Passive radar to track space debris in orbit over the Australian skies

It is not so simple.

The Curtin University node of the International Center for Research in Astronomy (ICRAR) is working with the Silentium Defense of Adelaide to turn existing resources into a "pbadive" space radar.

It does not rely on a full, new and extensive range of high-powered radar transmitters, as do military and commercial radar

It does not need it.

The radio waves of the FM band are already broadcast all over the country to carry news, gossip and catchy melodies.

This may be due to the incredibly sensitive receptors already in place at the Murchison Widefield Array Telescope in Western Australia (MWA)

RELATED: Our Growing Asteroid Defense Force [19659003] Operated by a consortium of 21 international institutions, it is part of the $ 1 billion US Square Kilometer Array goal intended to illuminate the makeup of our universe "Reflected signals are received by the MWA, and we use them to track objects, "says Steven Tingay, professor at John Curtin.

"We can use radio waves during the day and night, and when is cloudy, so that it can provide surveillance 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, in a way that other systems based on optical telescopes can not. "

As space becomes more and more congested, it becomes vital to follow what is happening. EXPLORE MORE: How a space war could trap us on the Earth

A bumpy debris, a dead satellite can crash on a multi-billion dollar communications satellite and leave much of of the country in the dark. The resulting debris would then move over our skies, adding to the increasingly murderous game of the orbital pinball machine.

That is why the research team was funded by the Commonwealth Government. Dr. James Palmer said that collaboration with astronomers from ICRAR-Curtin University and the MWA has shown a great innovation

"The development of space surveillance capability is an important activity that Australia can offer to the world space. industry, "said Dr. Palmer