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RadarSat-1
Radarsat-1 engineered under the supervision of CSA (Canadian Space Agency) in cooperation with a number of commercial companies was launched on November 4, 1995 from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California into sun-synchronous orbit of 798 km altitude and 98.6° declination. Radarsat-1 is fitted with synthetic aperture side-viewing radar providing unique swath width modification and spatial resolution. The radar scans the Earth in the С-band with 5.6 cm wavelength and horizontal polarization HH in 10 - 60° angular range. Active lifetime was estimated as 7 years. However the satellite is still successfully operated in orbit. Users all over the world can order the imagery of 50 - 500 km width and 8 - 100 m spatial resolution.
Radarsat-1 imagery applications:
- Observing natural hazards (floods, ice movements, etc.) regardless of weather and time;
- Monitoring of fast-growing impacts to ecology (oil pollution extension, fragile and pest forest detecting, etc.) ;
- Forestry and agriculture monitoring: mapping, use control, illegal logging assessment, etc;
- Ice and snow assessment;
- Creation and refreshing of topographical maps and special plans up to 1:50 000 scale;
- DEM and DSM high resolution creation (up to 5-10 meters height accuracy).
Basic characteristics:
Launch date: |
November 4, 1995 |
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Spectral bands (mkm): |
5.6 сm (С-band) |
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Mode: |
Swatch Width |
Resolution Range x Azimuth |
Survey angular region |
Polyrisation |
Fine |
50 km |
8 x 8 m |
30° - 50° |
HH and HV, or VH and VV |
Standard |
100 km |
25 x 26 m |
20° - 49° |
|
Wide |
150 km |
30 x 26 m |
20° - 45° |
|
ScanSAR Narrow |
300 km |
50 x 50 m |
20° - 46° |
|
ScanSAR Wide |
500 km |
100 x 100 m |
20° - 49° |
|
Extended Low |
170 km |
40 x 26 m |
10° - 23° |
HH |
Extended High |
75 km |
18 x 26 м |
49° - 60° |
|
Fine Quad-pol |
25 km |
12 x 8 m |
20° - 41° |
HH, VV, HV, VH |
Standard Quad-pol |
25 km |
25 x 8 m |
20° - 41° |
|
Ultra-Fine |
20 km |
3 x 3 м |
30° - 40° |
One of: HH / HV / VH / VV |
File format: |
CEOS, GeoTIFF upon request |
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Processing: |
Radiometric, sensor and geometric correction, mapped to a cartographic projection - depending on processing level |
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Revisit time: |
From 2-3 days in ecquator within 500 km swatch width, depending on mode and type of survey |
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Order implementation: |
1-14 days for archive data 2-30 days for new order |
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Minimum order area: |
One square scene with the length equal to swath width for any mode |
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