Gaofen-3 radar satellite, successfully launched on August 10, 2016, is China's first C-band, high-resolution, full polarization spaceborne SAR system, and its SAR payload was developed by the Institute of Electronics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. By the means of Gaofen-3 SAR satellite, China achieves azimuthal multi-channel satellite-based SAR imaging, which significantly improves the imaging width; and achieves satellite-based SAR full-polarization imaging for the first time. Gaofen-3 has 12 conventional imaging modes, with the maximum resolution of 1 m and the maximum width of 650 km. It is the first remote sensing satellite in China with a design service life of 8 years. As the first SAR satellite for civil operational operation in China, since its delivery to users, the SAR system has been on imaging for about 1000 h, distributing about 1 million scenes, completing domestic full-coverage observation with 10 m resolution, and covering an area of 264.89 million square kilometers globally. Gaofen-3 has unique advantages in ocean observation, water application, disaster monitoring, environmental monitoring, etc., it is widely used in various industrial fields and has achieved significant economic and social benefits.

(a) Deployment diagram of Gaofen-3 SAR satellite antenna
(b) Launch of Gaofen-3
(c) Schematic diagram of the in-orbit work of Gaofen-3

Fig. 1 Satellite antenna, satellite launch and on orbit diagram of Gaofen-3 SAR satellite

Fig. 2 National radar remote sensing image map of Gaofen-3    Fig. 3 Radar image of Wuhan area obtained by Gaofen-3

(Produced by Remote Sensing Application Center for Land and Satellite, Ministry of Natural Resources)      (Cluster beam mode, single polarization, 1 m resolution, August 15, 2016)

  (a) A place in Ukraine, September 3, 2018   (b) Yellow River Estuary, November 5, 2018

Fig. 4 Full polarization strip 1 mode polarization composite image of Gaofen-3 (8 m resolution)