Simulating range-amplitude returns for the LARRA (Laser Radar for Recognition and Assessment) program

The Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) has initiated the LARRA (Laser Radar for Recognition and Assessment) program to investigate the use of laser radar signatures for identifying and determining the pose of satellites. The algorithms will use the 1-D range-amplitude information in the returns. To determine the identification and/or pose, the field returns will be correlated over a library of simulated returns. It is critical that the algorithms that produce the simulated returns do so accurately. AFRL has previously sponsored the development of TASAT (Time-Domain Analysis Simulation for Advanced Tracking), which has the capability to simulate the returns from satellites, to include the effects of atmospheric propagation. In this paper, we describe the modification and verification of TASAT using returns from mock satellites placed on the ground at a distance of 1 km from the laser. The laser is a mode-locked CO2 (10.6(mu) ) and the FWHM of the micropulses is 1.4 ns.