Micro-motion effect in inverse synthetic aperture radar imaging of ballistic mid-course targets

For ballistic mid-course targets, in addition to constant orbital motion, the target or any structure on the target undergoes micro-motion dynamics, such as spin, precession and tumbling. The micro-motion characteristics of the ballistic mid-course targets were discussed. The target motion model and inverse synthetic aperture radar (ISAR) imaging model for this kind of targets were built. Then, the influence of micro-motion on ISAR imaging based on the established imaging model was presented. The computer simulation to get mid-course target echoes from static darkroom electromagnetic scattering data based on the established target motion model was realized. The imaging results of computer simulation show the validity of ISAR imaging analysis for micro-motion targets.