Sensors: Image Processing Library
| TOPSAR (Topographic Synthetic Aperture Radar) |
Topographic Synthetic Aperture Radar is an aircraft radar interferometer that uses radar and interferometry to rapidly produce topographic maps of Earth. TOPSAR operates a C-band (6-cm-wavelength) radar interferometer as an adjunct to the AIRSAR instrument on board a NASA DC-8 aircraft. It uses two antennas mounted nearly vertically on the left side of the aircraft. Interferometric maps of Earth's surface are constructed by comparing the phase differences between radar images from the two antennas. TOPSAR is a precursor to a possible satellite system that could produce a global digital topographic map.
TOPSAR Instrument Characteristics:
- Radar Wavelength :
- P-band 68 cm
- L-band 25 cm
- C-band 5.7 cm
Radar Wavelength:
- P-band 68 cm
- L-band 25 cm
- C-band 5.7 cm
Radar Mode:
- P-band Quad-polarization (HH,HV,VH,VV)
- L-band Quad-polarization or Interferometry (VV)
- C-band Quad-polarization or Interferometry (VV)
Nominal Altitude:
- (m) 8000 m
Nominal Velocity:
- (m/s) 250 m/s
Vertical Increment:
- 10 cm
Pixel Spacing (x, y):
- 10 m x 10 m
Relative Vertical Accuracy (z):
- 1 m to 3 m
TOPSAR Links:
Sensors
Last Modified: Wed Apr 14, 1999
CSR/TSGC Team Web