Inverse synthetic aperture ladar imaging algorithm for space spinning targets

Due to the limitation of laser modulation technology, the azimuth Doppler ambiguity problem exists in the process of inverse synthetic aperture ladar (ISAL) imaging for spinning targets. The traditional azimuth imaging method will not be used to obtain a good two‐dimensional image. Therefore, we consider using the target's spinning information for imaging. The spatial geometric model of the spinning target ISAL imaging is established, and the characteristics of the echo signal are analysed. An ISAL imaging algorithm based on the backward projection transform is proposed. First, the spinning angular velocity of the target is obtained by the generalised autocorrelation method, and then the envelope and phase of the distance and the slow time domain are transformed into a backward projection to achieve coherent accumulation, and the two‐dimensional high‐resolution image of the spinning target is finally obtained. Due to the use of echo phase information, the sidelobe effect is low and the resolution is high. The simulation results show that the algorithm can still get well‐focused images under low SNR and Doppler ambiguity.