Detailed Summary

RADARSAT-1 is an advanced Earth observation satellite developed by the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) to monitor environmental change and to support resource sustainability. NASA launched RADARSAT-1 aboard a Delta-II rocket in exchange for access to the satellite on a pro rata basis through the Alaska Satellite Facility (ASF).

At the heart of RADARSAT-1 is an advanced radar sensor called Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR). SAR is a microwave instrument, which sends pulsed signals to the Earth and processes the received reflected pulses. SAR operates day or night, regardless of weather conditions. RADARSAT-1 was placed into a sun-synchronous polar orbit in order to provide global coverage. Research emphasis will be on the Polar Regions, though onboard tape recorders will allow imaging of any region, worldwide. Data acquired for U.S researchers prior to May 3, 2008 is available through the ASF SAR Data Center to approved investigators.

RADARSAT-1 Data

The SAR Data Center has the following Data Products available for RADARSAT-1:

• Level 0 (Unprocessed/Raw Data)
• Complex
• Amplitude Imagery
• Left Looking

Detailed Summary

ERS-1 (European Remote Sensing) was a European Space Agency (ESA) satellite for remote sensing from a polar orbit. The 2400 kilogram satellite was inserted into a sun-synchronous polar orbit by an Ariane 4 launcher. The primary mission of ERS-1 and -2 was to perform remote sensing of the Earth's oceans, ice caps, and coastal regions.

The satellite provided systematic, repetitive global measurements of wind speed and direction, wave height, surface temperatures, surface altitude, cloud cover, and atmospheric water vapor levels. Archived SAR data from ERS-1 is available from the ASF SAR Data center for the regions of the world covered by the ASF station mask and the McMurdo station mask.

ERS-1 Data

The SAR Data Center has the following Data Products available for ERS-1:

• Level 0 (Unprocessed/Raw Data)
• Complex
• Amplitude Imagery

Detailed Summary

ERS-2 (European Remote Sensing) is a European Space Agency (ESA) satellite for remote sensing from a polar orbit. The 2500 kilogram satellite provides global and repetitive observations of the environment using techniques which allow imaging in all weather conditions. The ERS-2 satellite is essentially the same as ERS-1 except that it includes a number of enhancements and it is carrying a new payload instrument to measure the chemical composition of the atmosphere, named the Global Ozone Monitoring Experiment (GOME). SAR data from ERS-2 is available from the Alaska Satellite Facility (ASF) for the regions of the world covered by the ASF station mask and the McMurdo station mask.

ERS-2 Data

The SAR Data Center has the following Data Products available for ERS-2:

• Level 0 (Unprocessed/Raw Data)
• Complex
• Amplitude Imagery