Aichun Wang

LuTan-1(LT-1) is the first Chinese civil L-band satellite constellation for geohazard observation, comprising LT-1A and LT-1B satellites. By employing interferometric altimetry and differential deformation measurement technologies, it achieves high-precision topographic mapping and establishes sub-millimeter-level deformation monitoring capabilities. To meet the high-precision measurement requirements for applications such as topographic surveying and deformation monitoring, this study systematically evaluates four categories of image quality metrics—geometric, radiometric, and polarimetric characteristics, as well as orbital and baseline quality—based on in-orbit test data from the twin satellites. The test results demonstrate that all image quality indicators of the LT-1 SAR satellites meet the design specifications, confirming that the imagery can provide robust spatial technical support for applications including geological hazard monitoring, land resource investigation, earthquake assessment, disaster prevention and mitigation, fundamental surveying and mapping, and forestry monitoring.

LuTan-1 (LT-1) is China’s first L-band differential interferometric synthetic aperture radar system, comprising two multi-polarization SAR satellites, LT-1A and LT-1B. The satellite uses differential deformation measurement and interferometric altimetry technology to realize surface deformation monitoring and topographic mapping in designated areas. It has the characteristics of all-weather, all-time, and multi-polarization and can be applied to military and civilian fields. In order to further improve the accuracy of image geometric positioning, this paper analyzes the error sources of geometric positioning for the differential deformation measurement mode (strip 1) of the satellite service. The in-orbit data of three years since the launch (2022–2024) are selected to analyze the positioning accuracy and stability of the uncontrolled plane based on the corner reflector and active calibrator deployed in the calibration field. The experimental results show that the positioning accuracy of the satellite strip 1 image without a control plane meets the requirements of the in-orbit index and remains relatively stable. The geometric precision correction positioning accuracy after error source compensation is better than 3.0 m, providing a favorable support for the subsequent application.