DEVELOPMENT OF NASA'S NEXT GENERATION L-BAND DIGITAL BEAMFORMING SYNTHETIC APERTURE RADAR (DBSAR-2)

The Next Generation Digital Beamforming SAR (DBSAR-2) is a state-of-the- art airborne L-band radar developed at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) in support of several disciplines in Earth and Planetary sciences. The instrument builds upon the architectures in NASA's DBSAR-1 and EcoSAR instruments while introducing new features that allow advanced imaging modes, higher efficiency, and compactness. DBSAR-2 employs a 16-channel radar architecture characterized by multi-mode operation, software defined waveform generation, digital beamforming, wide-band, and programmable radar parameters. The instrument was recently completed, tested and calibrated in GSFC's anechoic chamber.