Multiple Beam Satellite System Optimization

An analytical method is developed for determining the basic RF link parameters that are required in a satellite system design. Certain simplifying assumptions are required and specific system elements are selected. Two different design criteria are considered; optimizing the per-beam signal energy to noise spectral density ratio (Eb/N0), and minimizing the per-user costs. These two criteria are complements of each other subject to coverage and performance constraints. The model can be used to rapidly assess tradeoffs in various system elements. A specific example of a domestic satellite system is considered. The economic analyses are also considered and the economy of scale effect is demonstrated for the design example and considered.     

Maximum-Likelihood Detection of Unresolved Radar Targets and Multipath

Interference in the form of multipath or uncooperative targets can seriously degrade the angle-of-arrival estimation accuracy of mutiplebeam processors. In this paper, the generalized likelihood ratio test is used to derive a test to detect the presence of interference for multiple beam processors. The detector performance is then analyzed in detail with respect to its dependence on signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), signal-to-interference ration (SIR), and on the relative phase between the target and interfering signals. It is shown that good detection performance can be obtained unless the phase difference between the target and interference signals is either in or out of phase.     

The Estimation of the "Center of Gravity" of a Photon Density Profile in Noise

A model for an optical position estimation system is developed employing the photon Poisson process theory. The position estimate is based upon the definition of a center of gravity (CG) of the power density profile of the optical source on the focal plane. An estimator structure is derived using maximum likelihood estimates of the image profile. The resulting estimate of the CG is shown to be unbiased and its variance is obtained. The variance is shown to depend upon the signal energy and noise level as well as upon the distance of the center from the initial counting point. Thus, a composite estimation system is presented which reduces the variance and yet yields a simple structure. Studies on star estimation have yielded position accuracies better than 0.1 seconds of arc for a 2.5 visual magnitude star in a background of equivalent intensity.     

Azimuth-Elevation Estimation Performance of a Spatially Dispersive Channel

A model is presented for the estimation of azimuth and elevation in a dispersive media where the signals come from a continuum of directions. These bounds depend upon the array ambiguity patterns and the channel spread function. Specific cases are discussed showing how the result reduces to an easily tractable analytical tool in many cases of interest. The model discussed is applicable to angular estimation performance in the presence of such interference as diffuse multipath, chaff clouds, vertical angle of arrival spread in sonar systems, and turbulent and multiply scattered optical channels.