The TerraSAR-X Ground Segment

TerraSAR-X, the first national German remote-sensing satellite, was launched on June 15, 2007. It carries an X-band high-resolution synthetic aperture radar (SAR) instrument featuring imaging modes like StripMap, ScanSAR, and, particularly, SpotLight in a variety of different polarization modes. Primary mission goal is the provision of both science and commercial users with a variety of products from advanced SAR modes. The TerraSAR-X Ground Segment, which is provided by the German Aerospace Center (DLR), constitutes the central element for controlling and operating the TerraSAR-X satellite, for calibrating its SAR instrument, and for archiving the SAR data, as well as generating and distributing the basic data products. This paper depicts the ground-segment layout and describes its major elements. The ordering and product-generation workflow is presented. It introduces the applied prelaunch integration, testing, verification, and validation approach, a major key to the completion not only of the SAR technical-verification program but also the operational qualification of the ground segment itself within the commissioning phase.      

An improved SAR-GMTI method based on eigen-decomposition of the sample covariance matrix

An improved two-channel Synthetic Aperture Radar Ground Moving Target Indication (SAR-GMTI) method based on eigen-decomposition of the covariance matrix is investigated. Based on the joint Probability Density Function (PDF) of the Along-Track Interferometric (ATI) phase and the similarity between the two SAR complex images, a novel ellipse detector is presented and is applied to the indication of ground moving targets. We derive its statistics and analyze the performance of detection process in detail. Compared with the approach using the ATI phase, the ellipse detector has a better performance of detection in homogenous clutter. Numerical experiments on simulated data are presented to validate the improved performance of the ellipse detector with respect to the ATI phase approach. Finally, the detection capability of the proposed method is demonstrated by measured SAR data.     

Application of TerraSAR-X Data for Emergent Oil-Spill Monitoring

Synthetic aperture radar (SAR) signals can propagate through hazardous weather and atmospheric conditions with heavy cloud cover, volcanic dust, snow, or rain. The all-weather capabilities of SARs have attracted significant interest in remote sensing communities, since serious environmental disasters such as oil spills have been highly “elusive” to optical sensors, making visible spectrum data vulnerable to rapidly changing atmospheric conditions. In this paper, we discuss the technical functionalities of TerraSAR-X from the emergency response perspective, describing its technical abilities in terms of a damping ratio, radiometric accuracy, and noise level with reference to the actual Hebei Spirit oil-spill incident that occurred on the west coast of the Korean peninsula in December 2007. The damping ratios estimated from the TerraSAR-X data as a function of Bragg wavenumber for various wind speeds indicate that TerraSAR-X data can be effectively used to identify oil-spill areas with acceptable accuracy. We also received ERS-2, ENVISAT, RADARSAT-1, and ALOS PALSAR data for this oil-spill event, not simultaneously but with varying time delays. The processing results for the multitemporal data sets obtained from the X- and C-band SAR systems are useful since they can be used to determine the near-real-time migration of spilt oil. The results of the current study indicate that there are distinct advantages of using X-band TerraSAR-X data for oil-spill detection compared to the data obtained at other available frequencies.      

Fore and Aft Channel Reconstruction in the TerraSAR-X Dual Receive Antenna Mode

The TerraSAR-X satellite is a high-resolution synthetic aperture radar (SAR) system launched in June 2007 which provides the option to split the antenna in along-track direction and sample two physical channels separately. Modern SARs are equipped with active phased array antennas and multiple channels. In order to keep costs low, TerraSAR-X uses the redundant receiver unit for the second channel such that fore and aft channel signals are combined by a hybrid coupler to form sum and difference channel data. The dual receive antenna (DRA) mode can either be used to acquire along-track interferometric data or to acquire signals with different polarizations at the same time (Quad-Pol). Fore and aft channel reconstruction is necessary if ground moving target indication (GMTI) algorithms such as the displaced phase center antenna technique or along-track interferometry shall be applied, and in order to separate the horizontally and vertically polarized received signal components. The proposed approach uses internal calibration pulses from different calibration beams in order to estimate and compensate the hardware impact. The theoretical framework together with the results from the experimental data evaluation for the fore and aft channel reconstruction of the TerraSAR-X DRA mode are presented. The impact of the receive hardware transformation matrix estimation accuracy on errors in the reconstructed fore and aft channel image data is studied, and first examples on the GMTI capability of the TerraSAR-X DRA mode are given.      

TerraSAR-X SAR Processing and Products

The TerraSAR-X mission was launched in June 2007. After successful completion of the commissioning phase, the mission entered its operational phase in January 2008. Since that time, TerraSAR-X provides the scientific remote sensing community and commercial customers with high-quality spaceborne synthetic aperture radar (SAR) data products. The intention of this paper is to present the SAR data processing concept and the comprehensive portfolio of products reflecting the instrument's diverse imaging capabilities together with options of processing and achieved product quality as well as the essentials of SAR processing. Furthermore, it shall also provide details on how to fully exploit the precision of the TerraSAR-X products.      

Statistical analysis of multilook SAR interferograms for CFAR detection of ground moving targets

This paper examines the statistics of the phase and magnitude of multilook synthetic aperture radar (SAR) interferograms toward deployment of along-track interferometry (ATI) for slow ground moving-target indication (GMTI). While the known probability density function (pdf) of the interferogram's phase (derived under the assumption of Gaussian backscatter) is shown to agree almost perfectly for a wide variety of backscatter conditions, the corresponding magnitude's pdf tends to deviate strongly in most cases. Motivated by this discrepancy, a novel distribution is derived for the interferogram's magnitude. This pdf, called the polynomial or p-distribution, matches the real data much more accurately, particularly for heterogeneous composite terrain. For extremely heterogeneous terrain, such as urban areas, both pdfs for interferometric phase and magnitude fail and are extended. Based on these statistics, a completely automatic detection scheme with constant false-alarm rates (CFARs) for slow moving targets is proposed. All involved parameters required to determine the detection thresholds are estimated from the sample data. It is demonstrated, on the basis of experimental airborne SAR data, that this detector is capable of detecting slow moving vehicles within severe ground clutter.     

利用样本协方差矩阵特征值分解实现双通道SAR动目标检测

该文针对机载双通道SAR-GMTI系统及实测数据,提出一种新的地面慢动目标检测方法。该方法基于双通道样本协方差矩阵特征值分解,将杂波第2特征值和干涉相位联合统计特性的研究结果用于慢动目标检测,即根据给定的恒虚警概率确定一条联合分布的第2特征值干涉相位等高线作为门限检测曲线,同时结合第2特征值、干涉相位门限预处理,实现地面慢动目标的精确检测。实测数据实验结果表明:该方法不但扩大了慢动目标的可检测速度范围,同时还降低了系统的虚警概率。     

Final TerraSAR-X Calibration Results Based on Novel Efficient Methods

TerraSAR-X is a satellite mission for scientific and commercial applications operating a highly flexible X-band synthetic aperture radar (SAR) instrument with a multitude of different operation modes. As product quality is of crucial importance, the success or failure of the mission depends essentially on the method of calibrating TerraSAR-X in an efficient way during commissioning the entire system in a restricted time. Only then, product quality and the correct in-orbit operation of the entire SAR system can be ensured. This paper describes the in-orbit calibration method for TerraSAR-X and dedicated activities performed during the commissioning phase as well as final results derived from all calibration procedures.      

Theoretical Evaluation of Several Possible Along-Track InSAR Modes of TerraSAR-X for Ocean Current Measurements

The German satellite TerraSAR-X, scheduled for launch in late 2006, will permit high-resolution ocean current measurements by along-track interferometric SAR (along-track InSAR) in various experimental modes of operation, using different sections of its X-band SAR antenna array with a total length of 4.8 m as individual receive antennas. Depending on antenna and receive-chain settings, effective InSAR time lags of about 0.17 to 0.29 ms can be realized in combination with different noise levels, single-look resolutions, swath widths, and incidence angles. We give an overview of the characteristics of the possible InSAR modes and evaluate their suitability for current measurements on the basis of simulated data products. Our results indicate that the quality of interferometric stripmap data from TerraSAR-X will be clearly superior to the quality of the existing data acquired over the Dutch coast during the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission; accurate current retrievals can be expected at effective spatial resolutions on the order of 500 m. However, in modes using a multiplexed single receive chain, the effective swath width of stripmap data will be limited to only 15 km, while dual receive-chain operation offers a swath width of 30 km for stripmap data and promises a reasonable data quality even for ScanSAR data with a maximum swath width of 100 km. Finally, we consider fundamental relations between along-track baseline, instrument noise, and resulting InSAR phase noise to discuss the potential for current measuring performance improvements of TerraSAR-X follow-on satellites     

机载SAR加权ATI地面慢速运动目标检测方法

对ATI技术进行改进,提出了一种机栽双通道SAR加权ATI地面慢速运动目标检测方法。该方法将DPCA技术和ATI技术的优点结合起来,利用DPCA技术得到加权值对ATI干涉结果进行加权处理,提出了一种新的动目标检测方法。计算机仿真结果表明,该改进方法与ATI方法相比能够有效减少虚假目标的数目,并能够检测到弱目标;与DPCA方法相比,它能够检测到DPCA方法由于对消过大而无法检测到的速度更慢的目标。     

子带子孔径ATI地面运动目标检测及参数估计方法

该文提出了一种新的基于子带子孔径图像序列的顺轨干涉(ATI)地面运动目标检测方法。该方法利用超宽带合成孔径雷达(UWB SAR)的大带宽大波束角和低频特性,生成了对应不同中心频率和视角的多幅子带子孔径顺轨干涉图,并联合运动目标的多频多子孔径干涉相位进行地面运动目标检测和参数估计。该方法相比传统的ATI方法的优点在于:在检测方面,消除了盲速,既能检测具有距离向速度的目标,又能检测具有方位向速度的目标;在速度估计方面,能无模糊地同时估计出目标的距离向速度和方位向速度。基于UWB SAR半实测回波的实验验证了该方法的有效性。     

基于ATI的双通道UWB SAR运动目标检测和距离向速度估计

本文对基于ATI的双通道UWB SAR运动目标检测和距离向速度估计算法进行了研究.针对运动目标易在UWB SAR图像上散焦的特点,本文对运动目标在双通道UWB SAR图像上散焦像轨迹之间的位置关系及干涉相位进行了分析;针对ATI算法运动目标检测中的盲速现象和距离向速度估计时的距离向速度模糊现象,本文根据UWB SAR大相对带宽的特点,提出了一种多频子带ATI方法消除盲速区、解除距离向速度模糊,该方法只需两部接收天线,相比多基线方法可大大节省硬件成本.基于半实测数据的实验证明了本文所提理论正确性和算法的有效性.     

TerraSAR-X Mission Planning System: Automated Command Generation for Spacecraft Operations

On June 15, 2007, TerraSAR-X was successfully launched from Baikonur, Kazakhstan. On board TerraSAR-X, a high-resolution X-band synthetic aperture radar (SAR) instrument is being operated as the primary payload. The user community requesting SAR products is composed of commercial and scientific partners as documented in a public–private-partnership agreement. The operations of the TerraSAR-X bus as well as payload operations are performed by the Mission Operations Segment (MOS). The Mission Planning System (MPS), which is a part of the MOS, has been designed to handle complex payload and standard bus operations in an automated manner. The purpose of this paper is to describe the concepts and the TerraSAR-X realization of the MPS.      

A fast multichannel SAR raw data simulator of clutter and moving targets

Accessibility of a fast and accurate multichannel synthetic aperture radar raw data generator of stationary clutter and moving targets has high importance, especially in the application of ground moving target indication. In this paper, a fast four-stage algorithm for generating the raw data of each channel stationary clutter and moving targets, has been proposed respectively in the frequency and the hybrid time–frequency domain. Using this simulator, in different conditions in terms of target motion speed, acceleration and direction, for each of the channels, after generating the raw data, its final image has been extracted by the range-Doppler algorithm. Then, using clutter suppression techniques such as DPCA, ATI and hybrid DPCA–ATI, the multichannel SAR final image has been obtained in ideal and nonideal conditions. Finally, the obtained images of the first channel have been studied using the extracted formulas for predicting the effects of target motion parameters on the SAR images as well as analyzing the multichannel SAR final image. The results show that the proposed algorithm for generating the raw data of each channel stationary clutter and moving targets has better performance in terms of speed and accuracy than the other existing simulators and the proposed multichannel SAR simulation method has high quality.     

对机载单天线SAR实际数据进行ATI动目标检测的新方法

本文给出一种基于机载单天线SAR实际数据进行ATI动目标检测的方法.该方法将单通道SAR数据抽样近似为两通道ATI-SAR(Along Track Interferometric SAR)数据,利用两通道方位向干涉进行杂波抑制,实现动目标检测.检测结果表明,单天线SAR数据的ATI方法对动目标检测是有效的,在没有ATI-SAR实际数据情况下,为研究ATI-SAR干涉算法提供了一种有效途径.     

Estimation of the Acoustic-to-Seismic Coupling Ratio Using a Moving Vehicle Source

We present a simple passive technique for estimating the acoustic-to-seismic signal coupling ratio (SAR) in the ground using noise produced by moving vehicles. The seismic signal received on a geophone contains some energy that has propagated as seismic waves and some energy that couples from acoustic waves to seismic waves in the vicinity of the geophone. We use the frequency-domain coherence between the microphone and geophone signals to determine when the seismic signal is predominantly due to acoustic-to-seismic wave coupling. In frequency bands where the microphone and geophone coherence is above 0.8, the ratio of the seismic ground particle velocity to sound pressure-SAR-can be determined with less than 2 dB of error. The method is applied to data from a summer experiment with grass ground cover and at two winter experiments with snow-covered ground. At 100 Hz, the summer analysis yields a SAR value of 1.0 times 10^-5 [(m/s)/Pa]. In addition, at 100 Hz, the two winter tests yield SAR between 0.1 times 10^-5 and 1.0 times 10^-5 [(m/s)/Pa]. In the later winter result, our vehicle-derived SAR estimate is shown to be in excellent agreement with SAR estimates obtained from blank pistol shots. Through the opportunistic exploitation background noise sources, our approach opens the possibility for automatic adaptation of unattended acoustic area, monitoring sensors to changing ground conditions.     

Bistatic TerraSAR-X/F-SAR Spaceborne–Airborne SAR Experiment: Description, Data Processing, and Results

We report about the first X-band spaceborne–airborne bistatic synthetic aperture radar (SAR) experiment, conducted early November 2007, using the German satellite TerraSAR-X as transmitter and the German Aerospace Center's (DLR) new airborne radar system F-SAR as receiver. The importance of the experiment resides in both its pioneering character and its potential to serve as a test bed for the validation of nonstationary bistatic acquisitions, novel calibration and synchronization algorithms, and advanced imaging techniques. Due to the independent operation of the transmitter and receiver, an accurate synchronization procedure was needed during processing to make high-resolution imaging feasible. Precise phase-preserving bistatic focusing can only be achieved if time and phase synchronization exist. The synchronization approach, based on the evaluation of the range histories of several reference targets, was verified through a separate analysis of the range and Doppler contributions. After successful synchronization, nonstationary focusing was performed using a bistatic backprojection algorithm. During the campaign, stand-alone TerraSAR-X monostatic as well as interoperated TerraSAR-X/F-SAR bistatic data sets were recorded. As expected, the bistatic image shows a space-variant behavior in spatial resolution and in signal-to-noise ratio. Due to the selected configuration, the bistatic image outperforms its monostatic counterpart in almost the complete imaged scene. A detailed comparison between monostatic and bistatic images is given, illustrating the complementarity of both measurements in terms of backscatter and Doppler information. The results are of fundamental importance for the development of future nonsynchronized bistatic SAR systems.      

TerraSAR-X Instrument Calibration Results and Extension for TanDEM-X

Spaceborne remote sensing with synthetic aperture radar (SAR) has become an essential source of high-resolution and continuous Earth observation. Modern satellites like the German TerraSAR-X system provide state-of-the-art radar images with respect to operating flexibility and imaging quality. The outstanding performance of TerraSAR-X image products is achieved by an innovative calibration approach that minimizes systematic antenna and instrument characteristics. The active phased array X-band antenna is fed by 384 transmit/receive modules for electronic beam steering and shaping in the azimuth and elevation direction. The flexible radar instrument hosts an internal calibration system which guarantees the high radiometric stability of all SAR products. New techniques for antenna performance control have been successfully implemented, setting a high standard for next-generation SAR missions. This paper summarizes all essential calibration results of TerraSAR-X that cover internal instrument behavior. Furthermore, we give an outlook on the required bistatic calibration techniques for the future TanDEM-X mission that faces additional performance challenges when calibrating two TerraSAR-X satellites flying in close formation.      

The TerraSAR-X Satellite

TerraSAR-X is a versatile synthetic aperture radar (SAR) satellite with active phased array antenna technology and represents the backbone of the German national radar Earth observation mission. With its large variety of different SAR imaging modes and its high operational flexibility, TerraSAR-X ideally serves the scientific community and users from the industrial sector and governmental institutions. The innovative satellite system design combines the rich experience from past German and European SAR space missions like X-SAR, SRTM, ERS 1 and 2, and Envisat combined with state-of-the-art Earth observation bus technology as used, e.g., on the CHAMP and GRACE satellites.      

RSDD-SAR:SAR舰船斜框检测数据集

针对合成孔径雷达(SAR)舰船斜框检测数据集较少,难以满足算法发展和实际应用需求的问题,该文公开了SAR舰船斜框检测数据集(RSDD-SAR),该数据集由84景高分3号数据和41景TerraSAR-X数据切片及2景未剪裁大图,共127景数据构成,包含多种成像模式、多种极化方式、多种分辨率切片7000张,舰船实例10263个,通过自动标注和人工修正相结合的方式高效标注。同时,该文对几种常用的光学遥感图像斜框检测算法和SAR舰船斜框检测算法进行了实验,其中单阶段算法S2ANet检测效果最佳,平均精度达到90.06%。通过实验对比分析形成基准指标,可供相关学者参考。最后,该文通过泛化能力测试,分析讨论了RSDD-SAR数据集训练模型在其他数据集和未剪裁大图上的性能,结果表明：该数据集训练模型具有较好的泛化能力,说明该数据集具有较强的应用价值。RSDD-SAR数据集可在以下网址下载：https://radars.ac.cn/web/data/get Data?data Type=SDD-SAR。