BackForwardInstrument:  SAR-10 

Instrument details
Acronym SAR-10
Full name Synthetic Aperture Radar -10
Purpose High-resolution land observation for military surveillance and civilian hydrology (soil moisture)
Short description S-band SAR operating on the frequency of 3.13 GHz. Very large deployable antenna (parabolic, 6-m diameter). Variable swath/resolution and polarisation [see detailed characteristics below]
Background New development
Scanning Technique Side-looking, swath 10 to 150 km, addressable within a field of regard of 1000 km (500 km either right or left) - See table
Resolution 1 to 30 m, depending on operating mode (see table)
Coverage / Cycle Depending on strategic pointing. Minimum reisit time:2-3 days
Mass 350 kg Power Data Rate

 

Providing Agency NPOMash
Instrument Maturity Flown on an R&D satellite
Utilization Period: 2013 to 2029
Last update: 2023-11-27
Detailed characteristics

Operation mode

Resolution

Swath

Field of regard

Polarisation

Spotlight

1-2 m

10-20 km

500 km, either right or left

HH or VV

Stripmap

1-3 m

10-20 km

500 km, either right or left

HH or VV

ScanSAR

5-30 m

20-150 km

500 km, either right or left

HH
Satellites this instrument is flying on

Note: a red tag indicates satellites no longer operational, a green tag indicates operational satellites, a blue tag indicates future satellites

Instrument classification
  • Earth observation instrument
  • Active and radio-occultation sensor
  • Imaging radar (SAR)
WIGOS Subcomponents
  • Subcomponent 4
  • SAR constellation (commercial)
  • SAR constellation (commercial)
Mission objectives
Primary mission objectives
  • Biomass
  • Fraction of vegetated land
  • Land cover
  • Land surface topography
  • Oil spill cover
  • Sea-ice cover
  • Sea-ice type
  • Soil moisture at surface
Evaluation of Measurements

The following list indicates which measurements can typically be retrieved from this category of instrument. To see a full Gap Analysis by Variable, click on the respective variable.

Note: table can be sorted by clicking on the column headers
Note: * Primary mission objective.
VariableRelevance for measuring this variableOperational limitationsExplanation
Biomass*2 - very highIndex only.. Infrequent coverage.S-band sensitive to total biomass
Dominant wave direction5 - marginalInfrequent coverage.S-band SAR. Variable measured by spectral analysis of "imagettes"
Dominant wave period5 - marginalInfrequent coverage.S-band SAR. Variable measured by spectral analysis of "imagettes"
Fire fractional cover3 - highInfrequent coverage.S-band SAR. High resolution, for fire boundary detection
Fraction of vegetated land*5 - marginalNo specific limitation.S-band SAR
Glacier cover1 - primaryLong time for mapping.S-band SAR for accurate boundary detection
Glacier motion2 - very highInfrequent coverage.S-band SAR for interferometry between images taken at time intervals
Glacier topography2 - very highLong time for mapping.S-band SAR for interferometry between images taken at time intervals
Ice sheet topography2 - very highLong time for mapping.S-band SAR for interferometry between images taken at time intervals
Land cover*5 - marginalNo specific limitation.S-band SAR
Land surface topography*2 - very highLong time for mapping.S-band SAR for interferometry between images taken at time intervals
Oil spill cover*2 - very highInfrequent coverage.S-band SAR
Sea-ice cover*1 - primaryNo specific limitation.S-band SAR
Sea-ice elevation5 - marginalNo specific limitation.S-band SAR. Sea ice elevation measured by interferometry
Sea-ice thickness5 - marginalChange detection only.S-band SAR. Sea ice elevation measured by interferometry. Thickness inferred by ice model
Sea-ice type*3 - highNo specific limitation.S-band SAR. Type interpreted as age/roughness
Significant wave height5 - marginalHighly indirect.. Infrequent coverage.S-band SAR. Retrieved by spectral analysis of "imagettes". Boundary condition necessary for the retrieval
Snow water equivalent4 - fairChange detection only.. Infrequent coverage.S-band SAR. SWE is retrieved by grigging with data from ground networks
Soil moisture (in the roots region)2 - very highAffected by vegetation.. Infrequent coverage.S-band SAR
Soil moisture at surface*2 - very highInfrequent coverage.S-band SAR
Soil type5 - marginalNo specific limitation.S-band SAR
Vegetation type5 - marginalNo specific limitation.S-band SAR
Wave directional energy frequency spectrum5 - marginalInfrequent coverage.S-band SAR. Variable measured by spectral analysis of "imagettes"