Aperture synthesis imaging of colored GEO objects

Interferometry provides the only practicable way to image satellites in Geosynchronous Earth Orbit (GEO) with sub-meter resolution. The Magdalena Ridge Observatory Interferometer (MROI) is being funded by the US Air Force Research Laboratory to deploy the central three unit telescopes in order to demonstrate the sensitivity and baseline-bootstrapping capability needed to observe GEO targets. In parallel, we are investigating the resolution and imaging fidelity that is achievable with larger numbers of telescopes. We present imaging simulations with 7- and 10-telescope deployments of the MROI, and characterize the impact of realistic spectral variations compared with a "gray" satellite.