Seasat RAE Processed SAR: 700 Scenes of 1978 Satellite Imagery

Seasat's 1978 mission captured L-band synthetic aperture radar data for just over three months. The UK's Royal Aerospace Establishment processed approximately 700 scenes from around 4000 original data tapes, making them available on computer-compatible tapes and film. Each processed image includes a 16-bit data file, a header, and a text file with processing parameters, position, and telemetry data.

Use Cases

• Analyzing historical land or sea surface conditions based on L-band HH polarization radar imagery.
• Studying the evolution of SAR processing techniques based on the included processing parameter files.
• Conducting comparative studies with modern satellite data based on the 1978 temporal coverage.
• Researching satellite mission performance based on the included orbit and telemetry data.

Strengths

• Contains approximately 700 processed scenes from a foundational 1978 satellite mission.
• Data includes ancillary files with processing parameters, position, and telemetry for context.
• Offers multiple-look directions and both optical film and digital (CCT) formats.

Limitations

• Last updated 1978-10-10 23:59:59.999000; freshness should be verified.
• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• The raw data is described as a serial bit stream without error correction.

Provenance

Source

UK Royal Aerospace Establishment (RAE) and DLR, processed from raw data belonging to Earthnet.

Collection Method

Processed from raw Seasat SAR data tapes.

Time Range

1978-06 - 1978-10

Freshness

1978-10-10 23:59:59.999000

Geography

Global (from Seasat satellite coverage)