Star-3i Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (insar): More Lessons Learned on the Road to Commercialization

Intermap’s across track interferometric synthetic aperture radar, called STAR-3i, entered commercial service in February 1997. STAR-3i was successfully upgraded in late 2001 to reflect a shift in market demand toward higher image resolution and improved terrain elevation products. This paper is a follow-on from a 1999 paper that discussed the challenges faced in commercializing a research effort. The paper provides insight into the system changes that were made to achieve greater performance in terrain modeling demanded by the market. The focus will then shift to a discussion of the necessary changes to the ISO 9000 quality process to support these system changes. The paper will provide several examples from the NEXTMap Britain mapping effort, which was the first to benefit from the increased terrain accuracy provided by the new sensor. Some insight into future developments for the STAR-3i sensor will also be provided.