RADARSAT-2

RADARSAT-2
Name	RADARSAT-2
Mission type	Earth observation
Operator	Canadian Space Agency / MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates
Cospar id	2007-002A
Satcat	30726
Mission duration	Design life: 7 years; Extended operations
Spacecraft bus	Custom
Manufacturer	MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates / MDA Corporation
Launch mass	2300 kg (approx.)
Power	Solar arrays
Launch date	14 December 2007 (UTC)
Launch rocket	Long March 2C
Launch site	Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center
Launch contractor	China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation
Orbit reference	Geocentric orbit
Orbit regime	Sun-synchronous orbit
Orbit periapsis	~770 km
Orbit period	~101 minutes
Instruments	C-band synthetic aperture radar (SAR)
Trans band	C-band

RADARSAT-2 is a Canadian C-band synthetic aperture radar Earth observation satellite launched in December 2007. Developed as a follow-on to an earlier Canadian mission, the platform provides high-resolution radar imagery for maritime surveillance, cryosphere monitoring, disaster management, and land-use mapping. The project involved Canadian, international, and commercial partners and operates from a sun-synchronous orbit to deliver all-weather, day-and-night imaging.

Mission overview

The mission aimed to continue and expand capabilities demonstrated by RADARSAT-1 with enhanced imaging modes and commercial services, supporting stakeholders such as the Canadian Space Agency, Department of National Defence (Canada), Natural Resources Canada, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, and international customers including European Space Agency, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, Australian Antarctic Division, and private operators. Key objectives included operational maritime surveillance in collaboration with Canadian Coast Guard, Canadian Hydrographic Service, and Transport Canada; polar science with institutions like Polar Continental Shelf Program, Scott Polar Research Institute, and Alfred Wegener Institute; and disaster response with agencies such as United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction and International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement.

Spacecraft and instruments

The spacecraft bus was produced by MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates (later Maxar Technologies acquisitions), integrating a high-performance C-band synthetic aperture radar designed by international teams including suppliers from Thales Group, Mitsubishi Electric, and RADAR Systems Engineering contractors. The payload provided multiple imaging modes—Fine, Standard, Spotlight, ScanSAR, Wide, and Polarimetry—supporting full-polarimetric, dual-polarimetric, and compact polarimetry modes used by research groups at University of British Columbia, McGill University, University of Waterloo, Dalhousie University, and the Canadian Ice Service. Instrument capabilities enabled interferometric applications pursued by European Space Agency programs and by researchers at Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Stanford University, and MIT Lincoln Laboratory.

Launch and operations

RADARSAT-2 was launched from Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center aboard a Long March 2C rocket procured through a commercial arrangement with China Great Wall Industry Corporation and executed by China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation. Post-launch commissioning involved teams from the Canadian Space Agency, MDA Corporation, and international ground stations operated by partners including Svalbard Satellite Station, Kiruna Space Observatory, and commercial ground network providers. Routine operations have been coordinated with national agencies such as Public Safety Canada and international customers like European Maritime Safety Agency, United States Coast Guard, and Norwegian Polar Institute for tasking, scheduling, and data delivery.

Data products and applications

Products include calibrated single-look complex (SLC), ground range detected (GRD), geocoded products, orthorectified mosaics, and polarimetric decompositions used by institutes including Canadian Centre for Remote Sensing, Geological Survey of Canada, Environment and Climate Change Canada, and international science centers such as Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research and Alfred Wegener Institute. Applications span sea-ice classification for Arctic Council programs, oil-spill detection supporting International Maritime Organization protocols, vessel detection integrated into Automatic Identification System augmentation, flood mapping used by World Food Programme disaster response, agricultural monitoring for Food and Agriculture Organization initiatives, and land-subsidence mapping informing infrastructure agencies like Transport for London and municipal authorities worldwide. Scientific communities at University of Toronto, McMaster University, Imperial College London, ETH Zurich, and University of Tokyo have used data for cryospheric studies, glacier dynamics, and interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR) deformation analysis.

Ground segment and data processing

The ground segment comprises mission control, payload data handling, and user delivery systems run by MDA Corporation and supported by the Canadian Space Agency with international ground stations at Svalbard Satellite Station, Kiruna Space Observatory, and commercial nodes in Inuvik Satellite Station and Hawkesbury. Data processing chains produce calibrated GRD, SLC, and polarimetric products using software frameworks developed in collaboration with Canada Centre for Mapping and Earth Observation, ESA SNAP Toolbox, and academic groups including University of Calgary and University of Saskatchewan. Downlink scheduling, tasking requests, and archive access are coordinated with partners such as International Charter on Space and Major Disasters, Group on Earth Observations, and national data portals including Earth Observation Portal (EO Portal) participants.

Performance and mission legacy

Operational performance exceeded the original 7-year design life, with sustained imaging quality enabling long-term time-series analysis used by Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Arctic Council, and national monitoring programs. The mission influenced successor programs and commercial SAR developments at MDA Corporation, RadiantEarth, Iceye, Capella Space, Airbus Defence and Space, and Maxar Technologies. RADARSAT-2 data contributed to policy and scientific outputs at Natural Resources Canada, Environment and Climate Change Canada, Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research, and international research published in journals associated with American Geophysical Union, Nature Publishing Group, and Springer Nature. Its legacy includes improvements to maritime domain awareness used by North Atlantic Treaty Organization partners and technology transfer that informed later radar missions by Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, CNSA, European Space Agency, and other national agencies.

Category:Earth observation satellites Category:Canadian satellites