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On Friday, Dec 14, RADARSAT-2 was successfully launched into orbit from Baikonur, Kazakhstan on a Soyuz rocket.

RADARSAT-2 is Canada's next-generation Synthetic Arpeture Radar (SAR) to follow up to the successful RADARSAT-1 satellite. RADARSAT-2 has been designed with significant technical advancements which include 3 meter high-resolution imaging, flexibility in selection of polarization, left and right-looking imaging options, superior data storage and more precise measurements of spacecraft position and attitude.

RADARSAT-2's SAR operates in the C-Band (5.405GHz) with selectable bandwidths of 11.6, 17.3, 30, 50, and 100MHz, and full control of antenna polarization by way of a state-of-the-art phased antenna array. Fully computer-controlled, the antenna is capable of being steered electronically over the full range of the swath and can switch between operating modes virtually instantaneously.

RADARSAT-2 is the result of a unique collaboration between MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates Ltd. [2] and the Canadian Space Agency.