Robust Imaging from Space
Adjunct Reference Document #1
Satellite and Airborne SAR Sensor Specifications
The following tables provide detailed specifications of currently operational and proposed satellite and airborne SAR sensors, including those having reached end of life.
Table A - Operational satellite SAR sensors and specifications ______1 Table B - Future/proposed satellite SAR sensors and specifications. ______7 Table C - Operational airborne SAR sensors and specifications. ______13 Table D - Decommissioned SAR sensors. ______18
Robust Imaging from Space Satellite and Airborne SAR Sensor Specifications Table A - Operational satellite SAR sensors and specifications
Table A - Operational satellite SAR sensors and specifications X-BAND
Sensor, operating agency, launch, Design life (EOL), Orbit & altitude (km) Swath Imaging modes Spatial Incidence application area Inclination angle (°) width resolution angle (°)
Target revisit time (km) (m) Nation
SAR-Lupe 1-5 Polar X-band SAR DLR/Bundeswehr 500 km Encrypted S-band for telemetry & command 5 satellite constellation for delivering high resolution 98.2° transmissions SAR images for military reconnaissance Daily 8 Stripmap mode 1st 2006, 2nd 2007, 3rd 2007, 4th 2008, 5th 2008 5.5 Spotlight mode <1 Est. Cost 250 mil EUR EOL: 10 yrs
TSX-1 (TerraSAR-X) Sun-synch X- Multiple imaging modes DLR, 2007-2013 514 km 10 High resolution Spotlight SP (HH or VV) or 1.48-3.49 20-55 Scientific & commercial use hydrology, geology, 97.44° DP (HH/VV) climatology, oceanography, environment & disaster 11 days 10 Spotlight SP (HH or VV) or DP (HH/VV) 1.48-3.49 20-55 monitoring, cartography Stripmap SP (HH or VV) or DP (HH/VV, 15-30 HH/HV, VV/VH) 1.7-3.49 20-45 ScanSAR SP
GERMANY 100 1.7-3.49 20-45 Left and right looking TDX-1 (TanDEM-X) Sun-synch Interferometric imaging: 12 (DEM) 25-55 DLR, 2010-2014 514 km Bistatic mode (abs v.acc 10 Global DEM generation & earth observation, new 97.44° Monostatic mode m, rel acc. applications using along-track InSAR (e.g., measuring 11 days Along-track interferometry (ATI) <2 m) ocean currents), pol-InSAR, bistatic processing and Polarimetric interferometry formation flying SAR imaging (same as TerraSAR-X): EOL: 5 yrs 30 Stripmap DP 3 Co-fly in close formation with TSX-1, near identical 10 Spotlight DP 1 capability 100 ScanSAR DP 16
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Robust Imaging from Space Satellite and Airborne SAR Sensor Specifications Table A - Operational satellite SAR sensors and specifications
X-BAND
Sensor, operating agency, launch, Design life (EOL), Orbit & altitude (km) Swath Imaging modes Spatial Incidence application area Inclination angle (°) width resolution angle (°)
Nation Target revisit time (km) (m)
Cosmo-SkyMed 1-4 (Constellation of small Satellites Sun-synch Selectable single pol (HH,VV,HV,VH) 25-50 for Mediterranean basin Observation) 620 km Spotlight Left and ITA, -1 2007, -2 2007, -3 2008, -4 2009 97.86° 10 Stripmap 1 right looking EOL: 5 years Daily-16 days 30-40 ScanSAR 3-15 4 X-band EOS satellite constellation 100-200 Ping pong or Stripmap – 2x selectable pol 30-100 Dual use: 30 (HH, VV, HV, VH) 15
ITALY Civilian: disaster/risk management, ice monitoring, agriculture, urban Defence: intelligence gathering, ship detection, maritime surveillance, security
Meteor-M N1 (Meteorological Satellite) Sun-synch 450-600 Onboard Radar Complex (OBRC) – 400-1000 25-48 ROSHYDROMET, ROSKOSMOS. 2009-2014 830 km Severjanin, Vertical pol EOL: 5 yrs 98.79° Low resolution MSS (MSU-MR) Operational meteorological services, regional & 37 days IR Fourier Spectrometer (IRFS-2) global weather analysis & prediction, ocean surface MS imaging system (KMSS) water states, space weather analysis Microwave imaging/sounding radiometer RUSSIA (MTVZA) Spectrometer for Geoactive Measurements (MSGI) Data Collection System (DCS) IGS-7A Polar 1 (Information Gathering Satellite) 500 km
2011- Dual use Military: surveillance, early warning of hostile JAPAN launches Civilian: disaster monitoring
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Robust Imaging from Space Satellite and Airborne SAR Sensor Specifications Table A - Operational satellite SAR sensors and specifications
X-BAND
Sensor, operating agency, launch, Design life (EOL), Orbit & altitude (km) Swath Imaging modes Spatial Incidence application area Inclination angle (°) width resolution angle (°)
Nation Target revisit time (km) (m)
RISAT-2 (Radar Imaging Satellite 2) Sun-synch 10-50 Spotlight 3-8 ISRO, 2009-2013 550 km Stripmap Dual use Mosaic mode Civil: agriculture, forestry, soil moisture, geology, sea ice, coastal processes, object detection, flood
INDIA mapping Military: reconnaissance, border surveillance, ship detection
TecSAR (Technological SAR) 450-580 km Selectable pol (HH,HV,VH,VV)
IAI, 2008- 41° Stripmap 1 EOL: 4 yrs Spotlight Low-earth orbit reconnaissance ScanSAR ISRAEL Mosaic mode
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Robust Imaging from Space Satellite and Airborne SAR Sensor Specifications Table A - Operational satellite SAR sensors and specifications
C-BAND
Sensor, operating agency, launch, Design life (EOL), Orbit & altitude (km) Swath Imaging modes Spatial Incidence application area Inclination angle (°) width resolution angle (°)
Nation Target revisit time (km) (m)
RISAT-1 (Radar Imaging Satellite) Sun-synch circ 10 Spotlight SP/DP <2 ±34 ISRO, 2012-2017 609 km 30 Stripmap mode-1 (FRS-1) SP/DP 3 Left or right EOL: 5 yrs 97.84° 30 Stripmap mode-2 (FRS-2) QP 12 looking Dual use 12 days 120 Med res ScanSAR (MRS) SP/DP 25 Civil: agriculture, forestry, soil moisture, geology, 240 Coarse res ScanSAR (CRS) SP/DP 50
INDIA sea ice, coastal processes, object detection, flood mapping Military: reconnaissance, border surveillance, ship detection RADARSAT-1 Sun-synch C- Multiple imaging modes CSA, 1995- 798 km 45 Fine HH 8 37-47 Earth observation: disaster management, 98.6° 100 Standard HH 30 20-49 interferometry, agriculture, cartography, hydrology, 24 days 150 Wide HH 30 20-45 forestry, oceanography, ice studies, coastal 300 ScanSAR narrow 50 20-49 monitoring 500 ScanSAR wide 100 29-49 75 Extended high 18-28 52-58 170 Extended low 30 10-22
Right looking
RADARSAT-2 Sun-synch Multiple imaging modes CSA, 2007- 798 km 20 Ultra-Fine SP 3 30-49 Earth observation: maritime surveillance, disaster 98.6° 50 Multi-look Fine SP 8 30-50
CANADA management, ecosystem monitoring 24 days 50 Fine SP/DP 8 30-50 100 Standard SP/DP 25 20-49 150 Wide SP/DP 30 20-45 300 ScanSAR Narrow SP/DP 50 20-46 500 ScanSAR Wide SP/DP 100 20-49 75 Extended High SP 18 49-60 25 Fine QP 12 20-41 25 Standard QP 25 20-41
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Robust Imaging from Space Satellite and Airborne SAR Sensor Specifications Table A - Operational satellite SAR sensors and specifications
S-BAND
Sensor, operating agency, launch, Design life (EOL), Orbit & altitude (km) Swath Imaging modes Spatial Incidence application area Inclination angle (°) width resolution angle (°)
Nation Target revisit time (km) (m)
Kondor-E Polar 20-150 Spotlight HH, VV 1-2 20-55 NPO, 2012-2022 800 km 10-20 Stripmap 1-3 Left and EOL: 3-10 yrs ScanSAR 5-30 Right looking
Dual use Military: navigation and reconnaissance Earth observation: agriculture, forestry, land use
RUSSIA management, geology and mineral exploration, environmental protection
HJ-1C (Huan Jing-1) Sun-synch circ 1 radar + 2 optical constellation (HJ-1A: 31-44.5 CRESDA, 2011-2014 500 km CCD+IR camera, HJ-1B: CCD+HSI camera) Environmental monitoring & prediction, solid waste 97.3° StripMap SP (HH or VV) monitoring, disaster monitoring & prediction (flood, 31 days ScanSAR drought, typhoon, wind damage, sand storm, 40 5 earthquake, land creep, frost, grassland fires, crop 100 20
CHINA pests, ocean disaster monitoring)
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Robust Imaging from Space Satellite and Airborne SAR Sensor Specifications Table A - Operational satellite SAR sensors and specifications
L-BAND
Sensor, operating agency, launch, Design life (EOL), Orbit & altitude (km) Swath Imaging modes Spatial Incidence application area Inclination angle (°) width resolution angle (°)
Nation Target revisit time (km) (m)
JianBing-5 (JB-5) 635 km (Y3) 20 Spotlight 5 63.4 (Y9) JB 5-2/Yaogan3, JB 9-1/Yaogan6, JB 9-2/Yaogan8, 518 km (Y6) 100 ScanSAR 40 Yaogan9A/9B/9C, JB 9-3/Yaogan10, Yaogan13 1200 km (Y8) 1.5 (Y6)
Y3 2007-, Y6 2009-, Y8 2009-, Y9 2010-, Y10 2010-, Y13 1089 km (Y9) 2011 629 km (Y10) Dual use 97.8 ° CHINA Military: intelligence gathering, surveillance and reconnaissance Earth observation: land survey, disaster forecasting, crop yield evaluation, urban planning
MULTI-FREQUENCY
Sensor, operating agency, launch, Design life (EOL), Orbit & altitude (km) Swath Imaging modes Spatial Incidence application area Inclination angle (°) width resolution angle (°)
Nation Target revisit time (km) (m) Smotr Gascom, 2009 Sun-synch X- or C-band EOL: 7-10 yrs 670 km 10-15 High resolution mode 1-3 4 low-orbit satellites for monitoring oil/gas pipeline 98° 30-100 Low resolution mode 5-15 and earth observation (2 radar, 2 optical)
Priroda 400 km 50 Radiometer, SAR and optical imaging 50 35 RUSSIA RKA, 1996- 52° L-HH and S-VV Launched & installed on MIR space station 6 days Geoecology, land surface & ocean exploration
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Robust Imaging from Space Satellite and Airborne SAR Sensor Specifications Table B - Future/proposed satellite SAR sensors and specifications
Table B - Future/proposed satellite SAR sensors and specifications
X-BAND
Sensor, operating agency, launch, design life (EOL), Orbit & altitude (km) Swath Imaging modes Spatial Incidence application area Inclination angle (°) width resolution angle (°)
Nation Target revisit time (km) (m) SEOSAR/PAZ (SAR Observation Spanish Satellite) Sun-synch Based on TerraSAR-X 15-60 2012-2016 514 km 5-10 Spotlight SP/DP 1-2 Left and
Dual use 97.44° 15-30 Stripmap SP/DP 3-6 right looking Defence: land/water surveillance, border control, 11 days 100 ScanSAR (HH, VV) 15 tactical support SPAIN Civil: natural disaster monitoring, risk & crisis management
Cosmo-SkyMed Second Generation (CSG-1, CSG-2) Sun-synch 10 Spotlight DP 1 ASI, MiD 620 km 40 Stripmap DP 3 CSG-1 2015-2023, CSG-2 2016-2023 97.8° 100, 200 ScanSAR DP 20, 40 Environmental monitoring, surveillance and risk 16 days 30 Ping-pong QP 15
ITALY management, maritime, topographic mapping, law enforcement
TerraSAR-X2 Sun-synch Spotlight 0.5 DLR, 2015-2018 10-40 Stripmap 1-4 Commercial follow-on mission to TSX-1: 50-500 ScanSAR 5-50 cartography, land surface, civil planning, DTMs,
GERMANY environmental monitoring AstroSAR Sun-synch 10 Spotlight SP (HH or VV) or DP (HV) 1 ±45 Astrium 500 km Stripmap SP/DP Left and EOL: 5 yrs 20 ScanSAR SP/DP 3 right looking Mini-satellite proposed to UK Ministry of Defence Hourly-daily 100 Maritime 30
UK Cost: <$100 mil. 900 20 Dual use: civil/military Maritime, environment, security & disaster monitoring
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Robust Imaging from Space Satellite and Airborne SAR Sensor Specifications Table B - Future/proposed satellite SAR sensors and specifications
X-BAND
Sensor, operating agency, launch, design life (EOL), Orbit & altitude (km) Swath Imaging modes Spatial Incidence application area Inclination angle (°) width resolution angle (°)
Nation Target revisit time (km) (m) Meteor-M N2, N3 (Meteorological Satellite) Sun-synch 450-600 Onboard Radar Complex (OBRC) – 400-1000 25-48 ROSHYDROMET, ROSKOSMOS, N2 2012, N3 2015 835 km Severjanin, Vertical pol EOL: 5 yrs 98.7° Module for Geophysical Measurements
Operational meteorological services, regional & 37 days (GGAK-M)
global weather analysis & prediction, ocean surface Fourier spectrometer (IKFS-2) water states, space weather analysis MS imager (KMSS)
MS scanning imager/radiometer (MSU-MR) RUSSIA Scanning microwave imager-sounder (MTVZA) Data Collection System (DCS)
KOMPSAT-5 (Korea Multi-Purpose Satellite-5) Sun-synch Selectable pol (HH,HV,VH,VV) 20-55
KARI, 2012-2017 550 km High resolution mode EOL; 5 yrs 97.6° 5 Standard mode 1 Civil/scientific use; GIS, ocean & land management, 28 days 30 Wide swath mode 3 KOREA environment and disaster monitoring 100 20
RISAT-2F (Radar Imaging Satellite) Sun-synch
ISRO, 2013-? 550 km Research and disaster management applications
INDIA
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Robust Imaging from Space Satellite and Airborne SAR Sensor Specifications Table B - Future/proposed satellite SAR sensors and specifications
C-BAND
Sensor, operating agency, launch, design life (EOL), Orbit & altitude (km) Swath Imaging modes Spatial Incidence application area Inclination angle (°) width resolution angle (°)
Target revisit time (km) (m) Nation
Sentinel-1 A,B,C 693 km VV+VH, HH+HV 20-45
ESA 98.18° 80 StripMap 5 A 2012-2020, B 2014-2022, C 2019-2026 12 days 250 Interferometric Wide swath 5x20
Sea ice monitoring, marine surveillance, land surface Extra wide swath ITALY motion, disaster management 400 Wave mode 20x40 5x5 RADARSAT Constellation Mission (RCM) C-1, C-2, C-3 592.7 km HH,VV,HV,VH, compact pol CSA, C1,C2 2014-2021, C3 2015-2022 97.74° Low resolution 3 EOS satellites for near real-time maritime 12 days 500 Med resolution (maritime) 100 19-54
surveillance (ship detection, oil spill monitoring & 350 Med resolution (land) 50 19-58 sea ice mapping), disaster management, InSAR for 30 Med resolution (land) 16 20-47 geohazards, climate change & environment 125 High resolution 30 21-47 monitoring 30 Very high resolution 5 19-54 CANADA 20 Ice/oil low noise 3 18-54 350 25 m ship mode 100 19-58 350 variable 19-58 Right looking
S-BAND
Sensor, operating agency, launch, design life (EOL), Orbit & altitude (km) Swath Imaging modes Spatial Incidence application area Inclination angle (°) width resolution angle (°)
Nation Target revisit time (km) (m) NovaSAR-S Sun-synch or LI SP/DP/TP: (HH, HV, VH, VV) SSTL, 2013-2020 equatorial 15-20 Stripmap 6 16-34 Scientific/EO: flood and disaster monitoring, 580 km 100 ScanSAR 20 16-30
UK forestry, maritime surveillance, agriculture, land Daily-4 days 150 ScanSAR wide 30 15-31 cover/use 750 Maritime surveillance 30 48-73
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Robust Imaging from Space Satellite and Airborne SAR Sensor Specifications Table B - Future/proposed satellite SAR sensors and specifications
L-BAND
Sensor, operating agency, launch, design life (EOL), Orbit & altitude (km) Swath Imaging modes Spatial Incidence application area Inclination angle (°) width resolution angle (°)
Target revisit time (km) (m) Nation
TanDEM-L 760 km 350 L-band SAR 20-100 26.3-46.6 DLR, 2017-2022 Single-pass InSAR 8 days Polarimetry - quad
Wide swath mode GERMANY
ALOS PALSAR-2 628 km 25 Spotlight SP 3x1 30-44 (Phase Array L-band SAR) 97.9° 50 Ultra Fine SP/DP 3 Left or right
JAXA, 2013-2017 14 days 50 High sensitive SP/DP/FP/CP 6 looking
Earth observation, interferometry 66 days 70 Fine SP/DP/FP/CP 10 42 days 350 ScanSAR nominal SP/DP 100
JAPAN 14 days 490 ScanSAR wide SP/DP 60 (*SP: HH or VV or HV; DP: HH+HV or VV+VH; FP: HH+HV+VH+VV; CP: compact pol)
RISAT-1F and -3L (Radar Imaging Satellite) Sun-synch SAR L-radiometer ISRO, 1F 2012-2018, 3L 2014-2020 Dual use 97.84° Civil: agriculture, forestry, soil moisture, geology, 12 days sea ice, coastal processes, object detection, flood
INDIA mapping Military: reconnaissance, border surveillance, ship detection
DESDNyl Sun-synch 180-240 Multiple polarisations 10-100
NASA JPL, 2017-2022 600-800 km Single/dual-pol repeat pass InSAR
Earth observation: land surface change & hazards, 97° Expt. quad-pol repeat pass InSAR USA terrestrial & climate variables 12-16 days
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Robust Imaging from Space Satellite and Airborne SAR Sensor Specifications Table B - Future/proposed satellite SAR sensors and specifications
L-BAND
Sensor, operating agency, launch, design life (EOL), Orbit & altitude (km) Swath Imaging modes Spatial Incidence application area Inclination angle (°) width resolution angle (°)
Target revisit time (km) (m) Nation
SMAP (Soil Moisture Active Passive) Sun-synch 1000 L-band SAR VV,HH,HV 1-3 km 40 NASA JPL, 2014-2017 680 km L-band Radiometer 40 km Global measurements of soil moisture and freeze/thaw state for improved understanding of 2-3 days water, energy & carbon cycles, climate modelling, flood prediction, drought monitoring
SAOCOM (SAR Observation and Communications Sun-synch 20-40 Stripmap SP/DP 10 17-50.4
Satellite) 620 km 100-150 TopSAR narrow SP/DP/QP 30-50 17.6-47.3 CONAE, Argentina and ASI, Italy 97.89° 220-350 TopSAR wide SP/DP/QP/CL 50-100 17.6-48.9 Satellite EOS constellation 16 days (1 sat) (*SP: HH or HV or VH or VV; DP: HH+HV or Right looking 1A 2014-2019, 1B 2015-2020, 2A 2015-2020, 2B 2016- 8 days (const) VV+VH; QP: HH+HV+VH+VV; CL: RH+RV or 2021 LH+LV) EOL: 5 yrs Soil moisture mapping to support agricultural, hydrological & health applications, General NRM &
disaster management ARGENTINA & ITALY ARGENTINA &
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Robust Imaging from Space Satellite and Airborne SAR Sensor Specifications Table B - Future/proposed satellite SAR sensors and specifications
P-BAND Sensor, operating agency, launch, design life (EOL), Orbit & altitude (km) Swath Imaging modes Spatial Incidence application area Inclination angle (°) width resolution angle (°)
Nation Target revisit time (km) (m) BIOMASS 642 km P-band InSAR full pol 50x65 23-32 ESA, Italy, 2016-2021 60 StripMap Left or right 25-45 days 105 ScanSAR looking ITALY
MULTI-FREQUENCY
Arkon-2M Sun-synch 550-600 2-10 X- 1-1.5
Roskosmos, 2013-2018 km 20-100 L- 3-5 Military surveillance, earth observation and weather 100-450 R- (69 cm) 30
information RUSSIA
HY-3A, HY-3B, HY-3C Sun-synch 20-40 X- SAR Precise mode HH,VV 1 15-60 CRESDA 799 km 60-80 X- Stripmap HH,VV 5 3A 2015-2020, 3B 2017-2022, 3C 2022-2027 98.48° 120-150 X- ScanSAR HH,VV 10
EOL: >3 yrs 29 days 5 C- SAR Wave mode HH+VV or HH+HV or 10
Ocean monitoring, environmental protection, VV+VH coastal zone survey 150 C- Image mode HH+VV or HH+HV or VV+VH 25
CHINA 650 C- Wide swath mode HH+VV or HH+HV or 100 VV+VH 650 C- Global monitoring mode HH+VV or 1000 HH+HV or VV+VH
SCLP (Snow and Cold Land Processes) Sun-synch K-band radiometer 50-100 NASA JPL, 2030-2033 Ku and X-band radars
USA Snow accumulation for freshwater availability 15 days
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Robust Imaging from Space Satellite and Airborne SAR Sensor Specifications Table C - Operational airborne SAR sensors and specifications
Table C - Operational airborne SAR sensors and specifications
Sensor, operating agency and date, application area Flying height (km) Swath Frequency Spatial Incidence width Imaging modes resolution angle (°)
Nation (km) (m)
EUROPE Sethi Multispectral & SAR system ONERA, 2007- X-
Earth observation, interferometry, security and L-, P- 0-90
scientific applications (e.g., Tropisar campaign – 5-165 preparation for BIOMASS satellite mission) RAMSES P-, L-, S-, C-, X- full pol 40-80 FRANCE ONERA Ku, Ka full pol Scientific: topography, subsidence, vegetation, W geology, soil moisture DO-SAR S-VV, VH, HH, HV Dornier C-VV, VH, HH, HV X-VV, VH, HH, HV Ka-VV E-SAR 3.9 L- full pol 2x0.085 20-60 DLR, 1989/94- X-VV or HH GERMANY X-VV or HH P- full pol
DRA-SAR (Defence Research Agency SAR) C- full pol
UK DRA X-HH
EMISAR C- full pol 2
EMI/TUD, 1993/94- L- full pol DENMARK
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Robust Imaging from Space Satellite and Airborne SAR Sensor Specifications Table C - Operational airborne SAR sensors and specifications
Sensor, operating agency and date, application area Flying height (km) Swath Frequency Spatial Incidence width Imaging modes resolution angle (°)
Nation (km) (m)
CARABAS (Coherent All Radio Band Sensing) 1-5 1-5 VHF 20-90 MHz 3 40-70 FOA HH Wide-area surveillance, target detection, vegetation
and biomass, disaster monitoring SWEDEN
PHARUS (Phased Array Universal SAR) 6-20 C- full pol 3 10-75 FEL-TNO, Delft, 1995- Military (target detection, cartography) and civil use
(forestry, agriculture, oceans) NETHERLANDS RUSSIA SAR TRAVERS S- VV or HH Vega, Moscow
IMARC 24 X-, L-, P- full polarimetric 4-15 Vega, Moscow VHF (118 MHz)
Soil & terrain mapping, hydrology studies, DEM generation
ASIA Pi-SAR-L (Polarimetric and Interferometric SAR) 6-12 15 X- InSAR 3x3.2 10-60 JAXA, 1996- Mode 1 HH or VV Disaster monitoring & earth observation X- and L- full pol
Mode 2 HH, HV, VH, HH NASAR-1 20 L- full pol 3
NASDA/EORC, 1996- JAPAN
NECSAR X-HH NASDA/EORC, 1992- Interferometry & topographic mapping
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Robust Imaging from Space Satellite and Airborne SAR Sensor Specifications Table C - Operational airborne SAR sensors and specifications
Sensor, operating agency and date, application area Flying height (km) Swath Frequency Spatial Incidence width Imaging modes resolution angle (°)
Nation (km) (m)
CASSAR 7.2 X-HH, VV 10 73-83 CAS/ISRA Agriculture, soil moisture, vegetation parameters,
CHINA biomass, surface roughness
AUSTRALIA INGARA X- full pol 45-89 DSTO 12-48 Stripmap 2-8 Scientific: coherent change detection studies & Spotlight 0.3 feature extraction Interferometric PLIS (Polarimetric L-band Imaging SAR) 0.3-3 0.1-2.2 L-band scatterometer 11-29 15-45 Flinders University, Adelaide Full pol Left and Test bed for SMAP with applications in soil moisture Single pass InSAR right looking estimation
SOUTH AFRICA SASAR-1 (South African SAR) 4 VHF (0.141 GHz) full pol University of Cape Town, 1999- Terrain mapping, vegetation studies CANADA STAR-1,2 (Sea ice and Terrain Assessment Radar) 19-50 X-HH 5-18 Intermap, 1990- Sea ice monitoring, terrain analysis
NORTH AMERICA GeoSAR 10-12 10-12 X- and P- 1.25-3 (X-) 25-60 Interferometer and LiDAR profiler HH+HV or VV+VH 1.25-5 (P-) Fugro EarthData, 2000- 5 (DEM) Commercial/scientific: thematic & topographic mapping, hydrology, oil and gas exploration,
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Robust Imaging from Space Satellite and Airborne SAR Sensor Specifications Table C - Operational airborne SAR sensors and specifications
Sensor, operating agency and date, application area Flying height (km) Swath Frequency Spatial Incidence width Imaging modes resolution angle (°)
Nation (km) (m)
infrastructure planning, crop monitoring, forestry, fuel mapping UAVSAR 13.8 16 L- full pol 2 rng NASA JPL Differential interferometry for investigating dynamic phenomena (earthquakes, volcanoes, deformation, vegetation, soil moisture, ice/glaciers, oceanography)
STAR3i/IFSARE (Interferometric SAR – Elevation) 12.2 10 X-HH 3 45 ERIM, USA, 1992- 2.5-10 DEM Military and civil use: interferometric mapping, DEM (abs V.Acc 3) generation
SOUTH AMERICA
SARAT 9 L-band polarimetry 3x0.4 23-69 CONAE, Argentina HH,HV,VH,VV Test bed for SAOCOM satellite and integration with multi-frequency SAR data for extracting physical
information ARGENTINA Orbisar-RFP (Radar for Foliage Penetration) X- and P-band InSAR
OrbiSat, Brazil
Cartographic products, including DTMs, ortho- images, contour maps, topographic maps for
BRAZIL applications in mining, gas and oil, defence, environment, energy
US MILITARY DCS (Data Collection System) 6.1 X- full pol 1.2 45 ERIM, US Air Force Ku-VV -Single-pass interferometry
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Robust Imaging from Space Satellite and Airborne SAR Sensor Specifications Table C - Operational airborne SAR sensors and specifications
Sensor, operating agency and date, application area Flying height (km) Swath Frequency Spatial Incidence width Imaging modes resolution angle (°)
Nation (km) (m)
ASARS-2A (Advanced SAR System) Payloads: electro-optical, IR and SAR Onboard U2 aircraft imagers, film camera, signals intelligence US Air Force equipment Military reconnaissance & surveillance, target detection, damage assessment, disaster survey
P-3/SAR UWB (0.35 GHz) VV, VH, HH, HV ERIM, Navy L-VV, VH, HH, HV C-VV, VH, HH, HV X-VV, VH, HH, HV
SAR onboard RC-7 ARL aircraft Payloads: communications, signals and 1.8 US Military imagery intelligence Military intelligence gathering Phased-array radar onboard E-8C JSTARS aircraft Multi-mode SAR system Antenna US Air Force Wide Area Surveillance (WAS) tilted to Ground surveillance & moving target detection Moving Target Indicator (MTI) either side 120° FOV SAR onboard MQ-1 Predator UAV 7.62 0.3-1 US Air Force, 1995- Military surveillance and reconnaissance, intelligence gathering, weapons delivery
SAR onboard RQ-4A Global Hawk UAV 19.8 UAV equipped with electro-optical, IR and US Air Force SAR imagers Military intelligence, moving target detection, SAR MTI system, X-band Spotlight mode damage assessment 10 Stripmap mode 0.3-1.8 37 Wide-area mode 6
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Robust Imaging from Space Satellite and Airborne SAR Sensor Specifications Table D - Decommissioned SAR sensors
Table D - Decommissioned SAR sensors
AIRBORNE
Sensor, operating agency and date, application area Flying height (km) Swath Frequency Spatial Incidence width Imaging modes resolution angle (°)
Nation (km) (m) AIRSAR (Airborne SAR) and TOPSAR (Topographic SAR) 8 10-15 C-, L- and P- Polarimetric 10 0-70 NASA JPL, USA 4.6 Cross-track Interferometric (XTI)
1993-2000 TOPSAR Along-track Interferometric (ATI) USA
SATELLITE
Sensor, operating agency, launch, application area Orbit & altitude Swath Frequency Spatial Incidence (km) width Imaging modes resolution angle (°)
Nation Inclination angle (°) (km) (m) Target revisit time X-BAND
IGS-1B, IGS-4B 486-491 km 1-3
(Information Gathering Satellites) 97.3° 1B 2003-2007, 4B 2007-2010
JAPAN Military surveillance C-BAND ERS-1 (Earth Resources Satellite) Sun-synch polar 100 C-VV 30x26.3 23 ESA, 1991-2000 Earth observation, meteorology, topographic ITALY mapping
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Robust Imaging from Space Satellite and Airborne SAR Sensor Specifications Table D - Decommissioned SAR sensors
Sensor, operating agency, launch, application area Orbit & altitude Swath Frequency Spatial Incidence (km) width Imaging modes resolution angle (°)
Nation Inclination angle (°) (km) (m) Target revisit time ERS-2 800 km 100 SAR image mode C-VV 26 20-26 ESA, 1995-2011 98.5° 5 SAR wave mode Right looking -Earth observation 35 days Wind scatterometer mode
ENVISAT ASAR (Advanced SAR) 800 km 100 Image mode (HH or VV) 30 15-45 ESA, 2002-2012 98.5° 100 Alternating pol (VV+HH or VV+VH or 30 Right looking Earth observation: land, sea, ice, ocean monitoring 35 days HH+HV) & surveillance 400 Wide swath mode (HH or VV) 150 Global monitoring mode (HH or VV) 400 Wave mode (HH or VV) 1000
5 30 S-BAND Almaz-1 270 km 40 HH 10-15 25-60
1991-1992 72.7° Left and Oceanography, geology, cartography & geophysics, right looking climate change, forestry,
RUSSIA Agriculture, ecology
Lacrosse 1-5/Onyx 666 km 5 satellite program 1
NRO, 1988-2011 57-68° Military reconnaissance USA
L-BAND JERS-1 (Japanese Earth Resources Satellite) 570 km 75 L-HH 18 32-38
JAXA, 1992-1998 98.5°
Tropical & boreal forest mapping 44 days JAPAN
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Robust Imaging from Space Satellite and Airborne SAR Sensor Specifications Table D - Decommissioned SAR sensors
Sensor, operating agency, launch, application area Orbit & altitude Swath Frequency Spatial Incidence (km) width Imaging modes resolution angle (°)
Nation Inclination angle (°) (km) (m) Target revisit time ALOS PALSAR 691 km L- Multiple modes (Phase Array L-band SAR) 98.16° 70 Fine Beam Single HH 10 34.3-41.5 JAXA, 2006-2011 46 days 70 Fine Beam Dual HH+HV 20 34.3-41.5 Earth observation 30 Quad pol HH+HV+VH+VV 30 21.5 350 Wide Beam HH 100 18-43 Right looking JianBing-5 (JB 5-1/Yaogan 1) 628 km 40 Spotlight 5 2006-2010 97.8 ° 100 ScanSAR 20 Dual use Military: intelligence gathering, surveillance and
reconnaissance CHINA Earth observation: land survey, disaster forecasting, crop yield evaluation, urban planning MULTI-FREQUENCY SIR-C/X-SAR (Shuttle Imaging Radar) 215 15-90 C- and L- full pol (HH,HV,VH,VV) 10-200 49 NASA JPL, 1994 57° X-VV Multi-ang
Experimental program for multi-freq/pol/ang SAR 2x11 day missions 15-40 pointing for extracting physical information capability USA
SRTM (Shuttle Radar Topography Mission) 233 km 225 SIR-C HH+VV 30-90 17-65 NASA JPL, USA and DLR, Germany 57° X-SAR HH+VV (abs v.acc 16 Feb 2000 11 day mission m)
Near-global DEM generation USA & GERMANY & USA
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