Radically new design of SAR satellite: short vertical antennaapproach

The idea of this work is the use of a vertical antenna (antenna placed in the orbit plane) for a spaceborne radar. This surprising geometry is proven to work properly and to simplify the design of the instrument, particularly when it is associated with a short antenna length (<5 m, along speed vector). The number of antenna control points is greatly reduced, which saves cost and mass of an active antenna. A single pencil beam allows all the incidences and modes to be achieved. Viewing on both sides of the satellite track is enabled. Spotlight mode is no longer needed and therefore most of the operational constraints attached to high resolution are removed. Merits of the geometry are not limited to the instrument, a cascade of other innovations converges into a radically new design of the whole satellite for an ultimate goal of simplification and cost reduction, this is radar SAIL concept. The merits and cost savings of short vertical antenna are illustrated with a 1 m resolution X band mission, and the extra merits of the integrated SAIL architecture with respect to the standard satellite architecture are discussed     

RADAR “SAIL” satellite concept

The Radar SAIL concept is based on the use of a rectangular antenna lying in the dawn-dusk orbital plane with the length (along speed vector) smaller than the height. Such geometry makes it possible to place the solar cells on the back of the antenna, to use gravity gradient stabilisation, and to implement multipath-free GPS interferometric measurement of the antenna deformation thus allowing structural relaxation. Less obviously, the geometry favours the RADAR design too, by allowing grating lobes and therefore a lower density of built-in electronic in the active antenna. The antenna can be thin and packed for launch inside a cylinder-shaped bus having pyrotechnic doors for the antenna deployement and bearing the rest of the payload and the service equipment. With respect to a standard design of performant missions, cost savings come from the bus, whose functions (AOCS, power supply) are simplified, from the launch since the mass budget and the stowing configuration become compatible with medium size rockets (LLV2/3, DELTA-LITE, LM-4.), and from the active antenna built-in electronics.

The RADAR SAIL concept is all the more cost effective when the mission requires a large, high and short antenna, i.e. high resolution (<5m), low frequency band (L or S or even P), high revisiting, multiple frequencies. Mission implementation and funding can be favored by the new capability to share the satellite between autonomous regional operators. Combined with ground DBF (digital beam forming) technique, the concept allows extremely simple and low cost missions providing a fixed wide swath (10 to 15 m resolution within 500km to 1000 km swath) for systematic surveillance or monitoring.