The TERRASAR-X active phased array antenna

Author

Stangl, M. ; Werninghaus, R. ; Zahn, R.

Author_Institution

Astrium GmbH, Friedrichshafen, Germany

fYear

2003

fDate

14-17 Oct. 2003

Firstpage

70

Lastpage

75

Abstract

TerraSAR-X is an X-band synthetic aperture radar satellite which is financed, designed, built and operated in frame of a public-private partnership between the German Aerospace Center DLR and Astrium GmbH. The TerraSAR Frontend is based on the DLR funded technology program DESA [R. Zahn et al., June 2002]. End of 2005, TerraSAR X will be launched into a circular, sun-synchronous 514 km dusk-dawn orbit. The use of an active phased array antenna allows for a wide variety of advanced SAR modes like ScanSAR or SpotlightSAR. This supports the commercial use of the radar for earth observation services and also offers through its flexibility a good experimental platform for radar scientists. The design drivers for the array are not only antenna performance but mainly the thermal stability, mass and power efficiency and cost effectiveness.

Keywords

active antenna arrays; antenna phased arrays; radar antennas; satellite antennas; synthetic aperture radar; Astrium GmbH; German Aerospace Center DLR; TerraSAR-X; X-band synthetic aperture radar satellite; active phased array antenna; earth observation services; Antenna arrays; Aperture antennas; Assembly; Calibration; Phased arrays; Polarization; Radar antennas; Radio frequency; Satellite antennas; Spaceborne radar;

fLanguage

English

Publisher

ieee

Conference_Titel

Phased Array Systems and Technology, 2003. IEEE International Symposium on

Print_ISBN

0-7803-7827-X

Type

conf

DOI

10.1109/PAST.2003.1256959

Filename

1256959