Copernicus Sentinel-1 Satellite And C-SAR Instrument
Abstract
The Copernicus Sentinel-1 Earth Radar Observatory, a mission funded by the European Union and developed by ESA, is a constellation of two C-band radar satellites. The satellites have been conceived to be a continuous and reliable source of C-band SAR imagery for operational applications such as mapping of global landmasses, coastal zones and monitoring of shipping routes. The Sentinel-1 satellites are built by an industrial consortium led by Thales Alenia Space Italia as Prime Contractor and with Astrium GmbH as SAR Instrument Contractor. The paper describes the general satellite architecture, the spacecraft subsystems, AIT flow and the satellite key performances. It provides also an overview on the C-SAR Instrument, its development status and pre- launch SAR performance prediction.
- Publication:
-
ESA Living Planet Symposium
- Pub Date:
- December 2013
- Bibcode:
- 2013ESASP.722E..97P