RA-2 design and technologies [Radar Altimeter]

Radar altimeter instruments have provided, and are expected to provide in the future, an important contribution to geodetic, oceanography, climatology and other fields of Earth sciences. The RA-2 Radar Altimeter, designed for the ENVISAT-1 Earth observation mission, will provide significant improvements versus the ERS-1/2 altimeter and the other instruments of the same generation, such as increased accuracy of scientific data, autonomous compensation of ionospheric delay and capability of maintain tracking over any type of surface. An overall picture of the instrument is given, with a description of the functional units, with a particular emphasis to those which are the most critical in terms of performance requirements and where use of state-of-the-art technology has been a must. The verification aspects are then treated (verification is here meant as the sum of the activities which are required to demonstrate the fulfilment of the requirements) describing the selected “end-to-end” test approach