Our StriX satellites use Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) to observe and analyze the Earth’s surface down to sub-meter resolutions.

Satellite Orbit and Specifications

Our small SAR satellite StriX boasts a larger swath, lower noise and wider area than other satellites in its class. Our first Strix satellite was placed in orbit in 2020, with more satellites being added each year.

Operating at a nominal altitude of 500km or higher, StriX follows a sun-synchronous or inclined orbit typical of other Earth observation satellites and is capable of making daily visits to the same location. This visit frequency will only increase as our constellation grows in size.

Our StriX satellites emit a 9.65GHz (X-band) frequency microwave signal directed at a target on Earth. The amount of signal reflected (“backscatter”) gives a realistic image of the terrain and structural properties at the target location. This is known as a “synthetic aperture” because the moving satellite uses multiple signal captures to mimic the effect of placing one massive antenna in orbit.

Observation Modes

Our StriX satellites offer three observation modes: Stripmap, Sliding Spotlight and Staring Spotlight. The choice of mode reflects the priority placed on either area or resolution.

Stripmap Mode

In the Stripmap mode, the center of the antenna beam moves in conjunction with the satellite at an approximately fixed off-nadir angle. While inside the antenna beam, the ground is illuminated with a sequence of electromagnetic waves at radiofrequency . The outcome of this imaging mode is a long swath image with a nominal slant range resolution of 1.8 meters and a nominal slant-azimuth resolution of 2.6 meters. Stripmap is the optimal mode for large-area capture.

Specifications of Stripmap Mode

Sliding Spotlight Mode

In this mode, the antenna beam is steered during data acquisition to allow a longer observation of a selected area. Because the antenna beam moves at a slower rate, more data is collected, resulting in a nominal slant-range resolution of 0.5 meters and a nominal slant-azimuth resolution of 0.9 meters. Sliding Spotlight is the optimal mode for high-resolution capture.

Specifications of Sliding Spotlight Mode

Staring Spotlight Mode

Similar to Sliding Spotlight mode, in Staring Spotlight mode, the antenna beam is steered mechanically throughout the data acquisition. The difference is that Sliding Spotlight mode’s rotation center is located below the Earth surface, on the other hand in Staring Spotlight mode, the rotation center is on the Earth surface. This allows the scene’s area to be concentrated on the smaller area and its illumination duration to be longer. As a result, Staring Spotlight mode provides a finer azimuth resolution and a shorter product length than Sliding Spotlight mode.

Specifications of Staring Spotlight Mode

Learn More

Looking to acquire SAR data for your organization? Download a complete product guide from the page below.