Press / Media

Researchers at Fraunhofer FHR have successfully conducted initial experiments with the new target tracking radar of the TIRA facility: They produced a high-resolution radar image of the entire Moon’s surface visible from Earth - from a distance of 385,000 kilometers! By utilizing the motion of Earth and the Moon, a significantly larger, virtual aperture was created using the 34-meter antenna of the TIRA facility, thereby achieving high resolution imaging. This method of generating a synthetic antenna aperture (SAR) enables coherent imaging of the entire visible Moon’s surface.

At the World Conference on Non-Destructive Testing (WCNDT), held from May 27-31, 2024, in Incheon, South Korea, the Fraunhofer Institute for High Frequency Physics and Radar Techniques FHR will present tailored solutions for the industry as an expert in contactless quality control with radar.

On February 27, 2024, INDRA hosted the concluding meeting and demonstration of the CROWN project. Launched in July 2021, with funding from the European Commission (EC) under the Preparatory Action on Defence Research (PADR) and the management of the European Defence Agency (EDA), the project European active electronically scanned array with Combined Radar, Electronic Warfare and Communications functions for military applications (CROWN) focuses on the innovative concept of a multifunctional radio frequency (RF) system, which aims at substantially enhancing future Defence capabilities, with specific focus on manned and unmanned aerial platforms.

The European Space Agency (ESA) and the joint Space Situational Awareness Centre commissioned Fraunhofer FHR to accompany the re-entry of the retired ERS-2 satellite. With its unique space observation radar TIRA (Tracking and Im-aging Radar), the final orbits were measured with high precision and the last images of ERS-2 were generated. For the first time, changes in the structure during re-entry were captured in images.