Application Potential of the planned RADARSAT Constellation

The CSA is conducting a feasibility study on a constellation of low-cost small SAR satellites to ensure C-band data continuity beyond RADARSAT-2. The goal is to provide operationally SAR imagery for key maritime surveillance applications such as ship detection, oil spill monitoring, and sea ice mapping. Other applications focus on disaster management and SAR interferometry (InSAR) coherent change detection of land surfaces for geohazards, climate change, and environment monitoring. This paper provides an overview of the mission concept with a special focus on the application potential of the planned RADARSAT constellation.