The evolution of synthetic aperture radar systems and their progression to the EOS SAR

Author

Way, JoBea ; Smith, Elizabeth Atwood

Author_Institution

Jet Propulsion Lab., California Inst. of Technol., Pasadena, CA, USA

Volume

29

Issue

6

fYear

1991

fDate

11/1/1991 12:00:00 AM

Firstpage

962

Lastpage

985

Abstract

The authors describe the evolution of the spaceborne imaging radar starting with the Seasat SAR, through the SIR-A, SIR-B, and SIR-C/X-SAR missions, to the Earth Observing System (Eos) SAR which is scheduled for launch as part of Eos in the late 1990s. A summary of the planned international missions, which may produce a permanent active microwave capability in space starting as early as 1991, is also presented, along with a description of the airborne systems which will be essential to the algorithm development and long-term calibration of the spaceborne data. A brief summary of the planetary missions utilizing SAR and a comparison of their imaging capabilities with those available on Earth are presented

Keywords

geophysical equipment; radar systems; remote sensing by radar; EOS SAR; Earth Observing System; SIR-A; SIR-B; SIR-C/X-SAR; Seasat; airborne systems; algorithm development; geophysical equipment; imaging capabilities; long-term calibration; planetary missions; spaceborne data; synthetic aperture radar systems; Calibration; Earth Observing System; Microwave imaging; Radar imaging; Rough surfaces; Sea ice; Sea surface; Space missions; Spaceborne radar; Surface roughness; Surface waves; Synthetic aperture radar; Vegetation mapping;

fLanguage

English

Journal_Title

Geoscience and Remote Sensing, IEEE Transactions on

Publisher

ieee

ISSN

0196-2892

Type

jour

DOI

10.1109/36.101374

Filename

101374