Questions tagged [synthetic-aperture-radar]

Synthetic-aperture radar (SAR) is a form of radar mostly used for ground observation from satellites.

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Has "parasitic radar" ever been used in space?

Synthetic aperture radar or SAR is becoming a hot field of Earth observation of both natural and human activity. It is very power hungry as the beam needs to deliver sufficient power over each square ...
1 vote
3 answers
155 views

What would be the advantages and disadvantages of a LEO Earth observation satellite, carrying both Electro optical and SAR payload be?

An Indian startup, is trying to build a multi- payload satellite having both optical and SAR sensor on the same satellite. The look angles of the these payload are quite different and it is very ...
11 votes
1 answer
928 views

Star-shaped artifacts in SAR images of the "Suez Canal traffic jam seen from space"

Wikipedia's 2021 Suez Canal obstruction links to the Sentinel-1 synthetic aperture radar (SAR) image of the Traffic jam in the Gulf of Suez caused by the obstruction as seen by the Sentinel-1 ...
8 votes
2 answers
815 views

How (the heck) was coherent synthetic aperture radar (SAR) implemented using photographic emulsion aboard Apollo 17?

This answer to Is there really microfilm on the Moon? includes a block quote which includes the following subquote: The equipment was installed in the service module and consisted of a coherent ...
3 votes
0 answers
89 views

Given 10W and a 100 m^2 target to look for from LEO, which can search a larger area; SAR or LIDAR? (back of spherical cow-shaped envelope question)

Background For the project discussed in Space based active optical sensors for maritime surveillance the concern seems to be that SAR is off the table because a low inclination orbit is in eclipse ...
0 votes
1 answer
144 views

News of eXCITe with QIKcom-2 and SeeMe, have they been launched, or is there currently one scheduled?

Comments under the question What ever happened to SHERPA? about NovaWurks, Inc. led me to search for the DARPA eXCITe microsatellite. Spaceflight 101's page includes: Th(e) objectives of the ...
4 votes
0 answers
66 views

Why is the along track resolution of the MRO's SHARAD limited to >300m?

I've been reading about the SHAllow RADar instrument on the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, but I am struggling to understand why the along track resolution of its radargrams is so large. As I ...
3 votes
2 answers
292 views

Number of spectral bands on radar satellites

I have learned that optical earth observing satellites have spectral bands often in groups (e.g. panchromatic, multi-spectral, SWIR, etc.). What about radar satellites such as RADARSAT-1? It seems it ...
7 votes
3 answers
1k views

SAR image processing

Is it possible for conventional x86 based processor/High precision GPU to be used for image processing for space borne Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) system? If not, are there alternatives using ...
3 votes
3 answers
905 views

How can ICEYE-X1 capture 2D high resolution SAR images in "tens of seconds"?

The PRNewsWire release First ICEYE-X1 Radar Image from Space Published says: The full image transmitted to the ground from ICEYE-X1 exceeded 1.2GB of raw data and spans an area of roughly 80 x 40 ...
2 votes
2 answers
900 views

Parallel orbits around the Earth - effectively?

edit: For the purposes of this exercise, one could consider using three or four identical spacecraft, and using the "best two out of three (or four)" for interferometry at any given moment. In 1994, ...
12 votes
1 answer
1k views

Detailed radar imaging of Tiangong-1; how do they do that?

@JamesPoulose's answer shows an advanced radar image of Tiangong-1, 270 km from the Earth's surface. The images was sourced from Space.com's How Was China's Tiangong-1 Space Station Crash Tracked So ...