Analysis of influential factors on a space target's laser radar cross-section

•The visual and fast LRCS calculation method of complex space target is introduced.•The method is validated by Lambert target' LRCS simulation to be fast and accurate.•Influences of target shape, size and surface materials on target's LRCS are studied.•The general laws of the influencing factors are obtained by comparing the results.

This paper utilises the idea of theoretical analysis to introduce a fast and visual laser radar cross-section (LRCS) calculation method for space targets that is implemented with OpenGL. We chose the cube, cylinder and cone as targets based on the general characteristics of satellite shapes. The four-parameter mono-station BRDF is used, and we assume the surface materials are either purely diffuse, purely specular or mixed. The degree of influence on a target's total LRCS of the target's shape and size and the surface materials' BRDF are described. We describe the general laws governing influential factors by comparing simulated results. These conclusions can provide a reference for new research directions and methods to determine a target's laser scattering characteristics.