Near-Space Vehicles in High-Resolution Wide-Swath Remote Sensing

Abstract

Spaceborne SAR has an imaging capability of wide-swath (the width of the ground area covered by the radar beam) with a limited azimuth resolution. By contrast, airborne SAR has an imaging capability of high azimuth resolution, but limited swath coverage. There is, therefore, a desire to increase swath coverage and azimuth resolution simultaneously. As near-space vehicles operate at altitudes higher than that of airplanes but lower than satellites with a high flying speed, compared to spaceborne and airborne SARs, simultaneous relative high-resolution and wide-swath (HRWS) remote sensing is possible for near-space vehicle-borne SAR. In this chapter, we explained how near-space vehicles could be exploited for future HRWS remote sensing applications.