P-band SAR mission dedicated to global monitoring of forests

P-band SAR mission dedicated to global monitoring of forests

Algra, T.
Looyen, W.J.
de Brouwer, M.
Venema, J.C.

National Aerospace Laboratory NLR

1997-07-22

This paper describes the conceptual design of a synthetic aperture radar (SAR) sensor operating at P-band frequency (435 MHz). It is part of the FAME (Forest Assessment and Monitoring Environment) initiative for the realisation of a global operational end-to-end service to allow forests to be monitored at national and sub-national level. The system will cover all the global forest areas at least three times a year, providing timely information on deforestation and forest degradation processes at a resolution of 50 - 100 m. SAR processing and product generation are fully decentralized activities carried out by low-cost end-user stations. For standardisation and cost reasons the SAR data downlink is compatible to the NOAA HRPT link, with a data vthroughput capacity of 614 kb/s. This limited data rate imposes a hard constraint on the instrument requirements. In order to achieve sufficient radiometric resolution, data buffering as well as data compression and basic SAR processing on-board the satellite are foreseen.

http://resolver.tudelft.nl/uuid:dd44bc89-a9ae-4884-ac06-653845886c26

Nationaal Lucht- en Ruimtevaartlaboratorium

Campus only

NLR Technical Publication TP 97359 L

Aerospace Engineering Reports

report

(c) 1997 National Aerospace Laboratory NLR