Open AccessMethod for inverse synthetic aperture radar imaging of space debris using improved genetic algorithm
Author(s) -
Ning Yu,
Bai Xueru,
Zhou Feng,
Liu Lei
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
iet radar, sonar and navigation
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.489
H-Index - 82
eISSN - 1751-8792
pISSN - 1751-8784
DOI - 10.1049/iet-rsn.2016.0048
Subject(s) - synthetic aperture radar , algorithm , computer science , inverse synthetic aperture radar , radar imaging , parametric statistics , spinning , radar , range (aeronautics) , space debris , inverse problem , remote sensing , computer vision , geology , mathematics , debris , engineering , telecommunications , oceanography , mechanical engineering , statistics , aerospace engineering , mathematical analysis
Due to the rapid spinning of space debris, its radar echoes have serious migration through range cells and highly non‐stationary, time‐varying Doppler. With low pulse repetition frequency (PRF) and data missing, conventional joint time–frequency imaging methods such as the Wigner–Ville distribution and the short‐time Fourier transform cannot obtain well‐focused image. To tackle this problem, this study proposes a novel method for inverse synthetic aperture radar imaging of rapidly spinning space debris using the improved genetic algorithm (GA). Firstly, the authors derive the analytic model of the scattering centres and convert the imaging problem to a parametric optimisation problem. Then, an improved GA method combined with the CLEAN technique is introduced to estimate the model parameters and construct the range and cross‐range history of each scattering centre. Finally, high‐resolution images at different time instants are obtained. Simulation results have shown that the proposed method achieves high resolution with low computational burden, and it is robust to low PRF and data missing.