Earthnet's experience with Seasat SAR image processing

Synthetic aperture radar (SAR) data transmitted by the Seasat-4 spacecraft was acquired in Europe and processed using optical and digital techniques. Valuable experience was gained at system level with hardware and processing algorithms. Delivery of data was regularly complemented by the organization of workshops aimed at facilitating the dialogue with the potential users of such data, to simulate European user and applications-oriented initiatives. As the different and often unexpected applications of SAR images emerged, optimum extraction of information content become more and more the crucial issue, not just for the Seasat data but more particularly for future SAR-carrying satellite missions, such as a European Earth-resources satellite.