Space News by Debra Werner — May 22, 2018
A new generation of radar satellites coupled with high-speed computer processing and machine learning could dramatically expand the use of radar data.
That conviction was palpable in April when leading radar satellite proponents gathered in Tampa, Florida, for a party at the 2018 GEOINT Symposium thrown by Ursa Space Systems, a geospatial data analytics company. One by one, radar satellite veterans and recent converts took the microphone to profess their faith in the technology and its promise.
“I am a card-carrying member of the radar mafia,†said Keith Masback, U.S. Geospatial Intelligence Foundation chief executive. “I was an infantry officer who needed to fight at night and in bad weather. That left me high and wet when it came to electro-optical. I, along with my special operations colleagues, absolutely appreciated the value of radar.â€
Unlike electro-optical satellites, which require light and clear skies to take pictures, Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) satellites work in all weather conditions, through clouds, day and night, because they bounce microwave pulses off targets and measure the reflected energy.
More:
http://spacenews.com/not-convinced-of-the-promise-of-commercial-radar-satellites-meet-the-radar-mafia/
