Condor-E Spacecraft with a Synthetic Aperture Antenna and Its Capabilities

The main parameters of a small spacecraft (SSC) (Condor-E) and its onboard radar with a synthetic aperture antenna (SAR) are presented in the paper. Two such SSCs were launched in Russia into a 500-km orbit in June 2013 and in December 2014. The structure of the radar with synthetic aperture antenna and the basic parameters of three standard imaging modes: detailed Spotlight (DSL), detailed Stripmap (DSM), and Scan-SAR are also presented. All three modes are accompanied by radar images generated during flight tests. In this paper it is examined whether it is possible to introduce new modes (an interferometric assessment of terrain relief in the case of an “oblique” survey and the selection of moving targets) and the relevant pictures are provided. Condor-E SAR and TerraSAR are compared as typical space radars in their design and experimental modes. We conclude that the SARs perform similarly and give hope for the further augmentation of both SAR capabilities, including new modes without serious hardware modifications.