Abstract
This paper describes the C-band multi-polarization Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) sensor for the Gaofen-3 (GF-3) mission. Based on the requirement analysis, the design of working modes and SAR payload are given. An accurate antenna model is introduced for the pattern optimization and SAR performance calculation. The paper concludes with an overview of predicted performance which was verified by in-orbit tests.
Highlights
Gaofen is one program announced in a 15-year plan of Chinese national science and technology programs between 2006 and 2020
Only half of the whole antenna aperture in the azimuth, i.e., 7.5 m, is used, which can be any two adjacent panels (A + B or B + C or C + D, which will be described in Sections 4.1 and 4.2), and in the the other two panels are powered off to reduce the power consumption
The inner calibration is supposed to be carried out before and after every observing operation, and even be interjected into the midst of the observing operation, which means monitoring the performance of the Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) payload more frequently
Summary
Gaofen is one program announced in a 15-year plan of Chinese national science and technology programs between 2006 and 2020. Within the Gaofen program, GF-3 is a spaceborne multi-polarization imaging radar mission in C-band. C-band Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) sensor, GF-3 is able to image the Earth’s surface in all weather conditions and regardless of day or night [1,2]. GF-3 is designed for many areas which include sea and ocean monitoring, disaster reduction, water conservancy, and meteorology. Its primary users are the State Oceanic Administration (SOA), the China Meteorological Administration (CMA), the Ministry of Civil Affairs, and the Ministry of. A wide variety of data products with different image characteristics are required by the different users, which introduces great challenges in the SAR system design.
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