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"In other words, the Chinese military probably uses radar instruments to send signals down at the target from above, and determine how much radar bounces back t

"In other words, the Chinese military probably uses radar instruments to send signals down at the target from above, and determine how much radar bounces back to the instruments from the fighter jets..." I'm curious, what type of radar is used in spy satellites? Is there any health risk for people on the ground?

Duff 15y ago
The military probably has radar on satellites similar to aircraft-mounted battlefield management systems like JSTARS (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E-8_Joint_STARS http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E-8_Joint_STARS) Basically, they can identify tanks, buildings, and other large objects via radar. There are also millimeter band radars that can produce images.
- regularfry 15y ago
  Satellites can do much better than just identify large objects. Resolution depends on the aperture width, and a satellite in orbit can pretend to have a very wide aperture indeed...
arethuza 15y ago
Some information on radar imaging spy satellites: China: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yaogan http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yaogan US: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lacrosse_%28satellite%29 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lacrosse_%28satellite%29 Germany: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SAR-Lupe http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SAR-Lupe I was slightly surprised to find out that Germany has such an extensive system of military spy satellites!
borism 15y ago
it's 300+ km above you and passes at ~10km/s. how much more health risk does it pose than your neighborhood cellular tower or even your home wifi box for that matter? not to mention that there are definitely more than 1 radar in 300km radius of you than this.
runjake 15y ago
I'm curious, what type of radar is used in spy satellites? The same kind as on aircraft, basically. Synthetic aperture is one form of radar that's been in use for a while, and I'm sure it's progressed by amazing levels since I was in the game. Is there any health risk for people on the ground? Nope, not much more RF radiation that what we get zapped with by terrestrial radiation.

Duff 15y ago

The military probably has radar on satellites similar to aircraft-mounted battlefield management systems like JSTARS (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E-8_Joint_STARS http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E-8_Joint_STARS) Basically, they can identify tanks, buildings, and other large objects via radar. There are also millimeter band radars that can produce images.

regularfry 15y ago
Satellites can do much better than just identify large objects. Resolution depends on the aperture width, and a satellite in orbit can pretend to have a very wide aperture indeed...

arethuza 15y ago

Some information on radar imaging spy satellites: China: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yaogan http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yaogan US: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lacrosse_%28satellite%29 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lacrosse_%28satellite%29 Germany: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SAR-Lupe http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SAR-Lupe I was slightly surprised to find out that Germany has such an extensive system of military spy satellites!

borism 15y ago

it's 300+ km above you and passes at ~10km/s. how much more health risk does it pose than your neighborhood cellular tower or even your home wifi box for that matter? not to mention that there are definitely more than 1 radar in 300km radius of you than this.

runjake 15y ago

I'm curious, what type of radar is used in spy satellites? The same kind as on aircraft, basically. Synthetic aperture is one form of radar that's been in use for a while, and I'm sure it's progressed by amazing levels since I was in the game. Is there any health risk for people on the ground? Nope, not much more RF radiation that what we get zapped with by terrestrial radiation.