COSI (Corea SAR Instrument)

COSI, the Corea SAR Instrument, is a multi-mode X-band synthetic-aperture radar payload flown on KOMPSAT-5 and provided by Thales Alenia Space.^[1][2] It is recorded at 9.66 GHz centre frequency with 9-240 MHz range bandwidth, nominal 20-45 degree incidence access, extended access to 55 degrees, and selectable single polarisation among HH, HV, VH and VV.^[1]

The defensible buyer-level mode baseline is the high-resolution, standard and wide-swath SAR collection classes, with extended access treated as conditional collection context rather than the baseline mode set.^[1] That framing keeps COSI useful for X-band archive comparison while keeping detailed extended-mode variants separate from baseline tasking assumptions.^[1][3]

COSI has demonstrated SAR backscatter and SAR backscatter change-detection use through the KOMPSAT-5 mission context.^[1] The payload is buyer-relevant where X-band archive continuity, selectable linear polarisation and medium-to-high resolution SAR imaging are more important than a fully open mode matrix.^[1][3]