BackForwardInstrument:  X-SAR 

Instrument details
Acronym X-SAR
Full name X-SAR
Purpose High-resolution all-weather imager for ocean, land and ice with focus on Asian cities.
Short description

X-band SAR, frequency 9.65 GHz and variable swath/resolution [see detailed characteristics below]. Polarisation VV.
Background

New development to demonstrate X-Band SARs on a mini-satellite.
Scanning Technique

Swath width 10 to 30 km. See table below for options. Off nadir pointing between 15 and 45 deg.
Resolution 1 - 3 m (see table)
Coverage / Cycle Coverage increases with number of satellites. 1 day repeat cycle for 6 satellites.
Mass 100 kg Power Data Rate

 

Providing Agency Synspective
Instrument Maturity Flown on an R&D satellite
Utilization Period: 2021 to 2032
Last update: 2024-03-13
Detailed characteristics
Operation mode Resolution Swath Polarisation

Spotlight

 1 m 10 km VV

Stripmap

 3 m 30 km VV
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
  • Land cover
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
Fire fractional cover3 - highInfrequent coverage.X-band SAR. High resolution, for fire boundary detection
Fraction of vegetated land3 - highNo specific limitation.X-band SAR
Glacier cover2 - very highLong time for mapping.X-band SAR for accurate boundary detection
Glacier motion5 - marginalInfrequent coverage.X-band SAR for interferometry between images taken at time intervals
Glacier topography3 - highLong time for mapping.X-band SAR for interferometry between images taken at time intervals
Ice sheet topography3 - highLong time for mapping.X-band SAR for interferometry between images taken at time intervals
Land cover*3 - highNo specific limitation.X-band SAR
Land surface topography3 - highLong time for mapping.X-band SAR for interferometry between images taken at time intervals
Oil spill cover1 - primaryInfrequent coverage.X-band SAR
Sea-ice cover1 - primaryNo specific limitation.X-band SAR
Sea-ice elevation4 - fairNo specific limitation.X-band SAR. Sea ice elevation measured by interferometry
Sea-ice thickness4 - fairChange detection only.X-band SAR. Sea ice elevation measured by interferometry. Thickness inferred by ice model
Sea-ice type2 - very highNo specific limitation.X-band SAR. Type interpreted as age/roughness
Snow cover3 - highThick snow only.. Infrequent coverage.X-band SAR
Snow status (wet/dry)4 - fairThick snow only.. Infrequent coverage.X-band SAR
Snow water equivalent3 - highChange detection only.. Infrequent coverage.X-band SAR. SWE is retrieved by grigging with data from ground networks
Soil moisture at surface3 - highStrongly affected by vegetation.. Infrequent coverage.X-band SAR
Soil type3 - highNo specific limitation.X-band SAR
Vegetation type5 - marginalNo specific limitation.X-band SAR