LuTan-1: An innovative L-band spaceborne bistatic interferometric synthetic aperture radar mission

Abstract

LuTan-1 (LT-1) is the first Chinese civilian synthetic aperture radar (SAR) satellite mission dedicated for interferometry. The mission is composed of a constellation of two identical satellites, each carrying an advanced L-band full-polarimetric SAR. Equipped with both bistatic and mono-static capabilities, LT-1 is designed to generate high-resolution digital elevation model and deformation products for resource and disaster monitoring purposes. Here we provide an overview of LT-1’s satellite and its SAR system, describe the technical challenges that occurred during the development such as the noninterrupted phase synchronization, range ambiguity suppression with hybrid compact polarization and the nonlinear frequency modulation waveform. Then we present the data processing pipeline, calibration, and validation reports collected since its launch in early 2022, together with results of several selected applications and experimental modes such as hybrid compact polarization.