EO·Atlas
Synthetic Aperture Radar Altimeter (SRAL)
Compiled from public sources on 2026-06-16. Not independently verified by Thales Alenia Space.
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Sentinel-3 synthetic-aperture radar altimeter; stored as component because current D1 sensor schema lacks a Ku/C radar-altimeter branch.
SRAL, the Synthetic Aperture Radar Altimeter, is the Sentinel-3 altimeter used for surface topography measurements.[1][2][3] It flies on Sentinel-3B and represents the Sentinel-3 altimeter design flown across the series.[1][3] SRAL uses a 13.575 GHz Ku-band channel for range measurements and a 5.41 GHz C-band channel for dual-band ionospheric correction.[1][2][3] After early commissioning, the instrument operates continuously in SAR delay-Doppler mode except for punctual calibration sequences.[2] Its measurement scope covers ocean and ice topography, significant wave height, wind speed, inland-water hydrology, sea ice, and land-ice thematic products.[1][2][3]
Pricing not publicly listed by operator
Compositional position
- [1]Sentinel-3 altimetry instruments, SentiWikiagency doc-2026-06-16
- [2]Sentinel-3 SRAL/MWR Land User Handbook 2024agency doc2024-01-082026-06-16
- [3]WMO OSCAR instrument record: SRALagency doc-2026-06-16