RADARSAT

RADARSAT is an advanced Earth observation satellite project developed by Canada to monitor environmental change and to support resource sustainablility. RADARSAT was launched on 4 Nov 1995 and is designed for a five-year lifetime.

RADARSAT uses Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR), an active microwave sensor, allowing 24 hour data collection independent of weather conditions and illumination. The SAR sensor uses a 5.6 cm wavelength which is known as C-band, has a HH polarization (horizont transmit, horizon reveive) and has selective viewing angles that allow a wide range of terrain conditions, applications and ground coverage requirements to be accommodated.Imaging modes for RADARSAT include Fine, Standard, Wide, ScanSAR (narrow and wide), and Extended Beam (high and low incidence angles).

Beam Characteristics

Beam Mode Beam Position Incidence Angle Range (deg) Resolution (m)
Range x Azimuth		 Nominal Area (km)
Fine F1N
F1
F1F
F2N
F2
F2F
F3N
F3
F3F
F4N
F4
F4F
F5N
F5
F5F
 36.4-39.5
36.8-39.9
37.2-40.3
38.9-41.8
39.3-42.1
39.5-42.5
41.1-43.7
41.5-44.0
41.8-44.3
43.2-45.5
43.5-45.8
43.8-46.1
45.0-47.3
45.3-47.5
45.6-47.8
9.1 x 8.4


8.7 x 8.4


8.4 x 8.4


8.1 x 8.4


7.8 x 8.4
 50 X 50
Standard S1
S2
S3
S4
S5
S6
S7		 19.4-26.8
24.1-30.9
31.0-37.0
33.6-39.4
36.4-41.9
41.7-46.5
44.7-49.2		 26.0x27.0
22.0x27.0
27.6x27.0
25.7x27.0
24.2x27.0
22.1x27.0
20.1x27.0		 110 X 100
Wide W1
W2
W3		 19.3-30.2
30.1-38.9
38.9-45.1		 35.5x27.0
26.0x27.0
22.8x27.0		 165 x 165
150x150
130x130
ScanSAR Narrow sN1
sN2		 19.3-38.9
30.1-46.5		 50 (approximate) 300 x 300
ScanSAR Wide sW1
sW2		 19.3-49.2
19.3-46.5		 100 (approximate) 510 x 500
470 x 500
Extended Low L1 10.4-22.0 36.3x27.0 169 x 170
Extended High H1
H2
H3
H4
H5
H6		 49.0-52.4
50.0-53.5
51.2-54.6
54.4-57.1
55.5-58.2
56.9-59.4		 19.8x27.0
19.4x27.0
19.1x27.0
18.5x27.0
18.2x27.0
18.0x27.0		 85 x 75
Note: The numbers shown in this table are approximations.

Data Products

CRISP's ground station is capable of generating the following standard products:

in Radarsat CEOS format.