AN/FPS-85 Phased Array Radar

 early warning radar  Add category

This was the first phased-array radar system especially designed to detect and track objects in space. The physical structure of the system was 13 stories high, and the radar contained 5,134 transmitters and 4,660 receivers and utilized three computers. The AN/FPS-85 covers 120 degrees in azimuth and in excess of 22,000 nautical miles in range. The transmitter array contains 5,928 transmitter antennas in a 78 x 76 square array and 5,184 transmitter modules installed in a 72 x 72 square array. The receiver array contains 19,500 receiver antennas and 4,660 receiver modules. The AN/FPS-85 building is composed of the receiver side which is 192 feet long, 143 feet deep, and 143 feet high. The transmitter side is 126 feet long, 95 feet deep, and 95 feet high. Total floor space is 250,000 square feet, with 1,250 tons of structural steel, 1,400 cubic yards of concrete, and a total of 2,500,000 cubic feet in the building.

As part of the US Space Force's Space Surveillance Network its mission is to detect and track spacecraft and other manmade objects in Earth orbit for the Joint Space Operations Center satellite catalogue.

www.globalsecurity.org/space/systems/an-fps-85.htm