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Virginia Tech

Airborne radar altimeter return waveform computations

Abstract

dc:description.abstract

Radar altimeter experiments have shown the need for expanding the downward-looking, single-beam system into a multiple beam radar altimeter employing off-nadir altimetry so that information from a wider swath can be obtained from a single overflight. Problems associated with off-nadir altimetry include the effects of pointing angle errors on the return information and difficulty in performing accurate range tracking. In order to understand these problems, investigation of the sensitivity of the average return waveforms to pointing errors is necessary. These waveforms are computed using a convolutional model, including the effects of asymmetric antenna patterns, which is representative of NASA’s Multimode Airborne Radar Altimeter. The necessary convolutions are most efficiently performed by a method that uses the fast Fourier transform. The modeled waveforms are then used to devise a method that provides an estimate the pointing angle.

Degree

thesis:*
Name thesis:degree_name
Master of Science
Level thesis:degree_level
masters
Discipline thesis:degree_discipline
Electrical Engineering
Department dc:contributor.department
Electrical Engineering
Grantor dc:publisher
Virginia Tech
Year dc:date.issued
1990

Author and committee

dc:creator, dc:contributor.*
Author dc:creator
  • Newkirk, Michael Hayes

Rights

dc:rights
Statement dc:rights
  • In Copyright
Language dc:language.iso
en

Identifiers

dc:identifier.*
Dc Identifier Other
etd-03142009-040630
OAI identifier oai:identifier
oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/41611

Chain of custody

source
Harvested from
Virginia Tech
Base URL
vtechworks.lib.vt.edu/oai/request
Last updated
2026-07-22
Source record
OAI-PMH GetRecord
related terms
citation

Newkirk, Michael Hayes. Airborne radar altimeter return waveform computations. masters thesis, Virginia Tech, 1990. http://hdl.handle.net/10919/41611