. The
return is 700 to 800 feet long and is aligned at 151° ~ 332°
azimuth (true). However, since any rotational motions (e.g.,
roll) of a vessel would produce doppler effects tending to
spread the processed returns in the along-track direction, the
alignment of the return may nd indicate ship heading, nor need
the length of the return directly indicate the vessel's size.

A faint suggestion of a wake at the narthern end of the ship
return implies a heading azimuth of 137° true. The second ship
was seen at 37.70 N, 122.78°u, or 14 nomi. west of Half-Moon

Bay, 18 nomi. farther down the coast. The low-return streak

to the right is not a wake, but an artifact of the radar's signal-
recording process, in which the strong signal from the ship
commandeers the available dynamic range of the film opacity,
suppressing the adjacent faint signals, Similar adjacent-signal

suppression can be seen near the bottom of Figure 1.6.11.

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coordinating all activities of the three Associate Contractors to insure

: a technically compatible program to meet planned objectives.

Responsibilities assumed by Lockheed to integrate all activities as

necessary to achieve all flight objectives included, but were not limited
to, the following:

o Perform technical direction and engineering management within the
j parameters as established by SAFSP.

o Determine system requirements and establish system performance

through a coordinated study and analysis endeavor.

o Recommend to SAFSP, the required research, development and
experimentation to achieve program objectives.

| o Prevare the requirements for, and evaluate the Design Control
Specifications, Accertance Test Svecifications, Engineering
Analysis Renorts, Test Procedures, and Snecifications, by coordi-
nating total effort with the Associate Contractors.

o Analyze and make recommendations to the Air Force, as required,
on System, Subsystem and Component development and test programs.

o Establish a Systems Engineering and Technical Direction (SETD)
capability to conduct continuous evaluation of equipment ner-
formance to determine the degree of compliance with all system
functional and operational requirements.

o Hold SETD meetings with Associate Contractors to coordinate latest
changes necessary to meet program objectives, by performing techni-

cal evaluations of requests from the Associate Contractors for

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PART I
Table of Contents
Paragraph Now Title Page
1.1 Introduction 1-1
12 Program Organization 2e1
13 Program Objectives 3-1
| 1k Mission Description hel
|
| 15 System Description Sel
1.6 System Performance 6-1
Evaluation of Radar Imagery 6-2
' Typical Imagery 6-21
'
1.60162 Imagery of Engineering Interest 6-80
1Lebs203 The Resolution and Dynamic Range Test Array 6-112
1.7 Conclusions and Recommendations Tal

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FIGURE 1.6.6 CANYON AND MESA TERRAIN: PASS 9


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PROGRAM aia

VEHICLE 2355 SYSTEM REPORT (U)

VOLUME I~ SUMMARY

Oa LO

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Seager t

AC-04306 A
VOLUME I

31 March 1965

Copy No. _~

Out |

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corresponding USGS mape The scene shown in the lower
portion of the radar-generated print, to the left of the

discontinuity, is a radar image of the terrain shown on
the upper left hand portion of the USGS map, above the
cross-hatched area. In each of these two segments, range
decreases toward the top of the page. The scene shown

in the upper portion of the radar-generated print, to the
left of the discontinuity, is a radar image of the terrain
shown on the lower left-hand portion of the USGS map, be-
low the cross-hatched area. The upper edge of the radar
print now corresponds to the lower boundary of the cross-
hatch, and range increases toward the bottom of the page.

Thus the upper and lower regions are reversed in sequence

_ with respect to each other, but no other mirroring or

inversion occurs. As was the case for the prf-switch
illustrated in Figure 1.6.1h,azimth resolution is de-
graded in the immediate vicinity of the discontinuity.

The obvious effects of operating with an incorrect orf

or of changing the prf are then the following:

1. Use of a prf which is incorrect by a relatively
small amount (no more than 3 or h steps for the
2355 system) leads to a radar image of a strip
which is displaced from that illuminated by the
3 db beamwidth, with the amount of translation

determined by the magnitude of the prf error.

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System performance is compared against predictions, and the performance

accomplishments and achievements are enumerated,

i The report is therefore, in addition to a flight report, a total

summary of the composite effort associated with the preparation and
operation of this system. From the system evaluation certain conclusions
and recommendations are formated which are intended to be useful Sor

later work on similar systems.

Through the medium of the detailed information contained in this
report, it is intended to properly acknowledge the efforts of all
those who were instrumental in managing and conducting a program which
produced a completely successful mission with the first flight of a

new payload vehicle system.

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and the VCO attempts to compensate for its

o Unbalanced torques on the vehicle will cause angular

accelerations within deadbands

o Gas-pulse firings at the edges of deadbands will
introduce impulsive angular accelerations; and

co A slow VCO frequency shift is required to correct

for earth rotation as a function of latitude.

The rotations and accelerations associated with the deadband
behavior will cause phase errors which are relatively high-
frequency in nature to be injected into the target histories,
The first-order effect will be image defocusing in the azimuth
dimension, with attendent resolution degradation unless the

Frocessor is appropriately readjusted.

The examination of imagery to determine the effects «f vehicle

motions and clutterlock behavior is still in process; the

results will be covered in the ‘or thoonine
a.-. to be published separately.

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FIGURE 1.6,10(b) | CLOSEUP OF FIRST SHIP

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FIGURE 1.6.9(b) | CLOSEUP OF MOTHBALL FLEET


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Figure 1.6.3 Summary

Wurtsmith Air Force Base, Michigan: Pass 30

System Time: 57421.8 (ON) = 57426.2 (H.V. ON) sees ZT, 23 December
196k.

Local Time and Date: 10:57 A.M. EST, 23 December 196).

Local Surface and Weather Conditions:
Snow cover on ground, depth variable, in excess of two
inches. Fog; sky obscured, Wind conditions -- calm.
Visibility, one mile. Stationary front present. Cloud
tops at 910,000 feet.

Vehicle Attitude Behavior:

Pitch: Holding constant at positive edge of deadband.

Roll: Had been holding constant 0.1° on negative side
of deadband center; slowly rotating positively,
toward center.

Yaw: Rotating at rate of .005 deg/sec toward positive
edge of deadband, already past deadband center
by about 0.1°,

Clutterlock Integrator Behavior (F-60):

Turn-on transient had settled out; gradual negative-going
trend in process, local reversal occurs during generation
of this image.

RF _Signal-to-Noise Ratio (Computed from F~53):

RF signal-to-noise ratio has a maximum value of 14 db over

land mass, dropping to 1 db for the over-water portion.

32

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FIGURE 1.6.11 PHOENIX, ARIZONA: PASS 9



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PRE Adjustment Status:
The radar prf was 8415 pps during generation of the above

image (F/L step 9); this was an optimun position, for which
the range gate coincided with the returning video,

Ecale Factors for Figure 1.6.7

Azimuth: 2.10 nmi/inch

Ground Range: 3.48 nemi/inch
Highlights of Imagery:

The area shown lies midway between Provo and Price, Utah,
The pass running across the display contains a stream, a highe
way, and a railroad, The railroad is visible nearly all the
way, including its hairpin turn, The snooth-textured area at
the upper right ie a reservoir bordered by a railroad. Splotchy
texture on mountains may be irregular forestation, or may be
related to snow cover. Shadings on plateau at lower left corre-=
late fairly well with forestation shadings on map.

The elevation variation of from 7200"to over 9000! results
in range-direction relief displacements that vary by 0.5 nvmi.,
or 0.2 inch at the scale of the map reprodwtion above, That
is, if an along-track line on the display (such as a swath~
edge line) were to be transformed accurately to its cor~esponding
location on the map, it would deviate from straightness by that
much, (The largest amount of distortion of the range scale
found to date in any of the imagery generated during this test is

1.2 nami. or, at the scale of the map reproduction, 0,6 inch.)

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completed by the time return from the near-edge began to
arrive; under these comlitions, the CRT was inoperative for
the major portion of the return, and twostrips, inverted

wita respect to each other, were imaged by the system. Examples

of these two classes of situations are shown later. In either
event, a slight readjustment of the interpulse time (hence
prf) sufficed to re-establish the proper synchronization

| between the time of arrival of reflected radar energy ami the
tine of initiation of the CRT sweep, The pulse positioning
is described pictorially, with additional discussion in Part

Til, Par. 3.4.k.

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Figure 1.6.2 Summary

Hammond - Chicago; Pass 2h

System Time: 23868.7(ON = 23873.0(H.V. ON) secs ZT, 23 December 196
Local Time and Date: 00:38 A.M. CST, 23 December 196L

Local Surface and Weather Conditions:

Ground wet from rain and fog. Light showers, fog. Winds
10 mph, temperature 39°, dew point 39°. Overcast 200 feet,
top at 1500-2000 feet, higher clouds above 8000 ft.
Temperature inversion at 2000 feat. No frontal activity.

Vehicle Attitude Behavior:

Pitch: Has just reached negative edge of deadband,
holding constant.

Roll: Has just left positive edge of roll deadband,
rotating toward center.

Yaw: Holding constant attitude in center of dead-
band.

Clutterlock Integrator Behavior (F-60):

Some fluctuation in outout over time interval of interest

RF Signal-to-Noise Ratio (Computed from F-53):

RF signal-to-noise ratio about 1k db on land, south of
industrial area; reaches a local peak of 16 db in
industrial complexes, then drops to about 2 db over

Lake Michigan.

6-27 (a)

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Output Film - Exposure Fitted

to Strongly Amplified Returns.

Figure 1.6.17(a) - Manual Gain Change - Processor


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Figure 1.6.2(b) - Hammond, Indiana - Chicago, Illinois - Processor Output Film -
Exposure Fitted to Strong Culture Returns.

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Figure 1.6.22 Output Images of Test Array

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PRF Adjustment Status:

The radar prf was $381 vys during generation of this
image (P/L sten 19). The range gate occurred at a
near-optimum time and yielded an image of balanced
intensity across the range interval without necessity
for compensation in the processors

Scale Factors of Figure 2 Print:

Azimuth: 2.10 nemi/ineh
Ground Range: 3.48 nemi/inch

Highlights of Imagery:
Because of the high density of strong targets in the
industrial areas, as well as the effect of the shoreline
on the automatically controlled gain, two different
processing exposures are presented. The stronger ex-
posure shows better "ground-painting", while a lesser
exposure improves the appearance of the concentration
of bright returns. The shoreline and waterfront features
are easily recognized. The arparently man-made harbor at
the short-range (top) edge of the swath shows construction
changes made since the map was up-dated. Some of the
railroad routes show as low-return lines through heavily
built-up surroundings; most appear as bright-line returns.
As the shoreline gradually crosses the swath, the con-

tinually increasing gain tends to over-expose the small

remaining land area.

6-28

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Figure 1.6.3 Summary
Eel River, California Pass 16

System Time: 6866h.7(ON) = 68669.0(H.V. ON) 2T, 22 December 196
Local Time and Date: 11:0 A.M. PST, 22 December 196)

Local Surface and Weather Conditions:

Entire area wet, rain for several previous days. Flood
conditions present. Rain, occasionally heavy, Winds from 180°
at 10 mots, Scattered cloud layer 700-1000 feet, overcast at
1400-2500 feet. Low pressure area,

Vehicle Attitude Behavior:

Pitch: Holding constant at positive edge of deadband,

Roli: Wandering slowly on negative side of deadband

center.

Yaw: At center of deadband, in process of yawing

tovard positive edge at rate of 0.015 deg/sec.
Clutterlock Integrator Behavior (F-€0):

Oscillator changing frequency in negative direction,
apparently still heading toward correct output for initial
attitude at turn-on,

RF Signal-to-Noise Ratio (Computed from F-53):

RF signal-to-noise ratio about U db over water, in process
of rapidly increasing to 15 db in region where land occupies
full swath width, Water reflectivity rather high due to

noticeable wave structure,

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FIGURE 1.6.10(a) FIRST SHIP IN PACIFIC
66

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As had been stated and isevident from the imagery, the aspect
ratio of grounderange to azimith scale factors is not 1:1;
instead, the azimuth dimension appears to have been "stretched"
by roughly 66 per cent. This is a consequence of the preserva-
tion of a 1:1 aspect ratio of slant range to azimuth scale

factors at the system depression angle.

Several of the images are accompanied by U.S. Geological
Survey Maps bearing an arrow designating true North, The swath
between the inner edges of the shaded lines matches the swath
imaged by the radar. Each image is also accompanied by a
summary of pertinent events and highlights of the imagery
itself. The combination of the U.S.G.S. map and the radar
imagery constitutes the figure as numbered under the radar
image. It is to be recalled that the motion of the satellite
is fram the right to the left of the radar image-as viewed by
the reader.

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dropped sharply as the terrain being illuminated by the
radar beam changed from the waters of Lake Erie to the

city of Cleveland. The prf at this time was 8L15 pps;

at the center of the swath, the calculated value of A

is 2.6 nomi; 4 increases slightly, from the near-range |
edge of the swath to the far-range edge, by roughly 1 part
in 25 for the parameters corresponding to this image.

Figure 1.6.19b clearly shows, in Lake Erie, a set of

point images which are a displaced and very slightly

rotated replica of strong point targets on shore, The

measured displacements agree with the calculation. The

telemetered RF~power level over the lake was -89 dbm; over

Cleveland, the arriving RF power increased to <7) dom.

Since this change would have led to a corresponding re-

duction in receiver gain of 15 db, the point-images on

the lake were enhanced in energy by roughly this amount,

hence to 25 db below the correctly positioned images.

The clutterlock was behaving properly during this portion

of Pass 30. Measurement of the relative energy levels of

the true images and the ambiguous images has not been

completed to date; however, it is unlikely that the 40 db

ratio of true response to first focused ambibuity was

actually achieved by the system. This latter speculation

is based on visual examination of the true and ambiguous

responses in output imagery.

6~106

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those determined by the range gate. The ANC circuit re-
sponded with a time constant of about 30 milliseconds to
changes in the level of this returning RF power. The
rectangle reflecting the power was translated at the
orbital rate of slightly under 4 n.mi/sec in the azimth
(along-track) direction.

A preliminary examination of the data indicates that
isolated targets and target complexes contained within
land masses did not induce severe responses in the AGC
system; by and large, the extended terrain tended to
dominate the average reflectivity and also acccunted for
some of its fluctuation. Strong AGC responses to land=
water boundaries were noted, however. Figure 1.6.16
shows an excellent example of this behavior, which oc-
curred during Pass 21. This image of the region around
Wilderness State Park and the Straits of Mackinac,
Michigan corresponds to system times 23936.9 through
23811.3 secs ZT on 23 December 196k. The prf selection
was optimum at this time;.as the satellite proceded
North along its trajectory, the radar beam was illuminat-
ing the eastern shoreline of Lake Michigan, and the AGC
output was fluctuating in response to land masses and to
ice on the Lake's surface. It ts not possible to recon=
struct a complete picture of the gain fluctuation from

the TM data alone, since this was available only on the

6-91

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Somewhere between 10 and 30 knots when the image of
Figure 1.6.18 was generated. The point of land is Pt.
Reyes, California. Imaging of the water surface, wave
structure, and breakers along the coastline is evident.
The radar was in an incorrect prf step at this time, and
the center of illuminated swath was totally offshore; the
ground painting at the lower edge of the print is attri-
butable to energy radiated from beyond the upper hal f-
power point of the radar antenne. Intense reflection

from active rain cells is to be seen elong the shoreline.

The system time interval covered by this image is from
68705.0 to 68709.4 secs ZT. The RF power return falling
within the range gate over this interval was of the order
of -8L to -85 dbm, despite the misalignment of the range
gate with the physical beam. The implied reflectivity of
the sea surface is quite high compared with that observed
on inland lakes, this being a consequence of the sea state
due to the rainstorms and winds. It is worth noting,
however, that wave structure is apnarent even beneath the
rain-cell images, and that the heavy cloud cover did not
in any apparent way interfere with the imaging process.

Some anomalous observations made eisewhere during this

pass will be discussed further :
HR evenuation reporte

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Figure 1.6.19a Agimth Ambiguity Locations

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This report covers the span of time from the inception of the first
satellite borne radar system through the final evaiuation of the on
orbit performance of the first flight. An objective review is attempted,
of the complete scope of activities associated with bringing a new
system into being and of the system performance during an essentially

nominal and troublefree mission.

From this review, it is hoped that the systems management and program
control parameters which were found to be effective may be properly
recognized and thereby enhance the organization and conduct of similar

future activities.

The system definition and resulting configuration is reviewed in
retrospect, together with the problems associated with this Program

development and testing.

The engineering management concept and the test philosophy which were

applied are outlined and restated, with the objectives of first recording

these, and then attempting to objectively analyze them for areas
£ susceptible to improvement. The Air Force - INSC - Associate Contractor
team is defined, as it existed during the development, testing and

operation of Vehicle 2355.

The system performance from launch through recovery and thence to

i battery depletion is evaluated from the primary aspect of payload operation.

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1.7 Conclusions and Recommendations

Conclusions The major conclusions that have been drawn from the flight

of Vehicle 2355 are summarized as follows:

ce)

The orbital flight satisfied the primary program objective by
demonstrating that a satellite-borne synthetic-aperture radar
system could generate a fine-resolution image of a portion of
the earth's surface. All the program secondary objectives

were also satisfied,

The radar-image characteristics were very close to those
predicted from the insertion of orbital-system parameter
values into an analytic model whose validity had been con-

firmed previously with aircraft-borne systems.

Because of the satellite's smooth trajectory, the imagery
exhibited consistently fine azimth resolution and uniform
scale over imaze lengths of hundreds of miles. The achieved
10-foot azimuth resolution implies the realization of the large
synthetic apertures required at the long ranges which are

characteristic of orbital operation,

The system proved its expected ability to produce radar
imagery of a consistently high quality cy day, by night, and
through a variety of weather conditions; the conditions which
prevailed in most of the swath areas would have prevented

successful photographic or infrared imaging.

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Figure 1.6.1 Single-Step PRF Change

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AC 01306

PRE Adjustment Status:
The radar prf was 831) pps during generation of this image

(P/L step 12), Range gate was occurring too late with
respect to video arrivals; an increase in prf was required,
to reduce interpulse tire and provide a better time coinci-
dence. Some compensation was provided in the optical
processor.

Seale Factors of Figure 1.6.5 Print:

Azimuth: 2.10 neni /inch
Ground Range 3.48 nemi/inch

Highlights of Imagery:
This display segment was selected because it contains two
indications of moving railway traffic. Because this type of
radar infers positions of objects from their average doppler
frequencies, moving objects are seen at their proper ranges,
but misplaced parallel to the satellite track by amounts
deperdent on each object's motion. Thus, from the radar
system data alone, we determine that the short bright-line
return between Lake Wawasee (at lower edge of display) and the
B& O Railroad tracks just to the left of the lake represents
a train 3200 feet long (hence about 65 cars) which was west-
bound at 36 mph at Ol:4h:56.4 AM EST. A 36 mph eastbound
train of about [5 cars (and perhaps more) appears to the
left of NYC tracks near the upper edge of the display; this

train was observed 1,6 seconds after the first.

6-11

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Figure 1,6.2(a) - Hammond, Indiana - Chicago, Illinois - Processor Output Film -
Exposure Fitted to Natural - Terrain Returns.


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FIGURE 1.6.13



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Vehicle Attitude Behavior - The attitude orientation of the
vehicle at the time of payload turn-on and its subsequent
behavior during the payload operating time affect image
quality, part of the effect being somewhat imiirect. Roll
behavior manifests itself in a different manner than do pitch

and yaw behavior.

Since the radar is sidelooking, towithin a few degrees of
normal to the local inertial velocity vector, the roll attitude
determines the ground swath which is illuminated, In the
payload subsystem as implemented, one is then faced with the
problem of selecting a prf arpropriate to the resulting
slant. range from vehicle to swath center, in order to have
return video coincidence with the range gate of the receiver
and recorder. Roll excursions which are small compared with
the elevation beamwidth are of little consequence once the
correct prf is established, and larger roll excursions can
be tolerated if one is willing to make a prf-adjustment, The
pri-setting problem will be covered in further detail in a

later paragraph.

The pitch and yaw attitudes of the vehicle at payload turn-on
determine the position of the doppler spectrum of the video
return, It is necessary tc control the position of the

spectrum center in order to guarantee proper sampling of the

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1.4.1 Evaluation of Radar Imagery

General Comments - An extensive amount of recorded video

data was generated by the flight of vehicle 2355; this data has been
processed to generate fine-resolution radar imagery. Examples

of this imagery have been selected far the purpose of illus-
trating the radar-appearance of various cultural targets and

non-cultural terrain areas which fall within the imaged

swaths, as well as to illustrate system phenomena of engin-
eering interest. A detailed evaluation of the results of the
radar experiment which culminated in the 2355 flight is being

prepared under separate cover by The Po

the results presented in this volume are of a preliminary

nature and therefore somewhat incomplete, In examining the

i incorporated imagery, the reader must keep in mind the fact
that the photographic prints in this report do not permit the
full azimuth resolution and dynamic range capabilities of the
system to be preserved; these are considerably better preserved
in the high-quality photographic transparencies which have

i been generated during the program, and are at their very bes?

at the output of the optical data processor prior to photo-

graphic recording. The processor output may be viewed by

i the user of the radar imagery, without recording, in situa-

tions where the full resolution and dynamic range mst be

{
| preserved.
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Positioning of the Reflected anergy in the Hange Gate - In order

to preserve full azimuth resolution and avcid the super-
position of undesired azimuth-ambiguous imagery on the desired
radar image, it was necessary to employ a radar-repetition
rate of the order of 8500 pps, to within a tolerance of perhaps
5 per cent. A pulse was therefore transmitted once every 120
microseconds, to within a few microseconds depending upon the precise
value of the prf. At the instant of transmission of any
pulse, the previous one had travelled only about 20 nautical
wiles from the radar en route to the target field, which was
typically at a one-way slant range of 170 nautical miles

fom the vehicle. Under these comlitions, about 16 or 17
pulses were making the round-trip between radar and target
field at any instant of time; the precise number was dependent
upon the precise values of prf ad slant range. In a properly
designed non-ambiguous system, the return reaching the radar
at any instant can only have originated from one particular
pulse, net two; this is guaranteed through a proper restric-
tion on the elevation-beamwidth of the radar antenna,

Through a slight adjustment of the inter-pulse period (hence
the prf) one may arrange to have the "dead-time" between the
arrival of return from two consecutive pulses coincide with
the time of transmission of a (later) pulse. In the 2355

system, this was done by choosing one of the 16 available prf

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Figure 1.6016 AGC Action

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ona SMR basis; these are not detectable. The loss of the images of the
100 ft? reflectors may be attributable to the response of the AGC network
to a strongly reflecting industrial complex (Dow Chemical Co.) which was
mapped immediately prior to the reflector arrays. This poirt will be

investigated further prior to publication |

flight evaluation report.

An independent estimate of resolution can be made through measurement of"
the two-dimensional response ot the radar system to an isolated "point"
target having a large radar crossection. Such targets were imaged in a
number of instances. Careful measurement of the system response was made
directly at the output of the ontical vrocessor; the half-power resolutions
were found to be the following:

Azimth: . 10 feet between half-power points.

Ground Range: 72 feet between half-power points.
These results are in general agreement with those obtained via use of

the resolution test array.

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PASS 30

3

WURTSMITH AFB, MICHIGAN

y

FIGURE 1.6.3



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through a proper prf selection. The latter feature re-
lieves the storage requirements imnosed on the system and
also guarantees the transmitter will be inoperative while

the returns of interest are arriving at the receiver.

Effects of Receiver Gain Changes

As was discussed under AGC effects above, the radar cross-
sections of the various types ot targets which one mght
wish to image range over several orders or magnitude. It
is not vractical to construct a receiver having a dynamic
range adequate to permit imaging of such a collection of
targets in a linear fashion. The elements which limit

the system's dynamic range most severely (usually the
recorder) are normally preceded by circuitry which attempts
to control signal level in order to use the available dy-
namic range most effectively; an AGC is ane such circuit,
while a hard limiter is a second. The 2355 system incor-
porated an AGC which was in turn backed up by a number

of fixed-attenuation steps; in the event of AGC mal-
function, one of the fixed-gain steps could be chosene

The approximate effect of the AGC was to make the receiver
gain vary inversely proportionally to the RF power re-
ceived from a rectangular patch of terrain 10 n.mi. long
in the range dimension and abort 1 nami. in the azinmth

direction, the range boundaries being coincident with

6-90

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Clutterlock Behavior - The output of a voltage-controlled
oscillator (VCC), whose frequency is determined by the
instantaneous output of the clutterlock integrator, is
injected into a single sideband (SSB) modulator in the
receiver along with the video, the 552 output then being
arplied to a synchronous demodulator, The purpose of the
clutterlock and VCO is to keep the doppler spectrum of the
(corrected) video centered about a predetermined offset
frequency, When the instantaneous pitch and yaw orientations
of the vehicle are such that the doppler frequency is too
large, the VCO is commanded to reduce its frequency to
compensate the data, and vice versa, In doing so, it injects
a phase error into the target returns while’ correcting the
spectrum position. If the VCO output frequency is constant
or changing linearly over the pass length, no deleterious
effect on resolution is observed, The output of the
elutterlock is constrained from varying rapidly, through use
of an integrator with atime costant of the order of a few
seconds. The time constant of the integrator is determined
en the basis of expected vehicle rotation ad angular
acceleration rates, the widths of the 3-axis limit cycles,
and the radar parameters; the two values available in 2355

were 2,5 and 5 seconds, the former being used in the primary

xthe upper sideband being employed.

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radar returns, The diagonal going to the northwest consists

of more railroads and the associated facilities, The paralleling
major highway (to Los Angeles) can also be seen, especially
where it leaves the railroad and continues to slice through

the city block structure to east-west Van Buren Street. The
curving routes of the Grand Canal and the Arizona Canal can

be traced over most of their lengths,

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design or performance waivers on components, subsystems, end item
equipment, and ground support equipment, making recommendations
to SAFSP regarding approval of changes.

Review, analyze and make recommendations to achieve interchangea-
bility and compatibility of associated subsystem and equipment
designs formated by Associate Contractor,

Review the reliability programs established by the Associates to
assure consistency, quality and adequacy of effort.

Assist Program management in determinimg Program milestones,
design parameters, procurement techniques and releases.

Integrate AGE, GHE, Spares and all necessary flight support equip-
ment to provide flight test vehicle and flight vehicle readiness.
Perform the necessary techniques for integration of GAC Radar
equipment with LMSC payload antenna.

Perform qualification tests on payload system consisting of radar
subsystem, space structure subsystem and recovery subsystem.
Provide the necessary assistance in vre-flight planning and
programming, in-flight supnort analyses, nost-flight T/M anelyses
and preparation of preliminary and final ephemeris.

Prepare and release a final System Revort.

1.2.22 Goodyear Aerospace Corporation was assigned responsibilities as an
Associate Contractor to fulfill the following requirements to meet the P-lO
Program objectives:

o Perform the necessary functions to accomplish the design, develop-

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MOTHRALL FLEET NEAR WILMINGTON, NORTH CAROLINS :

FIGURE 1.6.9(a)



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lint sciences work = studies and research of a significant magnitude

yore conducted. It has been an objective in the preparation of Part IT

to allow the engineerir. perscniel who were involved in these development

provlens te record the effort and resrits in a manner which they considered

moet siimificant and valuacle, * as guidelines the statemerts

eon

ned in the roreword, ive Dusie data is inclugea in tris

report, wileh was deliberate’ ntended to be of a much broader and

mere thorough seope than a normal flight rencrt. The payload is described

ir this Lochheed repert in more detail than are the other sulsystems, by

use of excernts from the Goodyear Aerospace Corporation Program Kerort.

weheuules which rosvited therefron ase included for

recore purposes. The Air source prograa mamagrrert was extremely capavle

“roviedygeavle of ali delails causiny prograr delays. ihe resulting

jon given ta the partieipatin, contractors perndited the orderly

ereck

apavle oi predictable

and produced 2 syster

tion in croit.

t Part Ii] generally fellows the format of Part IL in recerding orbital per-

orincipal section ol Part II, Para. 3.l,

formance deta sy suusystem. The

ig utilized as an archive fer vayloac orbital data. The data incluled in

Part I1I has been as extensive as the economics of time and effort would

pernite

1-2

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The imagery has a signal-to-noise ratio which may
vary drastically across the swath width, being higher
on the side which corresponds to the intended coverage

2. Use of a radically incorrect prf leads to imaging of
tne edges of the illuminated swath with moderate
signal-to-noise ratio, and a total loss of imagery
at the center of the illuminated swath.

3. Changing the prf translates the range of the swath
being imaged.

4. Changing the prf causes a double-imaging of all
targets which were being illuminated at the time of
the switch, the intensity and resolution of each of
the two images being dependent on precise target
location but in any event being degraded as a result
of the switch. (An example of the double-imaging has
been found but is not presented in this report.)

The proper viewpoint toward the prf-selection problem is

the following: in order to view a particular target

area of interest, one mst first guarantee that it is

illuminated by the radar beam, and must then guarantee

the energy reflected from that target area will be proper-

ly displayed and stored on the vehicle recorder. The
first function required proper control of the attitude

of the radiated beam; the second can then be achieved

either through recording of all returning video, or

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| in Pass 9 at system time 29561.6 secs. ZT. The system
had been in P/L step 10 (prf = 8351 2 1 pps, interpulse
period = 119.32 t 0.02 nsec) prior to this time (i.e.,
right portion of image), and was then commanded to P/L
step 5 (prf = 855 t 1 pps, interpulse period = 116.90
£0.02 nsec). Prior to the switch, the transmission of

| the n®® pulse preceded reception and display of return
attributable to the (n - 17)*" pulse. A slight misalign-
ment of range gate and video existed at this setting.

At the new prf, the sweep was initiated far too early,
while return due to the (n - 16)* pulse was in fact
still arriving from the far range edge of the illuminated
swath; the sweep then continued while the radar return

strength decayed to a level dictated by the upper cutoff

characteristic of the main elevation beam and then grew
again as a result of energy from the (n - 17)th pulse,
starting to appear at a level dictated by the lower cut-
off characteristic of the main elevation beam. Finally,
by the time energy due to the (n - 17)*® pulse was retum-
ing from ranges within the main elevation lobe, the sweep
was almost complete. The combination of a sufficiently
narrow elevation beamwidth and lack of highly reflective
targets near the beam edges caused the central part of

the image to have negligible signal level.

The total effect is evident from an examination of the

6-85

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Figure 1.6.1) Summary

Phoenix, Arizona: Pass 9

System Time: 29537.8(ON) - 29542.2(H.V. ON) ZT, 22 December 196h
Local Time and Date: 1:12 A.M. MST, 22 December 196)

Local Surface and Weather Conditions:

Clear, temperature eer, dew point 13°, visibility 15 miles.

No frontal activity, winds 5 mph or less, area in high

pressure region. Surface dry.

Vehicle Attitude Behavior:

Pitch: Had just completed positive-going swing, now
holding at edge of limit cycle.

Roll: Slightly to positive side of zero, slowly
returning to center of deadband.

Yaw: Undergoing negative-going yaw, about in
center of deadband.

Clutterlock Integrator Behavior (F60):

veo frequency output increasing roughly linearly, at

slightly under 0,1 Ke/sec, No jagged behavior.

RF Signal-to-Noise Ratio (Computed from F-53)

R F signal-to-noise ratio ranged from 11 to 13 db.

6=70

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FIGURE 1.6.3 (b) B-52 Aerial Wurtsmith AFB 11 March 1965


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Aeriel Photoyraphs

Figures 6-35a and 6-35b are aerial photographs of ‘furtsmith Air Force
Base, talen from a b-52 aircraft (Blackbird Project), on 11 March 1965,
at an altitude of 40,500 feet MSL. The camera utilized was an aerial
T-11, £6.3, frame camera with 6 inch focal lengti:. Shutter speed was
1/500 second, The camera resolution is approximately $0 lines/millireter.
Figure 1.6.3(a) is photographically reduced from the camera negative image

cize, to a scale factor which closely approximates the radar i:

age given

in Pigure 1.6.3. Figure 1.6.3(b) is a 2:1 enlargement of the aircraft camera
regotive. This SAC air base can be seen to contain four (4) aireraft

on the parking ramp (runway side), in the six parking areas, in a similer
pariins arrangement to that observed by the satellite radar. Further

stvdy of the two imaying methods reveal the complementary nature cf

radar imagery, to that of photography.

6-334

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1.5 System Description

The satellite vehicle utilized for this mission consisted of the
following subsystems:

Subsystem A (S5/A) = Structural

Subsystem B (SS/B) ~ Propulsion

Subsystem C (SS/C) = Electrical

Subsystem D (SS/D) - Guidance and Attitude Control

Subsystem C & C =~ Command and Control

Payload Subsystem

Recovery Subsystem
The above subsystems are described in some detail in Part II, Para. 2.1,
Satellite System Engineering; Para. 2.2, Radar Payload; and Para. 2.3,
Test, for the Recovery Subsystem. Since the Recovery Subsystem was
GFE, the effort was limited to test on that subsystem, and the
configuration description is confined to the information considered

necessary for understanding of system operation.

The satellite structure forward of the standard Agena vehicle interface
housed and supported the guidance system components, the radar payload

and associated power equipment and the recovery capsule,

The radar payload was developed for satellite application by Goodyear

Aerospace Corporation from the AN/UPQ-102 side looking doppler radar

utilized in the RF-)C aircraft, The radar components include: (1)

a Transmitter-Modulator, which is basically a high power R.F. pulse

amplifier; (2) an RF-IF unit, which generates a low power RF pulse
5-1

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PASS 14

FIGURE 1.6.1 RICHMOND, VIRGINIA;


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instead of S,

Wave structure is clearly seen on the ocean, with altered
wave forms close to shore, The effect of the escaping river
current can be seen over a 90° arc nearly 10 nmi, long and
extending 5.5 nmi. offshore. The major escape channel is not
at the nermal river mouth, but via a break in the coastal

barrier nearly a mile farther up the coast.

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1.6.1.3 The Resolution and Dynamic Range Test Array

Prior to the flight of 2355, a network of resolution test arrays was laid
out in such a manner that, with high probability, one would be imaged during
the first two days of operation, The test arrays consisted of radar corner
reflectors of four different crossections which were geometrically deployed
to permit estimates of azimuth resolution and ground-range resolution to be
made over the dynamic range of the system. One such array was successfully

imaged during Pass No, 8, at system time 2330.9 seconds on 22 December 1964.

The test array was located on one edge
err

was slightly misaligned with respect to the range/azimth grid generated as
a result of the actual orbit. A sketch of the orientation with respect to
the swath direction of the two larger sizes of corner reflectors is shown
in Figure 1.6.21. The azimuth spacings are 7.5, 15, 30, 50 and 100 feet,
whiel the ground-range spacings are 50, 85 and 200 feet. The resolution
predicted on the basis of design parameters and pre-flight tests was 10 to
15 feet in azimuth and 70 to 80 feet in ground range. Figure 1.6.22 shows
a pair of large-magnification prints of the reflector arrays as mapped by
the radar system; Figure (a) is heavily exposed and shows both the 10,000
ft? and 3000 ft? reflectors, the larger ones being quite badly overexposed;
while Figure (b), lightly exposed, shows only the returns from the 10,000
ft? ones. It is evident from the images that azimuth resolution was poorer
than 7.5 feet but better than 15 feet, while ground-range resolution is
estimated at 75 feet. The 100 ft2 reflectors (and marginally, the 10 ft2

reflectors) should have been above system threshold

6-112

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1.3 Program Objectives
Primary Mission Objective The primary objective of the orbital flight was

to demonstrate that a fine-resolution radar strip map of a portion of the

earth's surface can be generated through use of a satellite-borne synthetic~

aperture radar system. For the purpose of this demonstraticn a resolution

goal of 50 feet in azimuth and in slant range was established.

Secondary Mission Objectives A number of secondary objectives of scien-

tific and/or engineering significance were also established. Among these
are the following:
o Quantitatively evaluate the performance of the radar system,
with emphasis on azimuth-dimension behavior:
o Determine the performance limits imposed by:
» Payload design parameters
« Payload in-flight performance
« Vehicle attitude behavicr
+» Atmospheric conditions

+ WBDL design and performance

o Determine the reasons for any observed anomalous performance of
the system:

o Collect data on target-field reflectivity.

ce Develop engineering data useful for aerospace radar system
designs.

o Demonstrate the capability of the ground recording equipment to
record useful data received via the W3DL.

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PRE Adjustment Status:
The radar prf was 8449 pps during generation of this
image (P/L step 8). Range gate occurred at optimum time
and map intensity is well balanced without need for com-
pensation in the processor.

Seale Factors of Figure 3 Print:

Azimuth: 2.09 newi/inch
Ground Range: 3.48 n.smi/inch

Highlights of Imagery:
This SAC facility stands out unmistakably from its wooded
surroundings between Michigan's Lake Huron shore and the
Au Sable River, Many roads, including some little-travel-
ed ones, are seen as narrow gaps in the tree cover, although
some such gaps are power~line clearings. Two large areas
of cleared land show where the forest has given way to farm-
land, the outlines of many individual clearings correlating
very clesely with the outlines shown oy shading on the map.
Two dams and the reservoirs they form are readily detected
and identified, (The power distribution lines from the
hydroelectric plants are not evident against this high-
return background; they have been found emanating from some
other plants seen by this system in more open country. An
example of a steel-tower line can be seen in Figure 1.6.5.)

Some along-shore ice masks the true shore~line of Lake
Huron, especially in Tawas Bay. The automatic gain control

effect. is very pronounced in the region of Tawas Pointe

6-33

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Revort Numbering and Organization

The complete 2355 System Report is contained in three volunes.
Volume I = (PART I) - Summary
Volume IT - (PART II) - Engineering

Volune III - (PART III) - Flight Performance

The report paragraph numbering is in accordance with the following
convention:

First number indicates volume number

Second number indicates main paragraph numoer

Third number indicates a subparagraph

Fourth number indicates a further subdivision of a subparagraph

Figures are numbered consecutively within main paragraphs.

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doppler-shifted video while minimizing the generation of
ambiguous target responses; this is effected through use of

a voltage-conirolled oscillator driven by the output of the
clutterlock integrator, At turn-on, the ranés. yaw and pitch
biases in general cause the doppler spectrum to be misaligned
with rospect to its proper location, and the voltage-controlled
oscillator responds to correct the error, Similarly, this
oscillator also responds to pitch and yaw velocities and
accelerations subsequent to turn-on. Because the electrical
phase center of the antenna is close to the vehicle's mass
center, the angular motions of the vehicle do not directly
inject phase errors into the video return; therefore no direct
degradation of resolution or image signal-to-noise ratio resuits
from the vehicle rotations. The degradations appear as a
consequence of the steering of the voltage-controlled
oscillator; this is discussed in the next paragraph, The
vehicle attitude control is malyzed in detail in Part II,

Par. 3.3.

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Figure 1.6.6 Summary

Canyon and Mesa Terrain: Pass 9

System Time: 29556.3(0N)= 29560.6(H.V. ON) secs 2T, 22 December 196k
Local Time and Date: 1:13 A.M. MST, 22 December 194;

Local Surface and Weather Conditions:

Clear, temperature 46° F, dew point 43°, visibility
15 miles. No frontal activity, winds 5 mph or less,
area in high pressure region. Surface dry.
Vehicle Attitude Behavior
Pitch: Holding at positive edge of deadband.
Roll: Attitude had been slightly to positive
side of center, now settling across
center.
Yaw: Had been yawing negatively, about to
hit negative edge of deadband.
Clutterlock Integrator Behavior (F-60):

VCO reaching local maximum in frequency, some wandering.
RF Signal -to-Noise Ratio (Computed from F-53):

RF signal-to-noise ratio ranged from 11 to 14 db.

PR Adjustment Status:
The radar prf was 8381 pps during generation of this
image (P/L step 10). Range gate was occurring slightly
teo early and adjustment to a slightly lower prf

was in order; the uneven illumination across the swath

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o The experiment did not produce any evidence of phenomena which
would prevent future systems from realizing azimuth and ground-

range resolutions on the order of 10 feet,

o The satcllite-radar imagery contains many identifiable terrain

and culturel features of likely value for strategic reconnaissance.

o The flight data strongly indicates that comparable radar images
would be generated by aircraft-borne and satellite-borne radars
which have similar resolutions and signal-to-noise ratios, and
operate at similar depression angles. In particular, satellite
borne systems are not subject to the resolution limitations

normally imposed by platform instability in aircraft.

o Data recovered via a wide-band data link produced radar
imagery which was only slightly degraded with respect to that

produced from physically-recovered data.

o The criteria used in the design of the radar system provide a
firm basis for the design of future satellite redar systems

offerin;, improved performance.

o The use of an electronic clutterlock for steering the synthetic

beam was proven to be highly successful.
Recommendations It is recommended:

o That designs of future satellite-oorne radar systems be

based on the type of analytic model used successfully for

7-2

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three silver-zinc batteries, the output of which was converted and
regulated as required. The electrical capacity of the oatteries
limited the duration of the mission. The vehicle was commanded through
an S-Band beacon and returned data through two VHF telemetry links and

the wide band UHF data link.

After separation of the recovery capsule the vehicle was re-stabilized
in the horizontal plane and the payload was operated through the data
link until power depletion on orbits 72 - 73. The orbit decayed and
the vehicle re-entered on orbit 333 at 10272, 12 January 1965,

5-3

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AGG Effects - The radar reflectivity of patches of terrain,
which vary in character and may or may not include collections
of cultural targets, varies over a wide range of values. The
spread from the strongest to the weakest reflectivity depends
upon the size of the patch one wishes to consider; a typical
Spread might be of the order of 70 db (i.e., seven orders

of magnitude), This 70 db "dynamic range" of the target-field
reflectivity distribution exceeds the dynamic range of currently
available components in the receiver and recorder chain by
some 0 to 50 db. A simple fixed-gain receiver having a
necessarily-insufficient dynamic range can be adjusted to
operate somewhere between two limiting situations, one in
which "strong" targets are handled linearly but "weak" targets
and ground-painting are lost, and one in which grouni-painting
is preserved at the expense of overdriving the circuitry when
strong targets are present, this overdriving in turn leading
to such undesirable effects as false-target generation and
SNR degradation, An AGC provision permits one to adjust gain
to match local reflectivity conditions, thereby recapturing
some of the advantages of a larger-dynamic rmge fixed-gain
system. The performance of the AGC-equipped radar falls
short of that of the latter, however, when very strong and
very weak targets are in close azinuth-proximity to each other;

the return from the strong targets induces a receiver gain-

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6-3h

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The first eleven examples of radar imagery, Figures 1.6.1
through 1.6.11, hav: been selected to show a reasonably wide
variety of cultural and terrain features. Their image
quality is typical of the entire mission; these sanples have
been selected because their content is representative of
areas of potential military interest. These first eleven
images were all generated from the physically-recovered
video data, Corresponding U. S. Geological Survey maps are
presented with the radar imagery in instances where this is

useful.

Figure 1,6,12 is generated from video data transmitted via
the WEDL coincident in time with the generation of the data
film used to generate Figure 1.6.11; this comparison permits
the effects of the data link on image quality to be observed.
Figure 1.6.13 was generated from the same video data which
had been stored, upon reception via the WBDL, using the AMIE
tape recorder, and then played back onto the same ground-
based photographic recorder used in the generation of the
Figure 1.6.12 data. The comparison of Figure 1.6.12 ad
1.6.13 permits an evaluation of the effects of the AMIE to

be made,

Figures 1.6.1) through 1,6,20 illustrates effects which are
primarily of engineering interest in providing data for the

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FIGURE 1.6,10(c) SECOND SHIP IN PACIFIC

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Figure 1.6.1 Summary
Richmond, Virginia: Pass 1

System Time: 57968.6(0N) = 57973.0(H.V. ON) secs 2T, 22 December 1964
Local Time and Date: 11:96 A.M. EST, 22 December 196k

Local Surface and Weather Conditions:

Cround damp to dry. Overcast, tops of clouds at
2500 to L500 ft. No frontal activity.

Vehicle Attitude Behavior:

Pitch: Slowly negative-going near center of deadband.

Roll: Holding constant at center of deadband.
Yaw: Has just comnleted anproach to negative edge

of deadband, holding constant at edge.

Clutterlock Integrator Behavior (F-60):

On the basis of analog data only, the clutterlock output
held roughly constant over this time interval.
RF Signal-to-Noise Ratio (Computed from F-53):

The RF SNR was 1 to 15 db during generation of the image.

PRF Adjustment Status:
The radar prf was 8449 pps during generation of this

image (P/L Step 8). On the basis of the image intensity

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Figure 1.6.10 Summary
Ships in Pacific: Pass 16

System Time: Ships at 68713.1 and 68717.3 ZT, 22 December 194,
Local Time and Date: 11:05 A.M. PST, 22 December 196)

Local Surface and Weather Conditions:

Scattered heavy rain, winds from 200° at 26 to 30 knots.
Scattered cloud layer at 700-1000 feet, overcast at 1,00~
2500 feet. Layered clouds with tops at 35,000 feet.
Vehicle Attitude Behavior:
Pitch: Holding constant at positive edge of deadband,
Roll: Holding constant at positive edge of deadband,
Yaw: Vehicle starting to return slowly from positive
edge of deadband.
Clutterlock Integrator Behavior (F-60):

Oscillator output fluctuating slightly about a relatively
steady value.
RF Signal-to-Noise Ratio (Computed from F-53):

The RF signal-to-noise ratio due to the water return in the
vicinity of the ships ranged from 7 to 8 db. Measurements of
the returning power level were taken at the rate of one sample
every 1.2 to 1.3 seconds, and none of the samples in this time
interval showed a significant increase in return power due to
the vessels themselves. The duration of each sampling period ;

was about 0,017 seconds.

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PRF Adjustment Status:

The radar orf was 8449 pps during generation of this
image (P/L sten 8). Range gate occurred at ontimum time;
image intensity therefore constant acress range interval,
end no cormernsation in the nrocessor was necessary.

Seale Factors of Figure h Print:

Agimuth: 2.99 nami/inch
Ground Range: 3.48 n.mi/inch

Highlights of Imagery:
The display shows the division of this highway intc east-
bound and westbound lanes. The actual senarstion is
sometimes very large, and the inter-lane return can be
seen with the naked eye. But even where the division
lessens, use of a magnifier will show that there is
paired structure along nearly all of the displayed vortion
of the turnpike. The complex structure of the valley of
the Cuyahoga River is shown by shadings which are proba-~
bly due to vegetation variations as mech as to slopes.
Other highways, railroads, cultivation natterns, and
small lakes are recognizable. The outskirts of Cleveland

reach into the right-hand end of the display.

6-37

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PRE Adjustment Status:
The radar prf was 8381 pps during generation of this image

(P/L step 10). The range-gate occurrence was not properly
synchronized with the returning video--the former was too early.
A reduction in prf and consequent increase in interpulse time
would have led to a better coincidence. The poor image intensity
distribution was partially compensated in the optical processor.
Scale Factors of Figure 1.6.10 Prints:

Figures 1.6610(a)_ ad 1.6610(c)
Azimuth: 2.09 nemi/inch
Ground Range: 3048 nemi/inch

Figures 1.6.10 (b) and 1.6.10(4)

Azimuth: 100 ft/mn
Ground Range: 166 ft/mn

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interesting, for it indicates the directions of the forces
acting on the floe. The preliminary interpretation is
that this 25-square mile sheet was formed in contact with
the shore ice seen to its north, then broke off and moved
away to the west or the south. Its eastern tip was caught
by the island, causing the floe to break up under tension
along its southern edge, but under compression along its
northern edge. These stresses onened half-mile-wide leads
inte the one edge, while crushing and overlaying the
broken pieces of the other. As must be the case for milti-
ple tension fractures to occur, those farthest from the
island "anchor" occurred first, as shown by their greater

amounts of widening since fracture.

Other returns worth noting in this figure include navi-
gational light structures at Vienna Shoal and off
Waugoshance Island, plus a ship-like return about 2 nemi.

south of the latter.

Weather Effects

During Pass 16, the radar encountered the most severe
weather experienced during the entire mission. Heavy
rain was in progress along the California coast. There
were scattered clouds at 700 to 1000 feet, and heavy over-
cast from 1100 to 2500 feet. The clouds were in layers

extending to 35,000 feet. Winds were from the South, at

6-98

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Figure 1.0.18 Rain Cells

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Comments _on Resolution - A key purpose of the 2355 flight was
to demonstrate the realization of fine azimuth resolution
using an orbital synthetic-aperture radar system; a great deal
of attention was therefore devoted to minimizing errors

which would unnecessarily degrade azimuth resolution. The
radar system had the inherent potential to achieve resolution
Somewhat finer than 10 feet in azimuth, provided that atmos-
pheric comiitions and system malfunctions did not inject
excessive degradations. Range resolution, on the other had,
was limited by the bandwidth of the electronics, which had

been patterned after the AN/UPQ-102 radar system for reasons

dictated by expediency; the most optimistic estimate of
achievable slant-range resolution was of the order of 36 feet,
which in turn implied a ground-range resolution of 60 feet

at the design depression angle. Improvement of the range
resolution to make it comparable with the expected azimuth
resolution was not warranted, since it would not have
affected the denonstration of the synthetic-aperture feasi-
bility, and would have entailed considerable expense and

delay.

The radar imagery generated from video data collected dwing
the 2355 flight has a ground-range resolution of approximately
75 feet, and a azimuth resolution of the order of 10 feet

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1.€.1.3 Image Cuality Degradation
The image quality presented in Paragraphs 1.6.1.1 and 1.6.1.2 preceding,
suffers degradation from that available at the processor output, as

mentioned on Page 6-12.

To enable the reader to better evaluate a photographic enlargement of
selected terrain, glossy prints of the follewing areas are included, with
the reference pages listed for comparison with the smaller scale prints
previously shown on semi~gloss paper:

Richmond, Virginia Page 6-27

Wurtsmith AFB, Michigan Page 6-35

Mothball Fleet, Wilmington, N.C. Page 6-61

Pt. Reyes, California Page 6-101

In addition, an enlargement of a section of the doppler history data
film is provided, which supplerents the smaller scale doppler print

appearing in Volume II, Page 4-5.

6-116

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this design, and upon the data obtained during this orbital
flight.

o That future systems be designed to provide ground-range
resolution more nearly equal to azimith resolution, and to

produce output images of higher signal-to-noise ratio.

o That the dynamic range requirements of elements of future
systems be carefully reviewed on the basis of data collected

during this experiment,

o That an evaluation be made of various means for post-launch
adjustment of the radar beam's depression angle, in order to

provide for viewing of pre-selected target areas.

o That future orbiting systems utilize improved techniques to
assure time-alignment of the returning radar energy with the

recorder range~-gating.

o That an evaluation be made, with respect to their implications
for orbiting systems, of various means for obtaining acceptable

imagery over wider range intervals,

o That future experimental orbiting systems incorporate power
sources which are adequate for extended-duration missions,

as required for operational applications.

o That all future systems be provided witn film time-coding to

facilitate data evaluation.

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1.2 Propran Organization

1.2.1 Program Management - Background

sased on an earlier proposal to the Air rorce, Lockheed tiissiles and Space
Company was awarded a contract in Novemoer 192, to place in orbit a
coherent, side-looking radar system. The contract specivied that Lockheed
{System Associate Contractor) would provide overall systens engineering and
technical direction of the program, as well as the Agena and its various

subsystems (power, command and control, telemetry, etc.). fF

HE «:2<:--: Associa'e Contractor) was made responsible for design-
ing the experiment, designing and constructing the optical correlator for
processiij; the raw radar data, and evaluating the data obtained from the
experinunt. Goodyear Aerospace Corporation (Associate Contractor) was assign
ed the task of providing the payload hardware as well as participating in
the experiment design, test and operaticn. The contrzct specified that
two vehicles should be launched (2355 and 2356). The payload for 2357 was
to be prepared. The payloads of each of the vehicles were to be essentially
identical; the first vehicle orijjinally was scheduled to be launched in

April 1964. Figure 1.2.1.1 depicts the program manayement structure.

1.2.2 Contractor itesponsibilities

1.2.2.1 Lockheed ~ System Associate Contractor ~ was assigned the responsi-
bility of providing System Engineering and Technical Direction to the P-lO
Program, subject to the overall management of the Secretary of the Air Force,

Special Projects (SAFSP).

In addition to system management the Program Office was responsible for

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to-noise ratio was undoubtedly reduced as a result of these
conditions, One notable omission in the sampling of weather
conditions stems from the fact that no strong frontal activity
or unstable air masses were present along the flight paths;
effects which might be associated with summer storms were there-

fore not observed,

A more detailed analysis of the weather situation will be

presented in the final evaluation report to be released by

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obtained with the receiver in fixed high-gain modes will
help to settle the questicn of degree of vermissible

limiting in future system.

Although the primary nurpose of showing Figure 1.6.16
was to illustrate the AGC behavior, the image content is

suffiently interesting to warrant some additional remarks.

Several forms of fresh-water lake ice are evident in this
display of upper Lake Michigan, and the recent motion of
one large area of floating ice cen also be inferred.
Crounded, shore-locked ice rather thoroughly masks the
forms of the shorelines of Waugoshance Point and its
island extensions. However, similar ice on the southern
shore of Michigan's upper peninsula is more distinct
from the land return in that area. Both land regions are
wooded, but the AGC actions may have been different at
these two times. The distinctly outlined dark erea off
Sturgeon Bay Point may represent new smooth ice; the
strong-return area just north of it certainly gives an
impression of crushed pieces, as does the brilliant re-
turn area located on the radar display where the word

Straits appears on the map.
The breakage pattern of the large floe extending across

the entire swath from St. Helena Island is extremely

6-97

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for the transmitter and receives and compresses the reflected radar
pulse; (3) a Reference Computer which generates timing and control
signals, SF pulses for transmission, synchronously demodulates the
received intermediate frequency to provide video data and performs
electronic beam steering to a zero doppler position; (4) a Power
Control Unit, which controls and switches power and generates regulated
voltages necessary for the radar; and (5) a Kecorder which records the
received video from the Reference Computer on film by exposure from
the face of a cathode ray tube. The filn, containing the doppler
history of each target, is returned by the recovery capsule. Simultaneously
the video data from the Reference Computer is transmitted by means of
an ¥.F, data link to the tracking stations, and recorded in a similar

film recorder.

The high power outout pulse of the radar was transmitted through a
flat, phased array, antenna mounted on the side of the satellite with
the beam oriented perpendicular to the vehicle longitudinal axis and
at a 55 degree depression angle below norizontal. The beam width was
386 degrees in the azimuth direction and 2.9 degrees in the vertical
direction at the half power points. The satellite was rotated 180
degrees after injection into orbit (positioned for recovery pitch down)
and was stabilized in a horizontal plane. During the payload operating
passes the horizon sensors were disconnected and the satellite was
precisely stabilized under fine attitude control by the inertial

reference packaze gyros. ‘he system was supplied electrical power by

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Primary Vehicle Objectives The launch chase primary vehicle test ob-

jective was to inject the Agena (SS-O1A) into a near circular orbit so that
| the satellite altitude would be 130 1 13 nautical miles when passing between
30°N and 70°N geodetic latitudes with an orbit plane inclination of 70 *

0.25 degrees.

The orbit phase vrimary vehicle test objectives were:

o To maintain, during the minimum crdit life of 65 orbits, a

stabilized horizontal attitude with the following tolerances

i

(-Z axis up and -X axis forward):
+ Deadband 0.15 * 0.07 degrees, all axes

. Bias uncertainty t 0.l, degrees, all axes

+ Maximum pitch rate 9.992 degrees/second
« Maximum roll rate 0.005 degrees/second
. Maximum yaw rate 9.003 degrees/second

o To yaw the vehicle to a bins angle of 2.1), 4 9.3 degrees to the
left and to the right in response to cormands.

o To provide electrical power to sustain payload and vehicle life
for a minimum of 65 orbits.

o To command and control vehicle and payload operation.

© To obtain data requirea for the generation and verification of

commands to control vehicle and payload operaticn.

The recovery phase primary vehicle test objectives were:
o To orient the SS-OlA to a proper nose down attitude, separate the

recovery capsule at the proper time and provide retro-thrust to

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Reports By Participating Contractors

The complete system description and performance evaluation is contained
in reports issued by the three contractors. These are listed here for
reference by the reader:
Lockheed Missiles and Space Company:
Title: 2355 System Report, dated 31 March 1965.
Volume I - Summary
Volume II - Engineering

Volume III - Flight Performance

Goodyear Aerospace Corporation:
Title: Program Report, KP-II Orbital Doppler Radar, Thor/

Agena Satellite Program, dated 1 March 1965.

Title:

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Figure 1.6.20 Range Ambiguity

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Pigure 1.6.15 Five-Step PRF Change

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FIGURE 1.6.6 LIGONIER, INDIANA:


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efficient design of future systems. One of these also shows

the effects of severe weather on the radar performance.

A brief discussion of the effects of certain system behavior
on image quality is necessary, prior to presentation of the

image samples.

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ment, procurement, manufacture, and develonment testing of the
radar subsystem, not including the antenna, takeup reel, data
link, interconnecting cabling, or the waveguide.

o Design, develop and provide the necessary ground support equipment
to meet the Program objectives, including all payload test equip~
ment for payload units and system test sets for the nayload as a
subsystem.

o Participate in the radar subsystem acceptance at LMSC facility.

o Perform the retrofits, modifications and maintenmce of the radar
subsystem.

o Recommend readiness and provide certification of the radar sub-
system prior to systems test and launch.

o Furnish wooden mock-ups for LMSC integrated mockupe

o Perform the development and acceptance testing of the radar sub-
system.

o Assist in the qualification testing of the payload system in
regard to the radar subsystem at Lockheed. Perform the necessary
payload qualification at Goodyear.

o Recommend and provide the necessary spares for the radar sub-
system to give adequate backup to the Program.

o Determine the need for, and provide the necessary tools, jigs, and
similar items needed to install, check and adjust all components,
subassembly, and assembly of the radar subsystem during the sub-
system assembly and checkout.

© Provide film recorders for tracking station data link recording.

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operating mode.

At payload turn-on the initial misalignment of the antenna
beam with the zero-doppler direction causes the VCO to be
driven toward the correct compensating frequency, at a rate
determined by the integrator circuitry as well as the magnitude
of the initial error. If the rate of change of frequency is
approximately linear at this time then the following occurs:

o The doppler spectrum is gradually translated,

at a constant rate, to its proper position, and

unambiguous imagery develops; and

o The VCO injects a quadratic phase error inté the

target histories; a processor adjusted for optimum

processing on the basis of the video data being

collected at this time is then improperly adjusted

for later times for which the rate has changed, ad

defocusing occurs unless a subsequent processor

adjustment is made.

Once the initial misalignment error is compensated by the
oscillator, the VCO behavior will be dominated by the
following factors:
o The vehicle rotates in 3 axes within certain
deadbands; the pitch and yaw rotations translate the

doppler spectrum, the clutterlock senses the error

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DataeLink Video Data
Azimith Resolution: 10 to 15 feet
Ground Range Resolution: 100 to 150 feet
Data Link/AMIE Stored Video

Azimith Resolution: 10 to 15 feet
Ground Range Resolution: About 200 feet

We note that azimith resolution is not degraded, but that
range resolution is somewhat degraded by the data link characteristics
and still further degraded by the effective bandpass characteristic
of the AMIE recorder.

For the purpose of making a three-way comparison, the
imagery of Phoenix derived from the three video sources has been
selected. Figure 1.6.11 above showed the result of processing
the physically-covered data. Figure 1.6.12 shows the corre-
sponding image, its generation being identical to that of Figure
1.6.11 with the exception of the use of the Data Link video.
Figure 1.6.13 was similarly generated from the data link video
stored on the AMIE. The degradation of range resolution from
1.6.11 to 1.6.12 is not immediately apparent because the limiting
resolution of the paper print itself masks the difference, which
ide evident on original output transparencies, The additicnal
degradation due to the AMIE is discernible to the eye.

The imagery of Figures 1.6.11 to 1.6.13 shows a reduction
in dynamic range as we progress from Recovery to Data Link

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FIGURE 1.6.10(d) | CLOSEUP OF SECOND SHIP

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°

1.626203

Assign field versonnel to LMSC to assist in nerforming the
necessary modifications and tests to assure technical integrity
and technical carability of the radar subassembly and payload

vehicle,

fF was assigned responsibilities as an Associate

Contractor to perform the following tasks:

oO

Provide technical advice and assistance to Lockheed Missiles and
Space Compeny and Goodyear Aerospace Corpe, in the areas of pay-
lead design and establishment of system requirements for flight
operation.

Design and build an advanced optical correlator for processing the
payload data.

Process (correlate) the payload data from the recovery capsule

and the wideband data link.

Perform payload data analysis and evaluation, including system per-
formance evaluations against predictions.

Issue a comprehensive report covering all work performede

1.263 Security
The Program requirements for security were established by SAFSP | |
and are graphically portrayed in Fig. 1.2.3.1, Security Concept, on the

next page.

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Effects of the Data Link and the AMIE Recorder
The video collected via the Wide Band Data Link can be

expected to produce radar imagery which is somewhat degraded

in range resolution and in dynamic range with respect to the
imagery generated from the physically-recovered data. The
video stored on the AMIE recorder will be more severely degraded,
and will theretore yield radar imagery which is still poorer.
The range resolutions which are realized from the Data Link

and the Data Link/AMIE data are determined by the effective
video bandwidths of the devices, and these values are indepen-
dent of the location of the satellite with respect to the
controlling tracking station. ymamie range, on the other hand,
is dependent uron the video signal-to-noise ratio of the data
link, and this varies witn the satellite elevation angle and
slant range from the station,

An estimate of the azimuth-and range-resolution capabilities
of the system in all three modes was made by examining the
imagery of the corner reflector array viewed on Pass No. 8.

The results are as follows:
Physically Recovered Data
Azimuth Resolution: 10 to 15 fect

Ground Range Resolution: 75 feet

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1.60162 Imagery of Engineering Interest

Figures 1.6.1) through 1.6.20 have been selected to illustrate a number
of system effects which are primarily of engineering interest, but which
manifest themselves in radar imagery generated by a system of the 2355
design, Some of these effects can easily be reduced in magnitude through
design changes which would probably be included in any future systen

design. Others are not so easily removed. The effects illustrated are

the following:

o Effects on the imagery of prf changes, and both minor and major
misalignments of the range gate with the returning video (Figures
1.6.14 and 1.6.15);

o Effects on the imagery of the response of the AGC feature to radi-
cal differences in the radar reflectivities of two or more extended
terrain areas which are imaged by the radar (Figure 1.6.16);

o The comparative effects on the imagery of using either of two

different receiver gain settings when the system is functioning in
the fixed-gain mode (Figure 1.6.17);

© The effects of severe weather on the imagery (Figure 1.6.18);

o The appearance of azimuth and range ambiguities, and the relation-
ships of their apparent locations to those of the reflecting
physical objects which induce these ambiguities (Figures 1.6.19
and 1.6.20).

A brief discussion of each effect and its cause accompanies each imagery
sample.

6-80

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Figure 1.6.17(b) = Mamual Gain Change - Processor Output Film - Exposure Fitted
to Weakly Amplified Returns,


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Figure 1.6.5 Summary

Ligonier, Indiana: Pass 8

System Time: 24295.0(QN) = 24299.3(H.V. ON) secs ZT, 22 December 196k
Local Time and Date: 1:h5 A.M. EST, 22 December 196L

Local Surface and Weather Conditions:

Ground wet, melted snow and ice. Light fog, visibility
2-3 miles, temnerature 30°, dew point 29°F. Cvercast,
ceiling few hundred feet. No important frontal activity.
Temperature inversion at 2500 feet.

Vehicle Attitude Behavior:

Pitch: Constant, to positive side of deadband center.
Roll: Constant, slightly to negative side of dead-

band center.

Yaw: Undergoing positive yaw, toward positive side
of deadband center but not yet at edge of limit
cycle.

Clutterlock Integrator Behavior (F-60):

VCO output frequency decreasing rapidly with jagged
reversal in vicinity of region shown.

RF Signal-to-Noise Ratio (Computed from F-53):

RF SNR about 10 db,

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was partially compensated during the optical
processing,

Scale Factors of Figure 6 Print:

Aginuth: 2.10 nymi/inch
Ground Range: 3.48 nomi/inch

Highlights of Imagery:
These canyons which cut into a relatively flat plateau
are located about 80 miles north and 20 miles east of
Phoenix, Arizona, The importance of viewing radar
imagery with the radar's near-range upward can be
seen by rotating this page 180°, putting far-range
upward, (Also compare the isolated mountain ridges
shown in Figure 1.6.11.) The map shadings represent-
ing forestation are not matched by tones on the dis-
play. This contrasts with the clearly identifiable
shapes of woodlots and clearings that are seen in

Midwestern areas (for example, Figure 1.6.3).

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DECLAS

1. Mission Description

The mission of Vehicle 2355 was to place in orbit a coherent X-Band, side-
looking radar system payload in order to obtain a high resolution terrain
map. The payload was to be operated in realtime under command of the
Vandenberg and New Hampshire Satellite Tracking Stations. Operation of the
payload was to be limited to the Continental United States. The SS-O1A
vehicle was to be injected into a near circular orbit so that the altitude
over the areas to be recorded would be approximately 130 nautical miles.
Precise attitude stabilization of the vehicle would then orient the radar
antenna so that the main lobe of the radar beam would be at a fixed depres-
sion or look angle of 55° from the horizontal, thereby illuminating a swath
approximately 10 nautical miles wide at a distance of 93 nautical miles to

the left of the satellite ground track.

The data obtained from the payload was in the form of target echoes which
were synchronously demodulated to preserve both phase and amplitude of the
signals. These signals, which constitute the raw radar map Data or doppler
history of the illuminated terrain, were recorded photographically on film
in a recoverable capsule aboard the satellite. Simultaneously, these
signais were transmitted over the Wide Band Data Link to the tracking
stations where they were again recorded photogrephically on film by ground
based recorders and also electronically on wide band magnetic tape recorders
The film recorded in the satellite was to be recovered in the Pacific Ocean
area by means of air catch of a recovery capsule. Figure 1. portrays the

payload operating swaths and the tracking stations zero and five degrees

elevation circles of coverage.

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AMIE video. The photographic recorders used in the vehicle and
in the ground stations had dynamic ranges of the order of 20 db.
At the system time under consideration, the elevation angle of
the vehicle with respect to VIS was 10 degrees, and the dynamic
range of the data link, as limited by ite signal-to-noise ratio,
was of the order of 20 to 23 db. The dynamic range of the
cascaded data link and recorder was about 17 dod. It is evident
from the marked degradation of image quality from Figure 1.6.12
to 1.6.13 that the AMIE dynamic range was poor by comparison
with this latter value.

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: 1.6 System Performance - The system performance was faultless
throughout the orbital mission, until battery depletion on
Orbit 72 - with the exception of minor unexplained voltage
disturbances on Orbits 8 md 9. This section presents the
significant payload operating information, radar imagery samples
and discussions of the payload performance, preceded by a

| brief summary of system parameters and performances

| Launch
Date: 21 December 196), Time: 19082562
Location: Launch Complex 75-1l-1, Vandenberg AFB
Vehicle: LV=2A #425 SS-O1A #2355
orbit "Predicted Actual
| Period (MIN) 89 ob 89.66
| Perigee (N.M.) 130 135.82
Apogee (N.M.) 15k 157
Inclination (deg.) 70.0 70.11
Eccentricity 0003 20036
Active Orbits 65 13
Recovery 65 33
Payload Operations 13 Ww

| Area recorded as fine resolution radar imagery:
approximately 70,000 square miles. (nautical).

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A close inspection of the outout transparencies recorded
at the two different exposure levels would show that the
exposure which provides adequate ground painting has de-
graded resolution in the strong-target complex. This
degradation occurs at the output recording stage, partly
as a consequence of "blooming" of bright fine resolution
images unless special fine-grain but slow emulsions are
employed, and vartly as a result of tne point-target side-
lobes being sufficiently intense to reach the saturation
level of film. The fact that the large dynamic range
associated with the reflectivity of a scene including
both agricultural terrain and an industrial complex
exceeds the dynamic range of some of the system elements,

is illustrated by this sample of imagery.

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achieved, The second determination was made via a measurement
of the two-dimensional response of the system to a strong
isolated target which was imaged near the southern end of
Pass 30, The system impulse response determined directly at
the output of the optical processor, had a half-power width
of 10 feet in azimuth and 72 feet in ground range.

The test-array measurement will be discussed further in

Par. 1.6.2 below.

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The receiver's range gate was adjusted to record data from
the strip above the cross-hatch, more or less centered

on Mobile, Arizona. The range gate was somewhat misalign-
ed with respect to the video; the peak of the elevation
beam was probably centered on the upper edge of the cross-
hatch, so that the mountains near the lower edge of the
reproduced section of USGS map were reflecting excessive
radar energy back to the receiver. The signal reflected
from the mountain in response to the n®® pulse was reach-
ing the receiver in time coincidence with energy reflected
from the near-range (upper edge of swath) in response to
the (n + 1)5* pulse; both were, of course, accepted by the
receiver, displayed, and recorded on the signal film.

The resulting image shows the mountains displaced to the
upper edge of the desired swath. The prf at this time
was 8381 pps; neglecting relief, the displacement is cal-
exzlated to be 16.5 n.mi. The height of the mountain and
the change in incidence angle across this full width
introduce an error of a few tenths of a mile into this
estimate. The observed displacement is in reasonable
agreement with the calculation. Careful comparison of
the structure of the image versus the map contours also
identifies these mountains as the source of these image
elements which clearly are not derived from the flat

terrain of the desired swath.

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Figure 1.6.4 Summary

Ohio Turnpike Crossing; Pass 30
System Time: 5747305(ON) - 57478.0(H.V. ON) secs ZT, 23 December 196

Local Time and Date: 10:58 A.M. FST, 23 December 196b

Local Surface Weather Conditions:

Ground wet from recent rain. Light rain showers in
progress, fog. Winds st 10 knots. Visibility one mile.
Overcast at 500 to 1000 feet. Cloud tops at 9 ~ 19,000
feet.

Vehicle Attitude Behavior:

Pitch: Holding constant, somewhat nositive with
respect to deadband center.

Poll: Slowly rolling toward positive side, about in
center of deadband.

Yaw? Had reached positive edge of limit cycle
shortly before, now slowly negative-going
away from positive edge.

Clutterlock Integretor Behavior (F-60):

Holding roughly constant with scme fluctuation in output.

IF Signal-to-Noise Ratio (Computed from F-53):

signal-to-noise ratio about 15 to 16 db.

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Range-ambiguous returns may anpear on the output imagery
if strong targets at certain distances outside the desired
swath are excessively illuminated. Ambiguous-range
targets are imaged at their correct azimuth positions

but at erroneous slant ranges, the slantrange error being

where c is the velocity of propagation of the radar signal.
In flat terrain, the ground-range error is related to the

slant-range error by

= 1
€ €
Ry cos @ Ry

where @ is the angle of incidence. Earth curvature
introduces a slight error into this expression; terrain
relief, especially in mountainous regions, introduces a

much larger one.

Figure 1.6.20 shows an example of a radar image upon
which ambiguous images of mountains were found super-
imposed. This image was generated on Pass 9, over the
system time interval 29531.1 to 29935.3 secs ZT on
22 December 1961. The scale factors for this radar image
are as follows:

Azimuth: 2.50 nemi/inch

Ground Range: 1.27 n-mi/inch

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basis of one sample every 1.25 seconds. However, over
the time interval of interest, the Ti data shows a vari-
ation in return RF power from -90 dbm to -79 dbm, the
latter value being reached on the first sample after
passage into Michigan's Upper Peninsula and the offshore
ice at the northern end of Lake Michigan (left-hand end
of image). The variation in receiver gain during this
time is estimated at 10 db, with maximum gain obviously
corresponding to the "noisy" region midway between
Wilderness State Park and the ice in the Straits and off
Pointe Aux Chenes. A fixed-gain receiver properly adjust-
ed to yield good ground-painting would have yielded an
image of the water as devoid of return as are the water
regions mapped concurrently with the land. Similarly,

it might also have failed to show the wave structure seen

in a previous image, Figure 1.6.10.

A comparison of the ground-painting achieved by the radar

in two different fixed-gain settings is shown in Figures
1.6.17(a) and (b). ‘This imagery was generated on Pass ll,
and the gain change, from Position k to Position 3, occurred
at system time 28735.9 secs. This change effected an in-
crease of about 7 db in the gain of the receiver. The

two prints are made from output transparencies which are

processed to different exposure levels. Figure 1.6.17(a)

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PART I
Report Abstract

1.1 INTRODUCTION

This report is divided in three parts. Part I is an abstract containing
those system parameters and performance factors of principal interest to
a reader whose time may not permit a thorough review of the entire report.
The System Description and System Performance are treated in mch greater
detail in Part II and Part III respectively; however, Program Management-
Background, Program Objectives, Mission Description and Conclusicns and
Recormendations are contained entirely in Part I. The high interest con-
tent of the radar imagery dictated placing extensive examples in Part I.
The fine resolution radar imagery, the imagery of engineering interest and
the summary of data and performance pertaining to each item were provided

for the System Report by Grateful acknowledg-

ment is made for this contribution.

Part II is devoted to the technical aspect of the program development and
discusses primarily those items which were peculiar to the satellite
application of the radar payloads An adequate knowledge of the basic Agena
vehicle and subsystems is assumed. In the course of solving the several
developmental problems which were encountered - mounting of heavy and dense
components, high voltage power supplies, fine attitude control, use of a

wide band video data link, a new radar antenna design and the associated

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PRF Adjustment Status:

The radar prf was 8381 pps during generation of this image
(P/L step 10), The range gate occurred too early with respect
to the returning video; a change to a reduced prf, hence ine
creased interpulse time, was required, The imbalance in image
intensity was partially cempensated in the optical processor,

Scale Factors of Figure 1.6.11 Print:

Aginuth: 2.10 nemi/inch

Ground Range: 3.48 nomi/inch
Highlights of Imagery:

The second time the orbiting system was turned on, it
promptly caught Phoenix, Arizona, practically centered in the
swath, the display being filled by this extensive metropolitan
area. Obvious features in the display are the two ranges of
mountains that constrict the city to North and South, the wide
bed of the Gila River crossing the southern half of the city,
and the cultivated rural area fringing it on the west, The
large dark block at the top of the display is Sky Harbor Airport.
The most obvious traffic route is the express highway which
leaves the southwest corner of the airport, parallels the rive-
to mid-range, then proceeds due north except for two westward
jogs of a few thousand feet each, The railroad along the
northern edge of Sky Harbor can be traced across the swath by

the associated industrial construction, which gives brilliant

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reduction, and ground=painting ani weak targets at nearby
azimuth locations are lost. Examples of this effect will be
seen later in radar imagery of shorelines. The lack of
sufficient dynamic range will also be evident in imagery which
contains agricultural areas close to a strong industrial target

complex.

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D. Ambiguous Images
Under certain conditions, the radar imagery will contain

| target indications which are misplaced in azimuth or in
range. The "ambiguous" target images are manifestations
of the general "radar ambiguity problem" which will be
covered in the evaluation report,
| and which is a leading consideration in the design of
satellite radar system. For the purposes of this report
it is sufficient to say that strong reflectors will yield
not only a target indication at the correct range and
: azimth coordinates, but also at a number of other range
and azimuth coordinate pairs. The energy associated with
these ambiguous indications is always mich smaller than
the correct (non-ambiguous) indications due to these same
targets, but is not necessarily smaller than the energy
associated with the resolution cells upon which they are
super-imposed. The only significant ambiguities for our
purposes are the pair known as the "first focused azimuth

ambiguities" and another pair known as the "first range

ambiguities.”

The first focused azimuth ambiguities corresponding to a
point target at coordinates (X, R)) will appear at

locations
- (% +A, 2) and (h -4, R)

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FIGURE 1.6.12 RADAR IMAGE OF PHOENIX GENERATED FROM DATA LINK VIDEO


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1.6.1.1 Typical Imagery - The following examples of imagery were
generated from physically-recovered video data, and are typical of

the recovery results obtained on the first seven operating passes.

The processor was optimized for each image to the extent possible.

The remarks made earlier with respect to resolution and dynamic

range must be repeated here: the paper prints degrade resclution

in both dimensions for the scale factors appropriate to this
report, and cannot preserve, at any scale factors, the dynamic
range available in the optical inage at the processor output prior
to recording, or in the photographic transparencies generated by

this optical image.

The imagery presented in this section 1s intended for viewing with
orientation show in Figure 1.6.0; it can easily be seen through
an exanination of Figure 1.6.6 that this orientation preserves

a natural appearance of relief in mountainous regions. Increasing
system time corresponds to motion from right to left along the
imagex. The times of various events have been established to

within 0.1 second relative to the system time.

lhe increase of system time from right to left is a necessary
consequence of illuminating a swath to the left of the vehicle's
ground track, if we also wish to preserve the usual clockwise
sequence of the North, Zast, South and West cardinal directions.
A system which looked to the right and preserved the clockwise
sequence would generate imagery with increasing time from left
to right.

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