Latitude and longitude of TIRA (System)
- In Germany
Satellite map of TIRA (System)
The Tracking & Imaging Radar (TIRA) system serves as the central experimental facility for the development and investigation of radar techniques for the detection and reconnaissance of objects in space, and to a certain degree also of air targets. TIRA has a 34-metre parabolic dish antenna is a monopulse radar operating at 1.333 GHz or 22.5 cm (L band) and 16.7 GHz or 1.8 cm (Ku band) wavelengths. The L-band is usually used for tracking debris with a 0.45º beam width, at 1 MW peak power. The system is cable of determining orbits from direction angles, range and Doppler shift for single targets. The detection size threshold is about 2 cm at 1000 km range. The radar conducts regular ‘beam park’ experiments, where the radar beam is pointed in a fixed direction on the celestial sphere for 24 hours, scanning 360º in a narrow strip a complete Earth rotation. The tracking sensitive can be enchansed when the TIRA system is used as a transmitter, part of a bistatic radar system. In conjunction with the Effelsberg Radio Telescope, functioning as a receiver, the combined system has a detection size threshold of 1 cm. The Ku-band is used for imaging in Inverse Synthetic Aperture Radar (ISAR) mode, with 13 kW peak power, the radar is capable of producing images with range resolutions better than 7 cm. The dish can be turned full 360° in azimuth with speed of 24° per second and 90° in elevation.
Latitude: 50° 36' 59.76" N
Longitude: 7° 07' 46.56" E