NASA’s Work on NISAR’s Antenna Reflector Nears Completion

This artist’s concept depicts the NISAR satellite in orbit over central and Northern California.
This artist’s concept depicts the NISAR satellite in orbit over central and Northern California. Short for NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar, NISAR is a joint mission of NASA and ISRO (Indian Space Research Organisation). Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

NASA’s work on the radar antenna reflector for the NISAR (NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar) satellite is nearing completion in California, with testing under way to verify that this hardware component will deploy properly following launch. Drum-shaped and about 39 feet (12 meters) across, the reflector is among NASA’s contributions to this joint mission with the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). The reflector is designed to transmit and receive microwave signals to and from Earth’s surface, enabling NISAR to scan nearly all the planet’s land and ice surfaces twice every 12 days to collect science data.

In March, the reflector was transported back from India to a specialized facility in California, where reflective tape was applied and other precautionary measures were taken to mitigate temperature increases that could have potentially affected the deployment of the reflector from its stowed configuration before beginning science operations.

Following the successful completion of testing, NASA will transport the reflector to an ISRO facility in the city of Bengaluru, India, where it will be reintegrated with the radar system by teams from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California and ISRO. During this time, a launch readiness date will be determined by ISRO, in coordination with NASA.

The NISAR launch cannot occur between early October 2024 and early February 2025, because that launch window would put the satellite into periods of alternating sunlight and shadows due to the position of the Sun. The resulting temperature fluctuations could affect the deployment of NISAR’s boom and radar antenna reflector.

News Media Contact
Andrew Wang
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.
626-379-6874
andrew.wang@jpl.nasa.gov

Work Continues on NISAR Satellite as Mission Looks Toward Launch

NISAR is pictured in this artist's concept, in flight in Earth's orbit, with Earth in the background
Pictured in this artist’s concept, NISAR will use two radar systems to monitor change in nearly all of Earth’s land and ice surfaces. The satellite marks the first time the U.S. and Indian space agencies have cooperated on hardware development for an Earth-observing mission. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

The NISAR (NASA ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar) satellite – a joint NASA-Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) Earth-observing mission – is nearly complete, and a launch readiness date will be determined at the end of April. The spacecraft will launch from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre on India’s southeastern coast.

Work to be finished before launch includes applying a special coating to hardware components on the satellite’s 39-foot-diameter (12-meter) radar antenna reflector, which is among NASA’s primary contributions to the mission. The addition of the special coating is a precautionary step to mitigate any temperature increases that could potentially affect the deployment of the reflector. Testing and analysis identified a potential for the reflector to experience higher-than-previously-anticipated temperatures in its stowed configuration in flight.

During science operations, the massive reflector will transmit and receive microwave signals to and from Earth’s surface, enabling NISAR to scan nearly all the planet’s land and ice surfaces twice every 12 days to collect science data.

The special coating being added will limit the temperature by reflecting more solar radiation off the reflector hardware. Due to the reflector’s size and complexity, it is being shipped from the ISRO site in India where the satellite is being assembled to a specialized facility in California for the application of the coating.

Once the thermal performance of the coating has been fully verified, a launch readiness date will be set. When the reflector returns to India, teams from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory and ISRO will integrate it onto the satellite.

NISAR, the first hardware collaboration between NASA and ISRO on an Earth-observing mission, is a uniquely powerful and trailblazing satellite. By combining two kinds of synthetic aperture radars, it will offer measurements of Earth’s evolving surface – including changes in ice sheets and glaciers, wetlands and forests, and land around volcanoes and earthquake faults.