PAU instrument aboard INTA MicroSat-1: A GNSS-R demonstration mission for sea state correction in L-band radiometry

Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) Reflectometry was originally proposed for mesoscale altimetry, but today its feasibility for sea state, soil moisture, vegetation and snow height has already been demonstrated. This paper describes a GNSS-Reflectometer develop to perform the sea state correction in L-band radiometric measurements, and therefore, improve the quality of the sea surface salinity retrievals. The instrument is currently being developed as a secondary payload to be launched aboard INTA (Instituto Nacional de Técnicas Aerospaciales, Spanish Aerospace Center) MicroSat-1. The basic principles of operation and the instrument development status are presented.