Preliminary results of space debris observations using Qujing incoherent scattering radar

To contribute to the improvement of China's radar debris tracking capability and capacity, efforts have been made to make the newly built Qujing incoherent scattering radar capable of LEO debris surveillance, in addition to its standard space environment observations. Firstly, a brief introduction of the Qujing radar and its operational parameters were given, followed by the discussion of the debris tracking sensitivity. The modified radar system was operated on November 18, 2014, to experiment its debris tracking capability. The experiments show that the measured ranges agree well with external values, and this confirms the debris tracking feasibility of the Qujing radar. After the planned system upgrades, the Qujing radar is expected to track debris objects as small as 5 cm, and the tracking capability and capacity, including the natural celestial bodies, would be greatly enhanced through the networking with other radars.