The Active Microwave Instrument on-board the ERS-1 satellite

The Active Microwave Instrument (AMI), a combination of a C-band (5.3 GHz), VV polarization, synthetic aperture radar (SAR) and a wind scatterometer is described. AMI is being carried on the first European Remote Sensing Satellite, ERS-1, which is also described. AMI's primary geophysical data products are ocean surface wind speed and direction, ocean wave length and direction, and high-resolution radar mapping of land, ocean, ice, and coastal zones. The ERS-1 payload also includes a radar altimeter, an along-track scanning infrared radiometer, a microwave sounder, a precision range and range rate measuring equipment, and a laser retroreflector. ERS-1 will be in a polar orbit for global mapping. Prelaunch testing has shown that the quality of the AMI data products meets the mission objectives. >