Geointelligence
RADARSAT Constellation Mission
Designed and built by MDA, this configuration consists of three satellites working together to collect data for the Government of Canada. The mission is focused on maritime surveillance, disaster management and ecosystem monitoring to protect our environment.
© Image credit: CSA
Capturing change
These satellites provide critical information following natural and man-made disasters – such as earthquakes, hurricanes, oil spills and flooding – which is used to measure damage and aid recovery efforts. Radar satellites can also map complex landscapes, and allow us to track shifting ice in the Arctic to help ships navigate, and to monitor environmental changes in large ecosystems, such as marshes, forests and farmland.
A STELLAR YEAR
In June 2021, the Government of Canada celebrated the two year ‘launchiversary’ of the three-satellite RADARSAT Constellation Mission, built by MDA. Keeping watch over Earth, even through cloud coverage, darkness, lightning storms and smog, the satellites provide daily access to any point on 90% of the world's surface.
Info
- 592.7 km – The altitude of the satellites in orbit
- 120° – The spacing between the three satellites on their orbital plane
- 96.4 minutes – The time it takes each satellite to circle Earth
- 15 – The number of orbits per day