Patent ID: 6677884
Filing Date: 2004-01-13
Classification: B64G,G01S

Abstract:
A satellite based synthetic aperture radar (SAR) system mapping a strip of an earth surface by use of a satellite configuration for interferometric remote sensing comprising:a satellite carrying a SAR transmitter; a cluster of orbiting SAR receiver satellites having varying horizontal across-track shifts; said cluster having at least three SAR receiver satellites orbiting at an identical velocity on different circular orbits lying in different planes, said circular orbits differing in inclination, and differing in ascending, nodes where an equitorial plane and the respective orbits of said receiver satellites intersect, such that a maximum horizontal across-track shift occurs at a different orbit position for each satellite and horizontal across-track baselines result, said baselines having lengths which vary periodically over an orbit and a largest of said baselines being selected for across-track interferometry; and wherein a constant horizontal along-track separation is provided between individual ones of said receiver satellite irrespective of orbital position.