Small satellite system for civilian radar imagery application

The objective of ALCATEL ESPACE and AEROSPATIALE is to cooperate on the definition of a small satellite system embarking an imaging radar and then to propose to civilian customers for a moderate cost a round the clock and all weather dedicated system. The system is designed following a "faster, better and cheaper" approach, based on off-the-shelf technologies, space qualified product lines and the large synergy between telecommunications and radar space programs. The satellite is composed of a specific SAR (synthetic aperture radar) imaging payload mounted on the PROTEUS multi-mission platform, from a product line developed by AEROSPATIALE for CNES (the French space agency). The SAR payload designed by ALCATEL ESPACE is flexible enough to take, across a swath of 350 km, images of areas of about 20 km to 100 km in width and several tens of km in length with a resolution varying from a few metres for the smallest areas to several tens of metres for the largest ones. The ground system is based on standard systems with reuse whenever possible of existing products.