The two satellites, SAOCOM 1A and SAOCOM 1B, both are equipped with an L-band full polarimetric synthetic-aperture radar to help predict and monitor the mitigation of natural disasters. Each satellite has a mass of.
History
Due to delays in the development of satellites, both launches were postponed for 2012 and 2013. Further delays pushed the launch dates back tentatively towards 2014 and 2015. By 2016, SAOCOM 1A was scheduled for launch in December 2016, and SAOCOM 1B in December 2017. In April 2016, the launch dates for SAOCOM 1A and SAOCOM 1B were further pushed back to October 2017 and October 2018. SAOCOM 1A was eventually launched on 8 October 2018 and SAOCOM 1B is scheduled to launch in August 2020. Both satellites were to be launched on Falcon 9 rockets together with additional secondary payloads.
SAOCOM 1A
INVAP is the prime contractor for the design and construction of the SAOCOM spacecrafts and its SAR payloads. The SAOCOM-1A spacecraft benefit from the heritage of the SAC-C spacecraft platform. Synthetic-Aperture Radar, an L-Band instrument featuring standard, high resolution and global coverage operational modes with resolution ranging from 7 to 100 m, and swath within 50 to 400 km. It features a dedicated high capacity Solid State Recorder for image storage, and a high bit rate downlink system. The SAOCOM system operates jointly with the Italian COSMO-SkyMed constellation in X-band to provide frequent information relevant for emergency management. This approach of a two SAOCOM and a four COSMO-SkyMed spacecraft configuration offers an effective means of a twice-daily coverage capability. By joining forces, both agencies are able to generate SAR products in X-band and in L-band for their customers.
SAOCOM 1B
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch the SAOCOM 1B satellite for CONAE, Argentina's space agency. SAOCOM 1B is the second of two SAOCOM 1-series Earth observation satellites designed to provide radar imagery to help emergency responders and monitor the environment, including the collection of soil moisture measurements. This mission was originally scheduled to launch January 2020 from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California but is now scheduled to be launched from Cape Canaveral in August 2020 which would make it the first use of the southern polar corridor to reach orbit from the Cape since 1960.
The two satellites, also carry four X-band SAR-equipped COSMO-SkyMed satellites from the Italian Space Agency, that will form the Italian-Argentine System of Satellites for Emergency Management constellation. A successful design review was held at the Argentinian space centreTeófilo Tabanera near the Córdoba, Argentina on 16 and 17 October 2012. In May 2015, the two agencies decided to expand the SIAGSE system by adding two additional COSMO-SkyMed satellites and two additional SAOCOM satellites, SAOCOM 2A and SAOCOM 2B. This would raise the SIAGSE constellation total number of satellites to 10.
