RADARSAT image characteristics and application requirements

RADARSAT represents Canada's entry into the arena of Earth observation satellite owner/operatorship. The RADARSAT program is supported by strong partnerships between Canadian and international industry, federal and provincial governments and various other partners. We review RADARSAT's image characteristics, addressing various application requirements. The data collected by RADARSAT will be useful for a wide variety of applications in agriculture, cartography, coastal zone, forestry, geology, hydrology, land use, oceans and sea ice. The data may provide a cost-effective alternative to other forms of data acquisition, or may be used to optimize current data collection programs. RADARSAT's all-weather imaging capabilities, multiple beam modes, and two look directions (ascending and descending orbits), provide users with an abundance of imaging choice.