Radar Testbed Launched

MIRSL students and engineers recently installed the second of two radar systems on the Orchard Hill tower.  Shown at right is the final phase of installing the Low Power Radar (LPR), a phased-array developed by Raytheon and currently on loan to UMass.  The LPR will be used to scan weather simultaneously with the UMaXX radar, which is a more conventional radar employing a mechanically-scanned antenna.  Observations by the two radars will be compared to assess biases and other errors in polarization associated with electronically-scanned antennas.