RADARSAT-2 Beam Modes

2015-10-07 - The multiple mode capabilities of RADARSAT-2 respond to the evolving needs of clients and encourage the development of specialized applications. With three times the resolution of RADARSAT-1, RADARSAT-2 offers more precision for identifying objects such as ships at sea, and its 512 separately controlled miniantennas can be quickly reconfigured. In addition to the HH polarization offered by its predecessor, RADARSAT-2 can also image using HV, VH, or VV polarization. (Credit: MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates Ltd. (MDA))

The graphic gives a visual representation of the coverage area of each RADARSAT-2 imaging mode along the satellite ground track (nadir), as well as the satellite velocity vector. The beam modes are shown in the following order from left to right: Spotlight; Ultra-Fine; Wide Ultra-Fine; Extra-Fine; Multi-Look Fine; Wide Multi-Look Fine; Fine; Wide Fine; Fine Quad-Pol; Wide Fine Quad-Pol; Standard Quad-Pol; Wide Standard Quad-Pol; Standard; Extended Low; Wide; Extended High; Ship Detection; ScanSAR Narrow; Ocean Surveillance; ScanSAR Wide.