{
  "abstract": "This paper presents the first experimental validation of InteRFeX, a non-uniform receive only (passive) array located at the Nova Systems Space Precinct in Peterborough, Australia, designed for space domain awareness applications. It operates over a frequency range of 70 to 300 MHz and is capable of functioning in a range of observational modes, including as a coherent passive bistatic radar for space surveillance, which is the focus of this work. InteRFeX exploits commercial broadcast transmissions as illuminators of opportunity, combining cross-ambiguity function processing for bistatic range and range-rate retrieval with MUSIC-based direction-of-arrival (DoA) estimation for angular localization. The International Space Station (ISS) serves as the experimental target, with measurements evaluated against Two-Line Element (TLE) orbit predictions. Taking advantage of the dual-polarized array, all four reference--surveillance polarization combinations are evaluated, revealing differences in detection rate and mean signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) over the observation pass, with bistatic-range RMSEs of approximately 1 km relative to the TLE-derived reference. Independently, the MUSIC-based DoA estimates exhibit a mean angular separation of approximately $0.45^\\circ$ from the TLE-derived reference directions. The angular deviations are further decomposed into along-track and cross-track components, enabling a more detailed characterization of the DoA offsets relative to the TLE-derived reference trajectory. The processing framework also includes a first-order bistatic link-budget analysis to estimate the expected SNR over the observation geometry. These results demonstrate the feasibility of passive-radar space domain awareness using radio-interferometric array technology and establish the proposed signal-processing pipeline as a basis for a dedicated coherent passive-radar mode within InteRFeX.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [],
  "article_type": null,
  "arxiv": "2610.13537",
  "author_total": 6,
  "authors": [
    {
      "name": "Bhaskar Ahuja"
    },
    {
      "name": "Thomas Crowther"
    },
    {
      "name": "Steven Tingay"
    },
    {
      "name": "Andrew Guidi"
    },
    {
      "name": "Luca Gentile"
    },
    {
      "name": "Marco Martorella"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/53965h4p2y9s2.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.48550/arxiv.2610.13537",
  "fulltext_url": null,
  "id": "53965h4p2y9s2",
  "issns": [],
  "landing_url": "https://arxiv.org/abs/2610.13537",
  "language": null,
  "licence": "CC-BY-4.0",
  "licence_label": "CC BY 4.0",
  "licence_source": "article",
  "licence_url": "http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": "CC0-1.0",
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "arxiv",
      "astro-ph.IM"
    ],
    [
      "arxiv",
      "physics.space-ph"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": null,
  "pdf_url": "https://arxiv.org/pdf/2610.13537",
  "pmcid": null,
  "pmid": null,
  "published": "2026-10-09",
  "publisher": null,
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/53965h4p2y9s2.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T12:28:36Z",
      "native_id": "2610.13537",
      "source": "arxiv",
      "url": "https://arxiv.org/abs/2610.13537"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "astronomy",
      "origin": "arxiv:astro-ph.IM",
      "subfield": "instrumentation-methods"
    },
    {
      "field": "astronomy",
      "origin": "arxiv:physics.space-ph",
      "subfield": "stellar"
    }
  ],
  "title": "First Experimental Results of Space Object Detection Using the InteRFeX Array",
  "title_text": "First Experimental Results of Space Object Detection Using the InteRFeX Array",
  "type": "preprint",
  "updated_at": "2026-10-30T12:28:36Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/53965h4p2y9s2",
  "venue": "arXiv",
  "versions": [
    {
      "doi": "10.1109/trs.2026.3740577",
      "pid": null,
      "relation": "published-as",
      "title": null,
      "venue": null
    }
  ]
}