![]() Lincoln Laboratory developed the Haystack facility in the 1960s. ![]() HUSIR will be part of the Lincoln Space Surveillance Complex, which comprises three radar systems located on MIT property in the towns of Westford, Groton, and Tyngsborough. Officials expect the system to be placed back into service in late 2011. Completing the installation and testing the new transmitter and processing system will be more complex. Officials anticipate this phase of the project will be complete by September. The skin of the radome will also be replaced during the process, and some of it will already be removed when the cap is lifted off.Įventually, the new antenna will be lowered into place and secured. The yoke upon which the antenna sits will be modified and a transition structure and a backstructure will be installed to support the new surface. Once the radome is uncapped, workers will quickly begin to dismantle the existing antenna and remove it from the radome. The radome uncapping is on schedule for May 27. Workers must ensure that they find the exact center of gravity on the dome and carefully place straps around the portion to be lifted, which weighs 115,000 pounds. "We will be bringing in a 610-ton, 400-foot-tall crane onto the site and taking off the cap of the eggshell-like structure to expose the existing antenna." This is a very delicate process, according to Mr. "The first challenge we face with this project is opening the radome," said Mr. The current radar operation was shut down in mid-April, and subassemblies are in place and configured, ready to be put into place. Officials in charge of the replacement project are focused on getting the job done as quickly as possible with the least impact on the system's users as well as local residents. The 120-foot radar dish is enclosed in a 150-foot radome, a weatherproof dome enclosure that protects the radar antenna while remaining transparent to the electromagnetic signals transmitted or received. Upgrading the radar is not only a technical challenge, but a construction challenge according to Leigh French, HUSIR program manager in ESC's 850th Electronic Systems Group at Hanscom Air Force Base. This new telescope will not only create powerful new functionality for Lincoln Laboratory, but will also transform radio astronomy capabilities at Haystack for both research and education." ![]() The extraordinary precision of the new reflector surface is the key factor in enhancing the utility of the antenna. "The project will result in a system that is many times more accurate than the one it is replacing, which was itself state of the art in the 1960s. "The Haystack antenna upgrade is a remarkable piece of engineering," said Colin Lonsdale, director of the MIT Haystack Observatory, an interdisciplinary research center that uses the facility. Additionally, the upgrade will facilitate shared use of the antenna between radar and radio astronomy activities. The enhanced system, called Haystack Ultrawideband Satellite Imaging Radar (HUSIR), will allow imaging of satellites in low earth orbits with improved resolution. The X-Band radar uses radio waves with about a one-inch wavelength and the new W-Band capability uses radio waves with a wavelength ten-times smaller. The approximately 18-month project will add W-band capabilities to the existing X-band long-range imaging radar. this month, replacing the existing antenna with a new system that will be able to identify smaller objects in space with greater resolution. In a joint project with Air Force Space Command and MIT Lincoln Laboratory, the Electronic Systems Center began a major upgrade of the Haystack radar in Tyngsborough, Mass.
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