Early days of microwave scatterometry: RADSCAT to SASS

The use of radar scatterometers on spacecraft to measure the wind vectors on the surface of the ocean is now well established after 5 decades of research and development. These active microwave remote sensors have provided an invaluable 25-year time series global ocean vector winds for numerical weather prediction, meteorological and oceanic scientific research and a number of operational applications including tropical cyclone and severe ocean storm warnings. Professor Richard K. Moore is the father of microwave scatterometry and this paper discusses the history of the instrument development (with emphasis on the early days of aircraft experiments and the first two space instruments: SkyLab's S-193 RADSCAT and the SeaSat-A Satellite Scatterometer). An important goal of this paper is to document Professor Moore's leadership and contributions that he made over more than 40 years of research at the University of Kansas (UK).