GESTRA was able to detect an average of more than 200 objects per hour, including small objects like Cubesats, the German Aerospace Center (DLR) reports.
MUNICH, Germany – The German Experimental Space Surveillance and Tracking Radar (GESTRA) has entered its final commissioning phase after successful testing by the German Aerospace Center (DLR). Developed by Fraunhofer Institute for High Frequency Physics and Radar Techniques (FHR), GESTRA represents a globally unique capacity for observing objects in space.
GESTRA consists of separate transmitting and receiving antennas equipped with digital phased array technology allowing rapid repositioning of the radar beam. The high-power 256-element transmitter and sensitive receiver architecture, combined with mechanical rotation mounts and closed-loop cooling, enables exceptional search and tracking performance on space debris and satellites.
The modular setup with antennas housed in separate containers permits flexible and mobile deployments. GESTRA is currently installed at the DLR’s German Space Situational Awareness Centre (GSSAC) test site.
Experts from Fraunhofer and DLR have thoroughly verified GESTRA’s capabilities over an intensive testing regime. With testing complete, the system now enters several months of final commissioning to ready the radar for consistent space surveillance operations.
GESTRA represents a new generation of agile, digital radars purpose-built for the growing need to monitor objects in space for collision avoidance and safe spacecraft navigation. Germany’s investment in advanced sensors like GESTRA highlights the priority countries are placing on enhancing space situational awareness amidst an increasingly congested environment.
