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OptiSAR Radar 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8

OptiSAR Radar [UrtheCast]

UrtheCast prepares to build an earth observation constellation consisting of each eight radar and eight optical satellites.

The satellites are planned to be built by SSTL. They will operate in pairs consting of each a radar and optical satellite and will be deployed in two orbital planes, with eight satellites in polar sun-synchronous orbit and the other eight in a medium-inclination orbit at an angle of between 20 and 45° inclined to the equator.

The synthetic-aperture radar (SAR) satellites, each with a launch mass of about 1400 kilograms, are to carry two radar systems, one operating 5 m resolution L-band, and one 1 m resolution X-band. Additionally they will carry Automatic Identification System (AIS) sensors for maritime ship traffic tracking.

In August 2017 Urthecast announced to launch a stand-alone SAR precursor satellite ahead of the constellation on request of one customer.

UrtheCast could not meet payments in 2019 and eventually went insolvent in 2021 and the UrtheDaily constellation was cancelled.

Nation: Canada
Type / Application: Earth observation, traffic monitoring
Operator: UrtheCast
Contractors: SSTL
Equipment: L-band SAR, X-band SAR, AIS-receiver
Configuration:
Propulsion:
Power: Solar arrays, batteries
Lifetime:
Mass: ~ 1800 kg
Orbit:
Satellite COSPAR Date LS Launch Vehicle Remarks
OptiSAR-Radar Precursor - cancelled
OptiSAR-Radar 1 - cancelled
OptiSAR-Radar 2 - cancelled
OptiSAR-Radar 3 - cancelled
OptiSAR-Radar 4 - cancelled
OptiSAR-Radar 5 - cancelled
OptiSAR-Radar 6 - cancelled
OptiSAR-Radar 7 - cancelled
OptiSAR-Radar 8 - cancelled

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