Indonesia coverage simulation of SAR satellite at near-equatorial orbit

Abstract

Properties of SAR (Synthetic Aperture Radar) that able to penetrate the cloud and does not depend on the sunlight are a number of advantages when utilized for monitoring tropical region like the IMC (Indonesian Maritime Continent). Moreover, since having areas along equatorial belt, the IMC is at a shortcoming from perspective of highly inclined LEO (Low Earth Orbit) satellite. It would result shorter and infrequent pass times when compared with a near-equatorial LEO satellite whose low inclination. This paper reports on the investigation of a near-equatorial LEO SAR satellite coverage property through simulations. The simulations is run in nine scenarios of orbit parameter that consist of combinations of attitude {500 km, 600 km, 700 km} and inclination {80, 90, 100}. The target area is defined as 50 km x 50 km around Jakarta. Meanwhile, the SAR sensor simulation is run with swath width of 40 km, incidence angle around 250-290 and Stripmap mode. Minimum, Maximum and Mean Access Revisit of the target for each scenarios are resulted.