Spaceborne Imaging Radar
 | This article is missing information about the SIR-A and SIR-B missions. (January 2017) |
 SIR-C/X-SAR in the payload bay of space shuttle Endeavour on STS-59, 9 April 1994 | |
| Mission type | Earth science |
|---|---|
| Operator | NASA · JPL |
| Website | jpl |
| Mission duration | Two trips, 11 days each |
| Spacecraft properties | |
| Manufacturer | JPL |
| Start of mission | |
| Launch date | 9 April 1994 and 30 September 1994 |
| Rocket | Cape Canaveral |
Unzen
Taken from Space Shuttle, 15 April 1994
The Spaceborne Imaging Radar (SIR) – full name 'Spaceborne Imaging Radar-C/X-band Synthetic Aperture Radar (SIR-C/X-SAR)',
The SIR mission revealed hidden river channels in the
Sahara Desert indicating significant climate change in the past.[5] SIR was also used for volcano research by keeping researchers a safe distance from hazardous and often inaccessible areas. The radar was also used to generate detailed three dimensional mappings of the Earth's surface.[2]
Radar also found temples in
China's Great Wall.[8]
Specification
- Orbital altitude above earth = 225 km (140 mi)
- The width of the imaged swath on the ground = 15–90 kilometers (9.3–55.9 miles)
- C-band beamwidth = 0.25 deg. × 5 deg.
- L-band beamwidth = 1.1 deg. × 6 deg.
- Scan angle range = ±23 deg. from boresight across narrow antenna direction only
- Bandwidth = 10, 20 and 40 GHz
- Pulse repetition rate = 1395–1736 pulses per second
- Total science data = 50 hours per channel, per mission (two missions, total 100 hours)
- Total instrument mass = 11,000 kg (24,000 lb)
- DC power consumption = 3000–9000 Watts
- L-band data rate = 90 Mbit/s
- C-band data rate = 90 Mbit/s
- X-band data rate = 45 Mbit/s
- L-band wavelength = 0.235 m
- C-band Wavelength = 0.058 m
- X-band wavelength = 0.031 m
See also
Wikimedia Commons has media related to SIR-C/X-SAR.
- Seasat – Seasat Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) in 1978
- STS-2 with SIR-A
- STS-41-G with SIR-B
- Shuttle Radar Topography Mission
- TerraSAR-X
- Earth Radiation Budget Satellite
- TopSat
References
- ^ a b "Catalog Page for PIA00504". Photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov. Retrieved 5 May 2014.
- ^ a b "Spaceborne Imaging Radar" (PDF). NASA/JPL. Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 April 2013. Retrieved 5 May 2014.
- ^ NASA JPL, Photo, SIR-C/X-SAR
- ^ NASA JPL, What is SIR-C/X-SAR?
- ^ "Space radar unearths secrets of the Nile" (Press release). Jpl.nasa.gov. 6 December 1996. Retrieved 5 May 2014.
- ^ "NASA JPL Press Release, February 12, 1998". Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Archived from the original on 24 December 2014. Retrieved 12 July 2016.
- ^ JPL, February 7, 1995, Space Radar Laboratory Images May Help Find Unknown Settlements
- ^ JPL, April 18, 1996, Space Radar Reveals Ancient Segments of China's Great Wall