V. CANADIAN SCIENCE AND OPERATIONS REQUIREMENTS SUMMARY 



A. INTRODUCTION 



As a first step in the implementation of a major operational program 

 plan to meet a known requirement, it is necessary to conduct a program 

 of investigative studies. Results of these studies should ensure the 

 procurement or design of the most effective hardware and the institution 

 of the most efficient operational processes and procedures throughout 

 the initial operational phase of the program. 



RADARSAT, which envisages the design, construction and launch in the 

 late 1980s or early 1990s of a polar orbiting satellite carrying as its 

 primary sensor a Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR), is just such a 

 program. Although numerous discussions of possibilities on a national 

 and international scale have been carried on for a number of years, the 

 program officially commenced in April 1981 with the Phase A studies and 

 R&D program initiated by the Department of Energy, Mines and Resources. 



Information essential to the R&D program is a statement of firm mission 

 requirements for the various disciplines that will be served by the 

 satellite. These mission requirements are obtained by comparing the 

 information requirements of the disciplines to be served; these 

 disciplines are represented by study teams. The composition of the four 

 applications study teams (Renewable Land Resources, Nonrenewable Land 

 Resources, Sea Ice, and Oceanography) formed to review the requirements 

 within applicable disciplines, and the study teams' findings, 

 conclusions, recommendations, including the description of a series of 

 proposed airborne SAR experiments, are described in reports to be 

 published by those committees. The experiments were designed to 

 increase team members' knowledge of the acquistion, processing, 

 analysis, and particularly, the application of SAR data. 



The purpose of this document is to report the activities and progress of 

 the study teams in determining mission requirements in their applicable 

 areas of interest and to make recommendations that will assist other 

 study teams engaged in the design of satellite and sensor hardware, 

 processing and analysis equipment, orbits, operational procedures, etc. 

 In the original Phase A study schedule, the publication of a Final 

 Mission Requirements Document was envisaged as it seemed that by this 

 phase of the program, sufficient Seasat and new Convair 580/SAR data 

 would have been analyzed to provide team members with conclusive data on 

 which to base firm recommendations. Unfortunately, contract delays and 

 equipment unserviceabilities prevented the acquisition, processing, and 

 analysis of much new data, and recommendations presented are based 

 primarily on available literature, workshop discussions, analysis and/or 

 reanalysis of existing Seasat and airborne SAR data acquired during the 

 SURSAT experiment. Although a number of recommendations may be 

 considered "final," the continuance of the program ensures that team 

 members will be provided with new data which, through further study, may 



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