Advanced Radar Geosynchronous Observation System: ARGOS

The Advanced Radar Geosynchronous Observation System is proposed to be a multiple-input-multiple-output synthetic aperture radar (SAR) system hosted on a swarm of minisatellites in quasi-geostationary orbits. The system is made of N iso-frequency sensors, each of them transmitting and receiving the signals. The system would combine the continuous imaging capabilities of a geostationary SAR, gaining a factor N² in signalto-noise ratio (SNR). The real aperture would be achievable in ~40 min, enabling applications so far unseen, such as monitoring fast deformations, landslides, and other applications for emergency and security. Still, the SNR of the long acquisition time would be conserved. The optimal design of the swarm is addressed, in order to trade resolution, coverage, and revisit time.