A New Satellite

A New VisionDaniel De Lisle

Canadian Space Agency

Outline

• Mission Objectives

• Satellite capabilities

• Commissioning

• First images

• Recent events

• SOARs

Successful Launch!

December 14, 2007

Baikonur Kazakhstan

Key Priorities and Objectives

n Responding to the challenges of:

n Monitoring the environment

n Managing natural resources

n Performing coastal surveillance

n Objectives:

n Data continuity from RADARSAT-1

n New applications opportunities

n Maintain Canada's position in SAR

capabilities for Earth observation

“Man must rise above the atmosphere and beyond to fully

understand the world in which he lives.” Socrates, 450 BC.

RADARSAT-1 vs RADARSAT-2

Ultra-Fine mode of

3 meters

Multiple polarization

Left- or right-

looking

Fine mode of

10 meters

Single

polarization

Right-looking

* HH Polarization only

Single and Dual-Pol Modes

Except for Extended Beams, RADARSAT-1 "Heritage" Beams will all

be available in Selective Single or Dual Polarizations

25m x 28m1 x 420-49100 kmStandard (7)

50m x 50m2 x 220-46300 kmScanSAR Narrow

(2)

100m x 100m4 x 220-49500 kmScanSAR Wide (2)

10m x 9m1 x 130-5050 kmFine (9)

20m x 28m1 x 450-6070 kmExtended High (6)*

40m x 28m1 x 410-23170 kmExtended Low (1)*

25m x 28m1 x 420-45150 kmWide (3)

Ground Res.

(Rg x Az)

Looks

(Rg x Az)

Incidence

Angle

Swath

Width

Beam

Quad-Pol Modes

11m x 9m1 x 120-4125 kmFine QP

25m x 28m1 x 420-4125 kmStandard QP

Ground Res.

(Rg x Az)

Looks

(Rg x Az)

Incidence

Angle

Swath

Width

Beam

• Covers the range of specified

incidence angles with a series

of beams

• Enables extraction of surface

polarization scattering matrix

for enhanced discrimination

between observed surfaces

Transmit: H and V

alternating

Receive: H and V

simultaneously to give

coherent comparison

of like and cross

polarized returns

Ultra-Fine and Multi-Look Fine Beams

11m x 9m2 x 230-5050 kmMulti-Look Fine

3m x 3m1 x 130-4025 kmUltra-Fine

Ground Res.

(Rg x Az)

Looks

(Rg x Az)

Incidence

Angle

Swath

Width

Beam

• Ultra-Fine Mode covers the range of

specified incidence angles with a series

of beams

• Multi-Look Fine Beams are available in

the same beam types as Fine Beams

• Multi-Look Fine Beams will have

improved image quality over single look

Fine products because of reduced

speckle

Design Life

Imaging frequency

Spatial resolution

Polarization Status

RADARSAT-2 7 years C-Band, 5.405 GHz

3 to 100 m Single, Dual,

Polarimetric

Launched in Dec 2007

RADARSAT-1 5 years C-Band, 5.3 GHz

10 to 100 m Single (HH) In operation (Since 95)

Envisat ASAR 5 years C-Band, 5.331 GHz

30 to 1000 m Single, Dual In operation (Since 02)

ALOS PALSAR

5 years L-Band, 1.27 GHz

10 to 100 m Single, Dual,

Polarimetric (exp.)

In operation (since 2006)

COSMO SkyMed (1/4)

5 years/ satellite

X-Band 9.6 GHz

1 to 100 m Single, Dual Launched in June 2007

TerraSAR-X 5 years X-Band, 9.650 GHz

1 to 15 m Single, Dual,

Polarimetric (exp.)

Launched in June 2007

SAR Satellites Characteristics Summary

First IMAGES

Greenland

This RADARSAT-2 Standard Quad-Pol image shows the

northern end of the Sermilik fjord on the east coast of

Greenland. The image was acquired December 18, 2007 –

four 4 days after launch and is a composite of the three radar

data channels (HH, VV, HV) displayed in a red-green-blue

colour scheme. The scene is ~ 25km x 50km, with 25m

nominal resolution.

The Fenrisgletscher glacier – a large, slow moving valley

glacier that feeds into the Sermilik fjord - is visible in the upper

right corner of the image. Glaciers in this area produce large

volumes of icebergs that flow out to sea.

This image was acquired early in the commissioning phase,

prior to any adjustment of the radar gain settings.

RADARSAT-2 Data and Products © MacDonald, Dettwiler and

Associates Ltd. (2008) - All Rights Reserved.

Iqaluit, Nunavut, Canada

In this RADARSAT-2 Fine Quad-Pol image, the

community of Iqaluit can be seen on the northern

shores of Koojesse inlet - an inlet of Frobisher Bay,

southeast Baffin Island.

The image was acquired January 7, 2008 and is a

composite of the three radar data channels (HH, VV,

HV) displayed in a red-green-blue colour scheme.

The scene is ~25km x 28km, with 8m nominal

resolution.

This image was acquired early in the commissioning

phase, prior to any adjustment of the radar gain

settings.

RADARSAT-2 Data and Products © MacDonald,

Dettwiler and Associates Ltd. (2008) - All Rights

Reserved.

Vancouver, British Columbia,

Canada

This RADARSAT-2 image of Vancouver

Lower Mainland, was acquired January

6, 2008 using the Ultra-Fine beam

mode, in HH polarization. The scene is ~

20km x 36km, with 3m resolution. The

city of Vancouver is visible in the upper

part of the image.

This image was acquired early in the

commissioning phase, prior to any

adjustment of the radar gain settings.

RADARSAT-2 Data and Products ©

MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates

Ltd. (2008) - All Rights Reserved.

SAR Commissioning

Image Quality Subsystem (IQS)

Image Quality Subsystem

Order Handling

Subsystem

Processing and

Distribution Subsystem

#.#Spacecraft Control

Subsystem

#.#RADARSAT-2

Spacecraft

#.#External Processing

Facility

Order Entry, Managemennt

and Tracking Service

IQS Products

Problem

ReportsProcessor Configuration

Parameters

Payload Characterization

Parameters

Payload Characterization

Parameters

C-Band Radar Signals

Troubleshooting

Dialog

Spacecraft Operating

Parameters

#.#Acquisition and

Reception Planning

Subsystem

Beam/Mode Definition

#.#Reception and

Archiving Subsystem

Payload Characterization

ParametersProduct Processing

Report

Acquisition Planning Service

SOAR - Scientific and Operations

Applications Research

• Partnership between CSA, MDA GSI and the Canada Centre for

Remote Sensing (CCRS)

• Mandate: To further the advancement of RADARSAT-2 applications

in areas where the system strengths provide unique advantage.

• Over 190 research projects around the world will use RADARSAT-2

data to advance applications development

• New SOARs to be announced after commissioning

Recent Events

• MDA has received an offer from Alliant Techsystems (ATK) of the United

States for the purchase of its Space Missions and Earth Observations

businesees, which includes Geospatial Services INC and Radarsat-2;

• There are many shareholder, regulatory and government approvals that will

need to be negotiated in the weeks to come;

• In the interim, the CSA and other government departments and agencies

are reviewing their contracts with MDA to ensure due diligence, and in the

interest of Canadians, full respect of any contractual obligations with the

Canadian Government;

• Government departments and Agencies will draw on a data-allocaiton fund

throughout the life of the R-2 satellite. We fully expect that MDA's

obligations will be fully respected in the future.

Milestone Events (Next three months)

Spacecraft Commissioning review (SCR) 25 Jan 08

Senior Quarterly Review (SQR) in Richmond 7 Feb 08

Senior Project Advisory Committee (SPAC) Week of Feb 11

GS Commissioning Review (GS CR) 22 Feb 08

Ordering Readiness Review (ORR) 27 Feb 08

Commissioning Complete Review (CCR) 14 March 2008

For More Information…

Web sites

www.space.gc.ca/rsat2-e

www.space.gc.ca/rsat2-f

www.radarsat2.info

Getting Ready for RADARSAT-2

CD includes:

• Polarimetric data set

• Polarimetric Freeware

• Catalogue of available

airborne polarimetric data

• Polarimetric Workshop

Presentation