Abstract
To date, high performance Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) satellites have typically featured massive power generation, storage and distribution subsystems, together with complex, heavy and rigid deployable SAR antenna structures. The result is an expensive, heavy satellite. MDA’s Wireless Synthetic Aperture Radar (WiSAR™) is a new SAR payload design that offers leading-edge performance in both X- and C-band at a significantly lower cost than the conventional state of the art. The key technology breakthrough is a modular, low mass phased array antenna technology that enables high performance multi-mode SAR imaging from a smallsat platform. The WiSAR solution uses proven off-the-shelf technologies from the automotive and terrestrial wireless communication industries to enable an innovative space-fed active lens architecture that replaces the heavier and bulkier constrained feed design of traditional high performance SAR payloads. Key elements of the WiSAR payload include: self-contained active antenna nodes; low cost RF radiators; thin, lightweight, easily deployed antenna panels; and RF ranging for dynamic antenna distortion compensation. This paper describes the WiSAR™ payload technology in various configurations; a High Resolution X-Band Smallsat SAR, a Dual Aperture X-Band GMTI SAR, a High Performance C-Band SAR, and a C-Band Smallsat SAThe results of a project to build, test and operate a fully functioning C-band prototype WiSAR™ phased array antenna are presented, along with current developments in X-Band.
WiSAR™: A New Solution for High-Performance, Smallsat-Based Synthetic Aperture Radar Missions
To date, high performance Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) satellites have typically featured massive power generation, storage and distribution subsystems, together with complex, heavy and rigid deployable SAR antenna structures. The result is an expensive, heavy satellite. MDA’s Wireless Synthetic Aperture Radar (WiSAR™) is a new SAR payload design that offers leading-edge performance in both X- and C-band at a significantly lower cost than the conventional state of the art. The key technology breakthrough is a modular, low mass phased array antenna technology that enables high performance multi-mode SAR imaging from a smallsat platform. The WiSAR solution uses proven off-the-shelf technologies from the automotive and terrestrial wireless communication industries to enable an innovative space-fed active lens architecture that replaces the heavier and bulkier constrained feed design of traditional high performance SAR payloads. Key elements of the WiSAR payload include: self-contained active antenna nodes; low cost RF radiators; thin, lightweight, easily deployed antenna panels; and RF ranging for dynamic antenna distortion compensation. This paper describes the WiSAR™ payload technology in various configurations; a High Resolution X-Band Smallsat SAR, a Dual Aperture X-Band GMTI SAR, a High Performance C-Band SAR, and a C-Band Smallsat SAThe results of a project to build, test and operate a fully functioning C-band prototype WiSAR™ phased array antenna are presented, along with current developments in X-Band.
