Synthetic Aperture Radar
(SAR)

We have discovered how to make a SAR for space flight that weighs considerably less than conventional SARs, by using stretched membranes. We demonstrated the deployment of such a system on the ground and verified its accuracy. We also performed a conceptual design of a flight unit. The next step should be to develop the flight unit and demonstrate it in space. The payoff is a greatly reduced cost of SAR satellites because of the substantially lower weight. The background for this effort is described below.

Space Radars
Because a stretched membrane SAR can be physically large, as it orbits it can obtain high resolution images of Earth targets even for large electromagnetic wavelengths. This allows selection of convenient wavelengths for certain missions. Radar images can be obtained through all kinds of weather, and ground foliage can be penetrated.