Analysis of Reflector Sizes in Rotating Mirrored Aperture Synthesis Radiometers

Rotating mirrored aperture synthesis (RMAS) has been proposed as a new method for high spatial resolution earth observation from the geostationary orbit. However, in previous researches, the reflector sizes are assumed to be infinite so that all antennas in the antenna array can receive the reflection signals. This assumption is obviously unacceptable in practical applications. How to estimate the reflector sizes is still a problem. In this letter, the principle of RMAS is briefly reviewed. Then, the reflector sizes of an RMAS radiometer are analyzed based on solid geometry, and detailed calculation formulae are derived. A numerical example is given for calculating the reflector sizes of an RMAS radiometer applied in the geostationary orbit.