The SAR Payload Design and Performance for the GF-3 Mission

This paper describes the C-band multi-polarization Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) sensor for the Gaofen-3 (GF-3) mission. Based on the requirement analysis, the design of working modes and SAR payload are given. An accurate antenna model is introduced for the pattern optimization and SAR performance calculation. The paper concludes with an overview of predicted performance which was verified by in-orbit tests.