RADARSAT

RADARSAT, the first Canadian remote sensing spacecraft, is to be launched in 1994, and is designed to provide Earth observation information for five years. The only payload instrument is a 5.6-cm wavelenght (C-band) synthetic aperture imaging radar (SAR). RADARSAT will gather data on command for up to 28 min during each cycle of its 800-km (nominal) near-polar orbit. Image resolutions from 10 to 100 m at swath widths of 45 to 500 km will be available. RADARSAT is intended primarily for operational purposes, so that the ground segment and data delivery systems are essential elements in the system design. A Science Announcement of Opportunity is expected to be published before the launch date. Technical challenges in the RADARSAT design include calibration, rapid data processing, the phased array antenna to provide controlled beam steering, and the first satellite implementation of a special radar technique known as ScanSAR.