BackForwardInstrument:  SIRAL 

Instrument details
Acronym SIRAL
Full name SAR Interferometer Radar Altimeter
Purpose Ice topography, ocean topography, significant wave height, wind speed on sea surface
Short description
  • Single frequency (13.575 GHz, bandwidth 350 MHz), with SAR capability along-track for high spatial resolution, and two cross-track aligned antennas implementing SAR interferometry to capture elevation changes
  • Instrument monitoring and calibration here
Background

First embarked on CryoSat, failed at launch
Scanning Technique

No scanning.  Several operating modes possible, depending on the target area
Resolution 15 km IFOV.  When used in SAR mode, the along-track resolution is 250 m
Coverage / Cycle Global coverage on high latitudes in 1 month
Mass 70 kg Power 149 W Data Rate 60 kbps, 12 Mbps (SAR), 24 Mbps (SAR interferometry)

 

Providing Agency ESA
Instrument Maturity Flown on an R&D satellite
Utilization Period: 2005 to 2026
Last update: 2024-09-09
Detailed characteristics
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
  • Radar altimeter
WIGOS Subcomponents
  • Subcomponent 1
  • Wide-swath radar altimeters, and high altitude, inclined, high-precision orbit altimeters
  • Conventional radar altimeter
  • Subcomponent 2
  • Interferometric radar altimetry
  • Interferometric radar altimeter [for wide-swath]
Mission objectives
Primary mission objectives
  • Geoid
  • Ocean dynamic topography
  • Significant wave height
Evaluation of Measurements