Challenges for next generation micro-SAR: lessons learned from China's first light and small commercial SAR satellite - Hisea-1

The Hisea-1 satellite launched in December 2020 is the first commercial miniaturized SAR satellite in China. It is also the first satellite belonging to the TY-MINISAR constellation being developed by Spacety. After 10-month in orbit, the Hisea-1 satellite has acquired enormous SAR imageries under distinctive environments using different acquisition modes of different spatial resolutions. Acquired SAR imageries have been applied to various applications, such as oil spill detection, demonstrating the great potential of the miniaturized Hisea-1 satellite. This paper presents an overview of the Hisea-1 satellite and its up-to-date status. Lessons and challenges learned from the mission are also introduced.