DBFSAR - RGI/GTC/INF

DBFSAR, “Digital Beam Forming SAR”, is an airborne very-high-resolution imaging radar (Synthetic Aperture Radar) sensor presently operated by the German Aerospace Center (DLR), Microwaves and Radar Institute (HR) since November 29, 2016. It is operated on a Dornier Do-228 aircraft from altitudes of 2000 to 6000 m above ground in X-band (3 cm wavelength) only, featuring four transmit (operated sequentially) and twelve parallel receive channels. Depending on antenna deployment, it is either fully polarimetric (HH,HV,VV,VH), inetrferomtric in along- and/or across-track mode, or can be operated as a digital beamforming SAR. It has full repeat-pass capabilities. Data are processed up to three different levels: RGI (Radar Geometry Image product), INF (Interferometric product) and GTC (Geocoded and Terrain-Corrected product). The data acquisition modes are selected based on the individually planned experiments. Achieved resolutions are presently 10 cm in azimuth and 17 cm in range but will go down significantly below 10 cm in both directions.