PARIS – The French Defence Procurement Agency (DGA) in Paris needed ground-based low orbit space surveillance radar system to watch satellites and space debris in low orbit from Earth. They found a solution from The Thales Group Limours site in Paris.
The radar provides continuous monitoring and tracking of several different space objects simultaneously. It will strengthen French space-monitoring, and will be the largest surveillance radar deployed in Europe, Thales officials say.
The radar also will enable French space experts to detect and track military space satellites and other spacecraft to enhance military space surveillance missions in low-Earth orbit.
Thales Limours is a major production and development center for advanced radar and space surveillance technologies, and is responsible for designing and manufacturing key systems like the AURORE space surveillance radar.
Real-time tracking
AURORE is part of the French Action and Space Resilience (ARES) program, and operates in the UHF band to provide real-time tracking and high-resolution space environment imagery. Thales Limours also builds the Ground Fire radar for the French SAMP/T NG air defense system, which can detect drones and ballistic missiles. It has a range of about 250 miles, and offers full azimuth and elevation coverage.
The Thales AURORE is a software-defined radar system designed to deliver a high-resolution picture of space with rapid responsiveness to low-Earth-orbit activity for space situational awareness and military space surveillance.
AURORE represents a modular architecture for emerging threats such as ballistic and hypersonic missiles. Its architecture will form the backbone of a family of UHF radars to protect against emerging ballistic and hypersonic threats.
For more information contact Thales online at www.thalesgroup.com, or the French Defence Procurement Agency (DGA) at www.defense.gouv.fr/en.
