Ka-Band radar missions for earth observation

The use of Ka-Band in remote sensing creates new opportunities in Earth observation for science and civil security applications due to the unique characteristics of this higher frequency range. Several Ka-Band satellite missions and instruments are currently under development or close to launch (e.g. ALTIKA altimeter, SWOT satellite, etc). In addition, studies into future interferometric SAR missions are on-going and there is an increasing interest in the capabilities offered by radar systems at higher frequencies. This paper reports on major trends as derived from the 1st International Workshop on Ka-band Earth Observation Radar Missions (KEO´12), which was organized by the European Space Agency at ESA/ESTEC (The Netherlands) in November 2012.