At Wednesday 26 September 2018, we had a meeting at the 3ME Faculty of Delft University of Technology to discuss mission concepts for a small spaceborne microwave satellite or cluster of satellites. The meeting was attended by NL-RIA network parties that deal with satellite and orbit design, antennae and microwave remote sensing.
Regarding the constellation, thoughts were discussed on tethers and booms to connect satellite pairs, free-flying constellations and cubesat design parameters. Furthermore foldable antennas were discussed. Duty cycle, onboard storage capacity and downlink techniques were also discussed. Orbit minimum and maximum height and a dawn-dusk sun-synchronous configuration were discussed.
Regarding the microwave instrument and antenna design, choice of wavelength and configuration of mono- or multistatic platforms were discussed.
A requirement table will be composed in the next months, to be discussed.
Requirements related to applications of altimetry and SAR satellite data will only be discussed with application developers and value adding companies.
The meeting minutes will be disseminated among parties later on.