MunichProject-S launches active radar into orbit next month.
Active radar can spot objects too small or dark for today’s ground-based systems.
Passive telescopes only see what reflects sunlight, while onboard radar illuminates its own targets directly.
The demonstration flies on a SpaceX rideshare, the company owning the most tracked objects.
How each outlet framed it
- European Spaceflight
- describes active radar for space debris tracking—compact orbital units with AI-enabled trajectory modeling, first demo in September
Sources: European Spaceflight