SAR image quality and calibration operations for the RADARSAT satellites at the Canadian Space Agency

This paper describes the role of the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) in calibration monitoring activities of the SAR on-board the two RADARSAT satellites currently in orbit. First, the performance of the RADARSAT-1 SAR since commissioning in 1996 is reviewed, along with the calibration systems and methodologies in the context of the mission's eleven-year calibration history. Calibration monitoring activities at the CSA for the privately-owned RADARSAT-2 are also presented. This successor mission was declared operational on April 25 2008, and Government measurements so far indicate that image quality and calibration indicators are generally better than the specifications.