A Compact Millimeter-Wave Radar for UAV Applications
Bambha, R., Carswell, J., and Swift, C., University of Massachusetts
Ninth Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Science Team Meeting
Assembly of the Compact Millimeter-wave Radar (CMR) has been completed at the University of Massachusetts, and ground-based cloud measurements have been acquired. The CMR is a 95-GHz solid-state radar intended for airborne cloud measurements. Funding for the project was provided by the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement-Unmanned Aerospace Vehicle (ARM-UAV) program with the eventual goal of developing a radar capable of operating on the Altus UAV. Simultaneous measurements made by CMR and the Cloud Profiling Radar System (CPRS) have been made to evaluate CMR's performance. CPRS is a larger truck-mounted instrument that includes a 95-GHz radar with 15 dB higher transmit power. This poster will present measurements made by CMR and demonstrate its sensitivity level through a comparison with CPRS. The sensitivity analysis will be used to describe the operating conditions appropriate for airborne measurements using CMR. Further details regarding the operation of CMR will be presented in order to provide information suitable for the planning of initial science missions.
Note: This is the poster abstract presented at the meeting; an extended version was not provided by the author(s).


