Urthecast cameras on the ISS. Photo: Urthecast

[Via Satellite 04-15-2016] The Canadian Space Agency (CSA) plans to implement a $2 million award to UrtheCast from the Space Technologies Development Program STDP. The Contribution Agreement (CA) is to support the development of UrtheCast’s upcoming OptiSAR constellation, currently slated for deployment in 2020 to 2021.

The 16-satellite OptiSAR constellation is expected to consist of eight X-band and L-band Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) satellites and eight high-resolution optical satellites, flying in a paired, tandem configuration. By capturing SAR and optical data in unison, each satellite pair is expected to help UrtheCast deliver Earth imagery regardless of weather conditions and with extremely high revisit rates — allowing for cloud-free imaging and improved identification of ground targets.