Synthetic aperture radiometers for microwave remote sensing from space

Aperture synthesis is an interferometric technology which could open the way for new applications of passive microwave remote sensing from space. In aperture synthesis pairs of small antennas are used to achieve the resolution of a single larger aperture and a wide field-of-view is obtained without scanning. The technique has been demonstrated from an aircraft (ESTAR) and the technology is ready for implementation in space. To fully enable this technology for future remote sensing from space will require design of antenna and deployment structures, the transition to digital signal processing, the interconnection of many receiver pairs, and optimization of the image reconstruction algorithm