A LightSAR mission design study for a NASA-sponsored joint commercial/science SAR remote sensing mission

The LightSAR program, sponsored by NASA/JPL, has as its goal the eventual design, launch, and operation of an Earth-orbiting SAR satellite. With advanced technologies to reduce cost and increase data quality, key requirements of the LightSAR concept are to satisfy both science and commercial data needs and to design a commercially viable remote sensing mission. Design studies were completed in late 1997. Leading one of the four study teams, Vexcel Corporation, together with Ball Aerospace, JPL, Earthwatch, Dornier, and SpaceTec, addressed all aspects of the end-to-end mission design. A unique feature of this program is the requirement that design considerations be driven by both the science and commercial user communities. As a result, a significant portion of the study consisted of the evaluation of NASA science requirements, and of commercial user requirements and the potential market for radar remote sensing data in the 2001 timeframe and beyond. A group of seven pilot projects were conducted with participation from a variety of industries including forestry, agribusiness, exploration, and engineering/construction. The final Vexcel LightSAR design concept is a product of these pilot studies, detailed market analysis, NASA science requirements, and technology development schedules. It includes system-level designs of both space and ground segments, including antenna, spacecraft, instrumentation, communications, and data processing and distribution. The design includes dual frequencies with quad-pol at L-band; a high-resolution mode with 3m or better resolution; sun-synchronous, polar orbit; an 11-day repeat cycle, orbit control to 250m and orbit knowledge to 10 cm