PROJECT TITLE: Bistatic SAR Demonstrator for PS Interferometry using a Fixed-Receiver Configuration — BISTATIC-PSI

Coordinator: University Politehnica of Bucharest – Research Center for Spatial Information UPB – CEOSPACETECH 

Partners: S.C. Advanced Studies and Research Center S.R.L.

Period: 19 November 2012 – 18 November 2015

Project director: Anca – Andreea Popescu

Project team:

• research engineers and senior scientists responsible with the hardware and software concept and design
• 2 PhD students responsible with the hardware and software implementation, system testing and validation
• 2 project assistants, responsible with the project administration and finance

Description: Through this project we aim to develop a B-SAR system with fixed receiver, with a satellite system as transmitter of opportunity. The main focus is on the hardware design and signal processing for optimal communication and SAR image formation.

Project objectives:

• O1. Contributions to the GMES services for the improvement of PS Interferometry, in preparation for ESA Sentinel-1
• O2. The study, design and implementation of a fixed-receiver Bistatic SAR system that uses Satellite Systems as Transmitter of opportunity
• O3. Attainment of an experimental hardware basis to ensure the persistence of a high complexity technological line
• O4. The study, design and implementation of image formation algorithms
• O5. Optimization of transmitter-receiver communication and ground system positioning
• O6. Acquisition of data with BSAR and data fusion with satellite data
• O7. The demonstration and validation of the instrument and proposed algorithms capabilities

Activities:

• Project Management and Reporting
• System Requirements and Concept
• System Demonstrator
• Satellite and ground date fusion
• Validation and Demonstration

Contributions to the STAR programme objectives:

• The project integrates into the ESA-Romania priorities, addressing an area of study and research that includes sensors and measuring instruments, and having as end-product and results an experimental platform (ground-based fixed receiver bistatic SAR system) for the demonstration of bistatic SAR measuring techniques with applications in support of the ground-segment.
• The project contributes to the development of cutting edge technology in support of GMES services that address emergency response and security (e.g. monitoring critical infrastructure, measurements of subsidence in urban areas, area mapping). Moreover, the resulting demonstration platform is designed in preparation for the forthcoming ESA Sentinel-1 mission envisaged to launch in 2013. The initial calibrations and synchronizations will be designed and correlated with the TerraSAR-X mission.
• The project fosters technical innovation bringing contributions to existent Bistatic SAR systems by investigating the possibilities to improve Persistent Scatterers observations and measurements through BSAR measurements.
• Moreover, it ensures that Romanian Research and Development sector becomes competitive in the frame of the ESA cooperation and membership.
• The project will bring together members of the university and industry actors and will foster new collaborations between Romanian and international research teams.

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