V.S. Verba – Corresponding Member of RAS, Honored Scientist of RF, Dr.Sc.(Eng.), Professor, 

General Product Engineer – First Deputy General Director of JSC «Corporation «Vega» (Moscow)

E-mail: mail@vega.su, vvs.msk@gmail.com

V.E. Turuk – Ph.D.(Eng.), Main Designer, JSC «Corporation «Vega» (Moscow)

M.V. Golovanova – Research Scientist, JSC «Corporation «Vega» (Moscow)

P.E. Golubtsov – Ph.D.(Phys.-Math.), Senior Research Scientist, JSC «Corporation «Vega» (Moscow)

M.V. Evsikov – Ph.D.(Eng.), Research Scientist, JSC «Corporation «Vega» (Moscow)

L.B. Neronsky – Dr.Sc.(Eng.), Professor, Senior Research Scientist, JSC «Corporation «Vega» (Moscow)

S.E. Zaitsev – Employee, JSC «MIC «NPO Mashinostroyenia» (Reutov, Moscow region)

E-mail: noodka@mail.ru

E.F. Tolstov – Dr.Sc.(Eng.), Professor, JSC «AEROCON» (Zhukovsky, Moscow region) E-mail: e_tolstov@mail.ru

This article briefly describes the Russian S-band SAR named «Strizh» as a payload of small satellite. Two such satellites were launched into orbits in 2013 and 2014. During missions were tested onboard and ground equipment, hardware and software for radar image formation. The article describes the standard operating modes of SAR «Strizh»: Stripmap, Spotlight and ScanSAR. The SAR «Strizh» also provides experimental modes: squint surveilance mode, interferometric mode, wide swath mode, long ranges mode whis ambiguities suppression. The images obtained by the SAR «Strizh» are shown. Comparisons of the operation modes and radar images of the SAR «Strizh» and the TerraSAR-X are presented. The advantage of the S-band over the X-band in interpretation and thematic processing of radar images is shown. For example thunderstorm clouds are nontransparent for X-band waves, but they are transparent for S-band waves. New directions of research of spaceborne SAR are presented: ships recognizing and moving objects detection. The ways of improving the equipment and technologies of spaceborne SAR are discussed.

1. Neronskiy L., Osipov I., Turuk V., Andrianov V., Porokhov I. Choice of Engineering Performances in Designing Multipurpose Synthetic Aperture Radar for Small Satellites. Proc. of EUSAR'2002. Cologne. Germany. June 4−6. 2002. P. 449−452.
2. Osipov I.G., Neronskiy L.B., Turuk V.E., Andrianov V.I., Verba V.S., Korolev A.V., Kulikovsky M.G., Pushkov D.V., Janushevsky G/D., Feyzulla N.M., Synthetic V.A. Aperture Radar for Earth and Sea Surface Observations. Proc. of EUSAR'2004. 24−28 May 2004. Ulm (Germany). V. 1. P. 59−62.
3. Verba V.S., Neronskii L.B., Osipov I.G., Turuk V.E. Radiolokatsionnye sistemy zemleobzora kosmicheskogo bazirovaniya. Pod red. V.S. Verby. M.: Radiotekhnika. 2010.
4. Zaitsev S.E., Krasnogorskii M.G., Savosin G.V., Shirokov P.A. O nekotorykh vozmozhnostyakh, razrabatyvaemykh v AO «VPK «NPO mashinostroeniya» kosmicheskikh sistem radiolokatsionnogo nablyudeniya. Sentyabr 2015 g. Sochi.
5. Afanasev I. Zorkii «Kondor». Novosti kosmonavtiki. 2013. № 08 (367). S. 46−50.
6. Afanasev I. Polet vtorogo «Kondora». Novosti kosmonavtiki. 2015. № 2. S. 34−36.
7. Helko Breit, Fischer M., Balss U., Fritz T. TerraSAR-X Staring Spotlight Processing and Product. Proc. of EUSAR'2014. 3−5 June 2014. Berlin (Germany). P. 193−196.
8. Turuk V., Verba V., Golovanova M., Neronskiy L., Zaitsev S., Tolstov E. Russian Spaceborne Synthetic Aperture Radar «Strizh» for Light Satellites of «Condor-E» type. Proc. of EUSAR'2016. 6−9 June 2016. Hamburg (Germany). P. 947−952.