Geometric calibration of ERS satellite SAR images

Geometric calibration of the European Remote Sensing (ERS) Satellite synthetic aperture radar (SAR) slant range images is important in relation to mapping areas without ground reference points and also in relation to automated processing. The relevant SAR system parameters are discussed and calibrated by using the European Space Agency (ESA) transponders at Flevoland. The resulting accuracy of the slant range images corresponds to 10 m horizontally on the ground. The results are verified by using runway intersections and corner reflectors surveyed with differential GPS techniques. Based on a seven-year ERS-1 and a four-year ERS-2 time series, the long term stability is found to be sufficient to allow a single calibration covering the entire mission period. A descending and an ascending orbit tandem pair of the ESA calibration site on Flevoland, suitable for calibration of ERS SAR processors, is described to allow other researchers to geometrically calibrate their processing systems.