The radar satellite at a higher height ever created

At 36,000 km altitude, in the geostationary orbit, China operates the “Ludi Tance 4-01” satellite. Released in August 2023is the first synthetic opening radar deployed at this point, which gives China a unique permanent observation capacity on a third of the earth’s surface.

Freshly declassified. Chinese scientists have Recently revealed The design and capabilities of the Ludi satellite, which had been kept secret until now. Officially designed for weather observation, earthquake monitoring and natural disasters prevention, their details have put on alert to rival countries such as the United States.

The United States Space Force rejects the Chinese narrative. Instead of a satellite for civil use, he believes that it is designed for high resolution recognition in the Asia-Pacific region: a powerful spy satellite that allows both civil applications and the collection of military intelligence.

The reason for its height. Ludi is, Like the Spanish satellite Paza synthetic opening radar (SAR). But unlike peace, it is the first and unique Sar that operates in geostationary orbit. Located 36,000 km altitude, the Chinese satellite is synchronized with the terrestrial rotation to observe the same region continuously. And not optical, so it can cross the clouds and follow night objects.

Ludi reaches a resolution of approximately 20 meters. While it is a lower resolution than the sub -metric of some spy satellites of the low orbit, from the geostationary orbit, Ludi can monitor around a third of the earth’s surface, specifically in the Asia-Pacific region.

The technical details. The satellite was launched with its antenna initially folded. To achieve a useful resolution at so much distance, LUDI integrates numerous phase matrix emitters, which can be coordinated in unison.

This “beam synthesis” technology allows multiple microwave beams to be combined in space to act as a single very powerful radar beam, which makes it possible to obtain high quality images.

Only China. The launch of the Ludi in August 2023 marked the beginning of a new class of Earth’s observation platform. American scientists had pursued the idea of ​​radar surveillance from the geostationary orbit since the Cold War, but technical obstacles maintained all those plans on paper. China has succeeded. And Ludi is alone one of the Chinese satellites yaogan that operate in geostationary orbit.

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