Space Debris Radar Experiments at the Medicina VLBI Dish

In 2007 three space debris detection tests were performed in the framework of a monitoring program carried out by the Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica - INAF - in collaboration with the Italian Space Agency - ASI. The observations were made by using the bistatic radar technique. The INAF 32 m radiotelescope located at Medicina (Bologna, Italy) was used as receiver whereas the Ukrainian 70 m parabolic antenna located at Evpatoria was utilized as transmitter. The aim of the experiment was to test the sensitivity of the Medicina-Evpatoria radar system in space debris detection, and to validate and optimize the hardware setup. Measurements were mainly carried out on inactive satellites and catalogued space debris. However the search for new fragments in LEO was also performed during the campaign. This paper reports on results of these observations.