The InSAeS4 airborne X-band interferometric SAR system: A first assessment on its imaging and topographic mapping capabilities

We present in this work a first assessment of the imaging and topographic mapping capabilities of the InSAeS4 system, which is a single-pass interferometric airborne X-Band Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR). In particular, we first provide a brief description of the InSAeS4 sensor. Then, we discuss the results of our analysis on the SAR and interferometric SAR products relevant to the first flight-test campaign. More specifically, we have exploited as reference the GPS measurements relevant to nine Corner Reflectors (CRs) deployed over the illuminated area during the campaign and a laser scanner Digital Elevation Model (DEM). From the analysis carried out on the CRs we achieved a mean geometric resolution, for the SAR products, of about 0.14 m in azimuth and 0.49 m in range, a positioning misalignment with standard deviation of 0.07 m in range and 0.08 m in azimuth, and a height error with standard deviation of 0.51 m. From the comparison with the laser scanner DEM we estimated a height error with standard deviation of 1.57 m.