LBMR Project Uses Radio Telescopes to Track Space Debris in GEO

Tracking space junk at 22,500 miles (36,000 kilometers) is a persistent technical hurdle. While low Earth orbit (LEO) debris—located below altitudes of 1,250 miles (2,000 kilometers)—is more concentrated and easily managed with standard radar, objects in geostationary orbit (GEO) are typically too distant for most ground-based radar systems. Until now, operators relied on optical telescopes, which struggle to resolve objects smaller than 4 inches (10 centimeters) across—fragments that remain lethal to critical weather and communications satellites.

The LBMR Technical Framework: From MIT to Jodrell Bank

The LBMR solution turns existing scientific infrastructure into a massive, distributed radar system. The process begins at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Lincoln Laboratory in the U.S., which broadcasts radio waves into space. These waves bounce off orbiting debris and are captured by ultra-sensitive radio telescopes on the other side of the ocean.

The 76-m Lovell Telescope at Jodrell Bank in the U.K. serves as a primary receiver. By processing these signals in real time, researchers can determine the distance to a piece of debris and the speed at which that distance is changing.

“This idea started about seven years ago. It sounded at that time like a crazy idea, because we had no synchronization. We had assets on one end of the ocean and other assets on the other end of the ocean. But we were crazy enough to continue.”

Marco Martorella, an electronic engineer at the University of Birmingham and another member of LBMR

The project is not limited to a single dish. Professor Simon Garrington, a radio astronomer at the Jodrell Bank Observatory, University of Manchester, UK, noted that the e-MERLIN array is also being used for high-precision measurements of objects in orbit. Additionally, Australia’s CSIRO contributed the Mopra radio telescope to provide receiving capabilities from the Southern Hemisphere.

Strategic Value for the U.K. Space Agency and NATO

The ability to monitor GEO in real time provides a dual use by design capability, according to Dr Chris Blount at the UK Space Agency. Blount stated that the project is an exemplar case of the capability multiplication through collaboration the International Bilateral Fund (IBF) seeks to achieve, allowing the team to demonstrate state-of-the-art capabilities without the extensive investment, time, and effort a dedicated facility would have required.

For NATO, the partnership represents a significant boost in Space Domain Awareness (SDA). Mr. Gregory Hogan, Chair of NATO SET ‘LBMR for Space Domain Awareness’ Research Group, MIT Lincoln Laboratory, US, noted that augmenting U.S. radars with partner nation radiotelescopes achieved significant increases in sensitivity for detecting and characterizing satellites at Geosynchronous distances.

Professor Gaven Smith, CB FREng – University of Manchester and former CTO, GCHQ, UK, described the application as a way to protect U.K. assets against both natural threats, such as space debris, and potentially hostile threats, stating that such capabilities can be developed rapidly and cost-effectively within the UK, by leveraging our research base.

Scaling from Single Antenna to 3D Tracking

While the team has successfully demonstrated signal reception with a single antenna, the current goal is to move toward full three-dimensional tracking. This requires receiving radar reflections of the same object using multiple radio telescopes simultaneously.

• Current Achievement: Real-time tracking of distance and rate of change via a single antenna.
• Immediate Goal: Simultaneous reception across multiple telescopes to enable 3D mapping.
• Long-term Objective: An operational Space Domain Awareness capability to protect critical infrastructure.

Simon Garrington, associate director of Jodrell Bank, emphasized that this is the first time such a feat has been achieved, turning the Lovell Telescope into a superb radar receiver for monitoring orbit.

Beyond immediate tracking, Prof Marco Martorella, LBMR project leader, Chair in RF and Space Sensing at the University of Birmingham, UK, views the LBMR as a platform for validating new sensing concepts and training the next generation of RF and radar engineers. This academic and industrial collaboration includes partners like the space company Goonhilly; Chris Saunders, a senior mission concepts engineer at UK-headquartered space company, Goonhilly, stated the company looks forward to building upon the concept as it develops day/night, all-weather, RF-based Space Domain Awareness capabilities.