Patent Document ID: 7786925
Application ID: 12464931
Patent Status: 1

Claim One:
1. A method for determining the shape of an object in an Earth orbit, said method comprising the steps of: operating a radar system to determine the range, azimuth and elevation of the object relative to the radar; deploying an optical telescope at a location at which it is capable of viewing the region in which said object is located and which has a known relationship to the location of the radar; pointing said optical telescope toward said object, thereby producing an image of background stellar objects in an angular field of view encompassing said object; providing a memorized representation of at least some of the stellar objects in said angular field of view; comparing said image of background stellar objects with said memorized representation of the stellar objects as they would be expected in an unocculted field of view, to thereby identify some of those stellar objects which are occulted by said object; and using a computer processor, determining an outline of the object from said occulted and unocculted stellar objects.