Such a low cost system will never replace the Navy's dedicated satellite
tracking network, but it does have a few practical applications. As a hobby
or college graduate project, development of such a system is educational
in areas such as radar, astrodynamics, mathematics, digital signal processing,
computer programming, and more. In 1995, the station was used to perform
an unfunded study for the Navy of the shape of the beam pattern of the
Kickapoo transmit antenna. Amplitude vs time measurements of satellite
radar returns were used to plot the beam shape at various altitudes. Finally,
the capability to continuously track perhaps up to 200 satellites with
such a low cost system should be possible with some improvements in automation.