RADARS AT-FIREX MISSION STUDY 



Introduction 



In response to a Canadian initiative, the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space 

 Administration (NASA) and the Canadian Division of Energy, Mines and Resources 

 (DEMR) agreed on November 26, 1980, to conduct a bilateral study of the 

 mission requirements for a future satellite which would have as its primary 

 sensor a Synthetic Aperture Radar. The agreement was signed by Anthony J. 

 Calio for NASA and John D. Keyes for DEMR. At that time. Dr. Calio was 

 Associate Administrator for Space and Terrestrial Applications at NASA and Dr. 

 Keyes, Assistant Deputy Minister for DEMR. The American effort was given the 

 name FIREX (Free-Flying Imaging Radar Experiment), and the Canadian program, 

 RADARS AT. 



Apart from the bilateral sharing and discussion of future plans, the major 

 activity undertaken in response to this agreement has been to determine the 

 scientific and, to some extent, operational requirements for the proposed 

 satellite. To do this, each country empanelled a science working group in 

 each of four areas — ice, oceans, renewable resources, and nonrenewable 

 resources. From the start, the Ice Panels from the two countries have 

 functioned together and their findings are being presented as a single report. 

 The executive summary of their findings is included as Chapter 1. Although 

 the other groups have shared information and, in some cases met together, they 

 will each produce separate reports. Chapter 2 consists of the findings of the 

 U.S. Oceans Study Team. The executive summaries of the findings of the U.S. 

 Renewable and Nonrenewable Groups comprise Chapters 3 and 4. The names of 

 the members of the various science working groups that produced Chapters 1-4 

 are listed in Appendix A. Chapter 5 is an executive summary of all of the 

 Canadian findings provided by Dr. Edryd Shaw, manager of the Canadian efforts, 

 and Appendix B contains the Canadian study teams" membership. 



During the process which has led to this report, some facts have become 

 clearer about the status of SAR technology and its uses. At the same time, 

 the budgets and future plans for investments in space by both countries have 

 undergone considerable change. It now appears that our best current 

 understanding of SAR usefulness, is in the ice area. Here, a SAR of sufficient 

 swath width offers the unique possibility of enabling studies of the dynamics 

 of the ice pack. SAR also can be used to guide ships and others operating in 

 polar waters by revealing those areas with leads or thin ice. The land 

 resource teams have determined that SAR data will be of considerable use in 

 mapping, geology, and crop studies. Currently, the details of how the 

 observations will be used are not as well specified as they are for ice 

 observations, but there is a considerable desire in this area for multiple 

 look angles, frequencies, and polarizations on a SAR instrument. These 

 capabilities would represent a significant advance in technology over those 

 SARs flown to date. Our understanding of how to use SAR data in the oceans 

 area is the least mature at present. The range of oceanographic problems 



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