CSG-SAR

CSG-SAR is the multi-polarisation X-band synthetic-aperture radar payload for COSMO-SkyMed Second Generation spacecraft, manufactured and provided by Thales Alenia Space.^[1][2] It operates at 9.60 GHz in X-band and is recorded with 20-50 degree off-nadir access, up to a 600 km field of regard, and mode-dependent resolution from 0.35 m to 40 m.^[1]

The sensor supports single, dual and quad-polarisation acquisitions, including HH, VV, HV and VH combinations depending on collection mode.^[1] Its public mode envelope spans Spotlight, Stripmap and ScanSAR acquisitions: the structured examples include Spotlight at sub-metre resolution over a 7.3 km swath, Stripmap at 3 m resolution over 40 km, and ScanSAR coverage up to 200 km.^[1]

For applications, CSG-SAR has demonstrated SAR backscatter, interferometric surface-deformation and polarimetric SAR use through the COSMO-SkyMed Second Generation mission context, and it is capable of SAR backscatter change detection where repeat imaging geometry and archive depth are suitable.^[1] The payload is an evolution of the first-generation COSMO-SkyMed SAR-2000 heritage, so buyers comparing CSG with earlier COSMO-SkyMed data should treat the second-generation sensor as a related but upgraded X-band SAR implementation rather than a direct sensor duplicate.^[1][3]