SIRAL antenna: Design and performance of the SAR interferometer radar altimeter antenna subsystem for CRYOSAT mission

摘要

The SIRAL antenna is a key element of the SIRAL radar instrument, SIRAL being the main spaceborne instrument of the ESA Cryosat mission. This paper gives a description of the antenna design concept and its associated development plan. The paper presents the main performances of the antenna and puts emphasis on the specific tests that have been carried out in order to characterize accurately the antenna subsystem and to verify its stability from an interferometric point of view.