Mid-Scale RI-1(M1:DP): Next Generation Radar Designs

联合大学公司(AUI)美国国家无线电天文台（NRAO）和NSF的绿色银行天文台（GBO）的经理，以及雷声技术公司。将合作为美国重要的新科学和空间领域感知雷达能力进行综合技术设计。 他们将为（a）绿色堤岸望远镜（GBT）的高功率高频相控阵雷达发射机和（B）中功率相控阵模块化发射机系统开发详细的概念设计，该系统将部署在为下一代甚大阵（ngVLA）和其他具有雷达能力的设施设计的天线上。 成功的设计旨在用于这些和其他更多的投机活动仍有待定义。 该项目的重点是扩大代表性不足的少数民族（URM）和公众在雷达天文学和相关STEM领域的参与。 它包括为URM学生提供的研究和培训经验、初中和高中科学课程计划以及多媒体公共宣传材料，高功率雷达观测提供关于太阳系自然天体的独特信息，包括行星、近地小行星和其他邻近天体，以及关于人类在空间的活动，包括地球附近和地球以外的航天器结构、性能和导航。 已向目前的行星科学和天体生物学十年期巡天提出了新的技术方向和操作方法供讨论。 它们包括更强大的发射机，灵活的相控阵发射硬件，以及作为发射机和接收机的天线阵列，它们都承诺提高灵敏度和更好的操作准备。 NSF的NRAO和GBO以及他们的工业合作伙伴雷神公司之间的设计工作是跨多学科变革未来的重要第一步。 这些技术将推动行星防御、技术转让和商业化的进步，并为观测设施周围的当地社区带来好处。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Associated Universities Inc. (AUI), the manager of the National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO) and Green Bank Observatory (GBO) for NSF, and Raytheon Technologies, Inc. will partner on an integrated technical design for important new scientific and space domain awareness radar capabilities for the United States. They will develop detailed conceptual designs for (a) a high-power high frequency phased-array radar transmitter for the Green Bank Telescope (GBT), and (b) a medium-power phased-array modular transmitter system for deployment on antennas under design for the next-generation Very Large Array (ngVLA) and other radar-capable facilities. Successful designs are intended for use by these and other more speculative activities still to be defined. The project includes a focus on broadening participation by under-represented minorities (URM) and the public in radar astronomy and related STEM fields. It includes research and training experiences for URM students, middle and high school science lesson plans, and multimedia public outreach materials.High-power radar observations provide unique information about natural solar system objects, including planets, near-Earth asteroids and other nearby objects, and about human activities in space, including spacecraft structure, performance and navigation, both nearby and beyond Earth. New technical directions and operational approaches have been presented to the current Planetary Science and Astrobiology Decadal Survey for discussion. They include more powerful transmitters, flexible phased-array transmit hardware, and antenna arrays as transmitters and receivers, and they all promise increased sensitivity and better operational readiness. The design work between NSF’s NRAO and GBO, and Raytheon, their industrial collaborator, is an essential first step to a transformative future across multiple disciplines. These technologies will drive advances in planetary defense, technology transfer and commercialization, and benefits for local communities surrounding observing facilities.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.