Design, performance and technology aspects in relation to a next generation high resolution spaceborne SAR instrument

A future SAR system is currently being studied by ESA. The instrument is a high resolution/flexible swath SAR capable of providing detailed images of selected scenes. The related study to the instrument is entitled ´Next Generation SAR Instrument´ where the main aim of the study is the identification of critical sub-systems and technologies which will require bread boarding. The study is being performed by Daimler-Benz Aerospace/Dornier (Germany) together with Alenia Spazio (Italy), Saab Ericson (Sweden), System Engineering and Assessment Ltd (United Kingdom), DLR (Germany) and Dassault Electronique (France). The purpose of this paper is to consider design, performance and technology aspects in relation to the next generation SAR instrument. This instrument is considered as a follow on instrument to the ERS-1/2 AMI SAR and the ENVISAT-1 ASAR providing advanced performance