Synthetic-aperture-radar data processing: The challenge and the opportunity posed by orbiting systems

The computer-centered synthesis of a radar antenna many kilometers in effective size was demonstrated in many (unclassified) instances, but in no more spectacular scale than in the NASA/JPL SEASAT-A satellite-borne experiment for ocean-surface imaging conducted in 1978. The data-processing aspects of the SEASAT-A experiment, and the implications of existing and near-term radar and data processing technologies for enhancing the resolution and area coverage rates of this surveillance technology are reviewed.