IAC-12-B4.1.

6 MULTISTATIC SMALL SAR SATELLITE NETWORK FOR OIL MONITORING IN

NIGERIA
Abdul Duane Lawal
Space Advanced Research Team, Aerospace Department University of Glasgow, G12 8QQ,
a.lawal.1@research.gla.ac.uk
Radice, G
Space Advanced Research Team, Aerospace Department University of Glasgow, G128QQ
Gianmarco.Radice@glasgow.ac.uk
The requirement for more sophisticated methods for monitoring the widespread oil resources within Nigeria has
been evident. The use of Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) systems is particularly appealing since this payload is
unaffected by adverse weather conditions and independent of sunlight for its operation. The all-weather
capability of SAR makes it the most suitable remote sensing platform for monitoring environmental disasters
such as oil spillage which could be highly elusive to optical sensors such as those onboard NigeriaSat-2. The
application of interest for this proposed mission is the detection of oil spillage and assistance in monitoring
illegal oil bunkering activities within and around the Gulf of Guinea region. In this paper, we present aspects of
the mission design, including the mission objectives and a preliminary satellite design. The user requirement of
high resolution SAR images, near-real-time data, low revisit time and low mission cost are the main drivers of
the mission. The paper also describes the analysis for the selection of SAR frequency, consistent with providing
high resolution images and low spacecraft mass. A discussion of the trade-off analysis between a near polar
orbit and near equatorial orbit for reduced revisit time is presented. Altitude selection as a function of available
pulse repetition frequency (PRF), consistent with range and azimuth ambiguities is also highlighted.
Furthermore, to meet coverage and revisit time requirements with due consideration for cost of the mission, a
system consisting of a few number of small SAR satellites is described. Satellites within the constellation will
fly in close formation and maintain fixed across track and radial baseline distances that enable possible
interferometric applications. Finally, the paper will conclude with a brief description of the small SAR network
system operating solely within the equatorial region, for monitoring oil spillage disaster and oil bunkering
activities within and around the Gulf of Guinea.

INTRODUCTION
The benefits of space generated data has seen wide
spread application areas [1, 2, 3], and has benefited
mankind for over five decades. Space missions
have provided support in areas such as disaster
monitoring and mitigation, telecommunications,
meteorological forecasting and Earth Observations.
However, even with the apparent contributions of
space science and technology in driving state-ofthe-art advancements, several nations are yet to
embrace grass-root space science and technology
as a possible solution for economic growth and
urban development.
Furthermore, the net contribution of space science
to education, offers a different dimension in regards
to the application of fundamental studies acquired
from educational institutions. The breadth of space
science spans across multi-disciplinary aspects of
education, encompassing also law, business studies
and medicine.
As a source of revenue, space business has become
an alternative to terrestrial solutions by providing
service packages over a plethora of business
models. The most common being the use of
satellite communications for the mass market
services such as television, telephony and
broadband. Others include the creation of niche
markets for radio, messaging (Little LEOs) and
imaging (Remote Sensing), as well as infrastructure
business by
way of
capacity leasing,
manufacturing, launch services and ground
equipment [5].
From a security point of view, the most developed
nations depend on their space resources to protect
their territorial integrity. This is epitomised by the
rate at which acquired satellite data is processed
into information and disseminated to the
appropriate authorities, thereby supporting the
process of quick and timely decision making.
Decisions taken are then relayed to commanders on
the battle field for onward implementation. In
addition to reducing troops causality rate, it also
increases their chances of victory [6].

for Environment and Security (GMES) programme

used for managing natural resources and
biodiversity, with a recent mission adapted for realtime fire monitoring using satellite imagery as one
of the sources of data into a GIS platform [8].
The high cost of space missions has been a key
factor to determining the nations that partake in
space activities. The Space Shuttle Endeavour, the
orbiter built to replace the Space Shuttle
Challenger, cost approximately 1.7 billion US
dollars [10], while a typical space mission program
can costs hundreds of millions of dollars [11].
Although the launch phase plays a huge role in the
determination of the mission cost as highlighted on
Figure 1, recent approaches have been taken to
reduce spacecraft mass. The design, launch and
operations of low cost, high data space missions
has recently become a niche market with
recognised companies like Surrey Satellite
Technology Limited (SSTL), UK considered as a
major stake-holder. With over 20 years of
experience in launching and operating highly
capable and cost effective small satellite missions,
with 39 missions recorded, SSTL provides access
to space for a fractional price normally associated
with space missions [14, 15].
Most nations yet to embrace the relevance of space
missions as a multi-dimensional avenue for
development, due to the relatively unaffordable
cost, are mainly classified as developing
countries. There are 156 countries classified as
developing nations according to the International
Monetary Funds World Economic Outlook Report
given April 2012 [17], with Cuba and North Korea
not included. According to Sheffrin et al (2003),
these countries are known as less developed
countries (LDC), with low living standards,
undeveloped industrial base, and low Human
Development index (HDI) relative to other
countries[16].

The scientific community has continued to make

remarkable progress by using space research
programs in protecting humanity. Such examples
include the contributions of the European space
systems for monitoring climate changes and its
effects [7]. Others include the Global Monitoring

MISSION OBJECTIVES

Figure 1: Spacecraft mass vs mission cost [11]

For the purpose of this paper, the Equatorial

Region (ER), is defined as the area geographically
located within 10 degrees of the Equator.
Subsequently, there are 49 countries located within
the ER with only Singapore classified as a
developed country [18]. Furthermore, in this
region, only Brazil, Indonesia, Malaysia and
Nigeria have space capabilities at different levels
defined under the framework of four major
technology categories as defined by Wood, D.
(2011).
To address the highlighted issues preventing most
developing nations from acquiring space
capabilities, this paper proposes an approach that
encourages the collaboration between countries
within the ER. The approach suggests the
establishment of a network of space systems
dedicated and operated by member states within the
ER. To define the overall mission concept, this
paper uses Nigeria as a case-study.
To this end, baseline mission objectives for
Master_SAR_01 (M01) will be outlined, leading to
a discussion on its mission design. A brief
description of pulse repetition frequency (PRF) and
orbit selection process is presented. Coverage
analysis comparing the use of a near polar orbit
(NigeriaSat-2) and a near equatorial orbit (M01) for
the proposed mission is conducted. Furthermore the
proposed sites for locating the ground segments for
the network will be highlighted.
Finally a system for a network of satellites
operating within the ER will be described.

The recent environmental disaster experienced in

New Zealand as a result of a cargo ship running
aground, with over 340 tonnes of oil spilled is
regarded as New Zealands worst in decades [20].
In 2010, the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, also regarded
as the worst US environment disaster saw at least
20 million gallons flow into the Gulf of Mexico
and affecting more than 70 miles of the Louisiana
coastline. The accident that led to explosion and
fire which killed 11 people, caused wide spread oil
pollution in the Gulf of Mexico [21, 22, 23].
It is estimated that between 100,000 and 130,000
barrels per day (bbl/d) of crude oil, worth an
estimate of $3billion is stolen from Nigeria via
illegal oil bunkering activities within and around
the Gulf of Guinea [24]. The Gulf of Guinea
stretches through Central and West Africa and is
increasingly identified as one of the worlds most
poorly governed maritime stretches [25]. It has
been reported to be used for various forms of
nefarious activities such as human trafficking from
Senegal to Europe, drug trafficking and oil related
crimes [25, 26, 27, 28].
The capacity to monitor the local maritime traffic
and infrastructures involving oil exploitation rigs
and platforms provides addition benefits which
include: information on geographical location of
ships, ship size (resolution dependent), ship route
and speed.
With the stage set for a low-cost sophisticated
approach to addressing the aforementioned issues,
the use of a spaceborne remote sensing system for
complimenting terrestrial efforts has become
paramount. Although Nigeria current has 3
spaceborne optical remote sensing platforms
(NigeriaSat-1, NigeriaSat-2 and NigeriaSat-X),
their operation is limited by daylight and adverse
weather conditions. Additionally, to ensure rapid
response in the event of oil spills, and to maintain
continuous vigilance over the Gulf of Guinea, 24
hour surveillance is required.
The primary mission objective is the use of
interferometric operation for generation of high
resolution data for the Equatorial Region. The
following are the mission design drivers:

Low cost space mission

24 hour surveillance of Gulf of Guinea

Monitor oil resources/ detection of oil

spill
High resolution data
Near-real-time data acquisition
Low temporal resolution

M01 MISSION DESIGN

The baseline operational orbit is a circular LEO at
an altitude of 700km and inclination of 10 degrees.
The orbit and system parameters are listed in Table
1 [41].
Orbit and System Parameters
Altitude (m)
700
Revolutions/day
14.5
Inclination
10
Period (mins)
98.6
RAAN (deg)
0

[ ]
where laz, is the antenna length in the along track
direction.
The maximum PRF dictates that the maximum
echo duration must be less than the interpulse
period. A system with pulse length p, and scene
echo duration s, the maximum PRF is calculated as
follows:
[4]
where s is given by
[5]
and, SWsr is the slant range extent calculated from
the difference Rf Rn [39]

Table 1: Orbit and System Parameters

Rf - is the slant range to the far end of the swath

The choice of PRF for a spaceborne SAR is an

important parameter that influences many other
system parameters. PRF selection is affected by
several factors which include antenna length,
incidence angle, swath width, platform velocity,
platform altitude and transmitter pulse length. The
system parameters affected by PRF include duty
factor, peak transmit power and raw data rate.
Ultimately, the selected PRF constraints must be
satisfied to ensure the combination of swath width
and antenna length are compatible by ensuring the
Nyquist requirement and ambiguity constraints do
not conflict [39, 40].
The baseline mode of operation for M01 is the
stripmap mode. To meet the Nyquist criteria, the
selected PRF must be greater than the Doppler
bandwidth of the imaged scene. The Doppler
bandwidth is given by:
[ ]
Where Vsc is the platform velocity, az is the half
power beamwidth angle and is wavelength.
The beamwidth is related to the antenna length by
[2]
Substituting [2] into [1] yields a minimum PRF
given by:

Rn - is the slant range to near end of swath.

Although the selected PRF will between the
PRFmin and PRFmax, other factors such as eclipsing
and nadir returns must be considered. To avoid
eclipsing (blind ranges) resulting from isolation
issues inherent in radar systems, such that returning
echoes coincide with transmit times, the following
inequality must be satisfied [39].
(

[6]

where:
B are whole
corresponding to pulses.

numbers

(1,2)

The other issue that must be avoided are echoes

from nadir returns, since for every transmit pulse,
there is a nadir echo. These time of occurrence
nadir commences from the beginning of the
transmit pulse. nadir is calculated from
[ ]
Where h is the platform altitude above the nadir
point.
The PRF that coincides with returning scene echoes
is described by the inequality [39].
where:

N are whole
corresponding to pulses.
(

numbers

(1,2)

[8]

There are other approaches to avoiding nadir

echoes such as:

Changing the slope of the chirp waveform

polarity from positive to negative on an
interpulse basis.
Designing antenna to have low gain in the
nadir direction
Phase coding the transmit signal to ensure
filtering of energy from different transmit
pulses.

M01 SYSTEM PARAMETERS

Oil spill modifies surface tension and therefore it
has a strong impact on radar backscatter level [32].
The effect on the sea surface is the reduction of the
surface roughness by damping the waves. This
results in decreased radar backscatter which appear
as dark patches on SAR images when compared to
the surroundings [28, 29].
Several factors such as oil characteristics and
environmental factors play key roles in oil spill
detection in addition to the radar properties. The
choice of the operational frequency is informed by
the results obtained from studies which conducted
multi-frequency scatterometer measurements. The
results showed that as frequency increases, the sea
contrast ration of oily/clean sea also increases.
Therefore, for applications such as oil spill
detection, higher radar frequencies are expected to
provide better contrast ratio [30, 31].
Previous SAR missions like the Radarsat-2, ALOS
and Envisat missions have used the C-band
frequency for operations. However, with the recent
emergence of several X-band Earth observation
missions notably TerraSAR, COSMO SkyMed and
Tandem-X, it can be argued that better contrast
ration is amongst the factors influencing the
paradigm shift. For the chosen application area, this
paper selects X-band for its operational frequency.

System Parameters
Frequency (GHz)
Band
PRF (kHz)
Bandwidth (MHz)
Polarization
Look direction
Antenna width (m)
Antenna length (m)
Incidence angle range (deg)
Resolution (m)

10
X
2.7
44
VV
Left
6
45
3

Table 2: M01 System Parameters

COVERAGE ANALYSIS FOR M01

Coverage analysis of the ER was first conducted
using one master satellite (M01) and then using two
master satellites (M01 & M11). The simulation was
carried out over 7 days period, using Satellite Tool
Kit (STK), with granularity set to 2 degrees. Table
3 summarizes the result of the coverage analysis of
M01 over the ER. An average time of 12% is spent
covering each latitude range within the defined
region, thereby increasing the possibility of
increasing the number of looks at any area of
interest in addition to the benefits of short revisit
time.
Latitude
Time covered
Total time covered
(deg)
(%)
(mins)
-9
12.76
183.75
-7
13.20
190.15
-4
15.51
194.54
-2
13.69
197.14
0
13.76
198.08
2
13.71
197.38
4
13.54
195.02
7
13.26
190.89
9
12.83
184.78
Table 3: Summary of coverage analysis for M01 over the ER

Figure 2 show that M01 potentially has access to

100 percentage of the ER on a daily basis
depending on the sensor swath.

Table 2 summarizes the characteristics and

corresponding values of the M 01 system parameters.

Figure 2: Coverage analysis of ER using M01

Coverage over Nigeria

With Nigeria as the primary focus of this paper, a
coverage assessment was conducted over 7 days.
Figure 3 show that M01 makes contact with the
existing ground station in Abuja on each of its
passes. The average duration of each pass is 13
minutes. This is in contrast to the average of 4
passes made by existing missions such NigeriaSat2, whose mission involves global coverage.
NigeriaSat-2 is a near polar orbit at an altitude of
700km [37, 38].

requirement involves the introduction of M11, an

identical monostatic SAR satellite to M01 in
configuration. M11 also shares the same orbital
elements as M01, but are separated by mean
anomaly of 180 degrees.

Figure 4: Coverage analysis of ER using M01 and M11.

Figure 4 shows that the introduction of M11, flying

in the same orbit as M01, doubles the percentage of
time available for covering the ER when compared
to Figure 2.

Figure 3: Typical M01 daily access to Abuja groundstation

Therefore, for applications that do not require the

acquisition of global coverage data, a near
equatorial orbit is better suited when compared to a
near polar orbit. Table 4 compares the difference
between the access times to the Abuja
groundstation in Nigeria, between NigeriaSat-2
(near polar orbit) and M01 (near equatorial orbit).

Furthermore, the access time to the Abuja

groundstation in Nigeria also increases two-folds
with a total of 28 passes and a total average time of
364 minutes daily. Figure 5 outlines a typical
access to Abuja groundstation for both M01 and M11
on a daily basis. Each pair of passes per orbit is
separated by approximately 49 minutes.

Parameter
NigeriaSat-2 M01
Payload
MRI/VHRI
SAR
Classification
Passive
Active
Period of operation
Daylight
24 hours
Altitude (Km)
700
700
Inclination (deg)
98
10
Orbital period
98
98
Average number of daily passes
4
14
Average duration of pass (min)
10
13.5
Total average daily access (min) 40
189
Table 4: Comparing daily access to groundstation in Abuja,
between NigeriaSat-2 (near polar orbit) and M01 (near equatorial
orbit)

Improving Coverage of Nigeria

The busy nature of the Gulf of Guinea and the
territorial waters around Nigeria owing to seafaring
oil related activities prompts the need of frequent
surveillance. The approach taken to meet this

Figure 5: Typical daily access to Abuja groundstation for M01

and M11

CONSTELLATION DESIGN

The requirement for a low cost mission capable of

providing all-weather imaging and high revisit time
while exploring the possibility of collaboration
with other developing nations prompted the choice
of using a constellation of several small SAR
satellites flying in close formation. The
implementation of a semi-active SAR configuration
provides an avenue to reduce launch cost, by using
receiver-only platforms within the constellation. It
is envisaged that the receiver-only (slave) platforms
will invariably weight less in mass.
Another benefit of proposing a constellation is the
opportunity to promote cooperation between
several nations within the ER. This could
potentially involve pooling together various
resources such as: personnel, ground segment
location and equipment as well as space segment.
The overall cost of mission is then shared with
maximum benefit of various forms of data for
several application areas leading to a Data-Full
consortium.
The constellation includes two groups of multistatic satellites in a pendulum configuration. The
pendulum configuration has been reported to be
well suited for providing multiple baselines at fixed
baseline ratio along the whole orbit cycle [34, 35,
36, 42]. The configuration allows the independent
selection of along-track baselines and is well suited
for velocity measurements. The pendulum
configuration consists of three slave satellites with
the same inclination but different values of right
ascension of ascending nodes (RAAN). For
operational safety, it is typical to apply slight
offsets to the eccentricity vectors when flying near
polar orbits, as this ensures vertical separation at
the poles. For near equatorial region applications,
this eccentricity difference may not be necessary,
as the spacecraft maintain their relative distance
and orientation through the orbit cycle when flying
in close formation. Figure 6 highlights the
pendulum configuration.

Figure 6: Pendulum configuration showing Group 0 flying over

the Equatorial region

Each group consists of one Master satellite (Mnm)

and three Slave satellites (Snm). Where n is the
satellite number within a group and m is the
group within the constellation. Table 5 summarizes
the satellite constellation orbit parameters for group
0. However, group 1will have the same parameters
but with true anomaly offset by 180 deg.
Orbit & System
Parameters
Altitude (km)
Revs/day
Inclination ()
Period (mins)

M01/11

S01/S11

S02/12

S03/12

700
14.5
10
98.6

700
14.5
10
98.6

700
14.5
10
98.6

700
14.5
10
98.6

0.00182
5

0.00282
5

RAAN ()
0
0.00752
Mean Anomaly ()
0
5
Table 5: Constellation orbit parameters

The satellites in each group of the pendulum

formation are evenly distributed along two 2 major
orbits. One orbit consists of the master satellites
M01 and M11 separated by 180 degrees mean
anomaly. The second orbit contains six slave
satellites, with S01, S02 and S03 separated from S11,
S12 and S13 by 180 degrees mean anomaly
respectively. Figure 6 shows a simulation of group
0 satellites flying in pendulum configuration over
the ER.

provided the out of communication time with

satellites is less than 10 minutes.
Country
Accra
Cayenne
Mogadishu
Singapore
Tarawa

Latitude
5 30' N
4 56' N
2 04' N
1 17' N
1 19' N

Longitude
0 10' W
52 20'W
45 22'E
103 51'E
172 58'E

Table 6: Location of selected ground segment sites with ER

Figure 9 shows a screen capture of the simulation

conducted over groundstation locations.

Figure 7: Simulation of in-orbit pendulum configuration of

group 0, showing M01, S01, S02 and S03

GROUND SEGMENT SITES

As mentioned in section 1, there are over 45
countries within the ER, with only 5 selected as
possible locations for ground segment sites. These
locations are subject to flexibility although certain
criteria such as having existing space agency, and
proximity to Equator were considered. Figure 8
shows a Northerly oriented view of the locations of
the selected groundstations.

Figure 9: Ground segment location showing M01 making contact

with groundstation in Accra

Access to selected Ground Segment Sites

The access to the selected ground segment location
allows each group of the satellite constellation to
always be in view of one ground station.

Figure 10: Access report of M01 to selected ground sites within

ER
Figure 8: Selected locations for Ground Segment View from
the North Pole

The distance between subsequent locations varies;

however, the maximum time between successive
contacts with groundstation must be less than 10
minutes. Table 6 details the location of the selected
ground station sites. Sites can be flexibly selected

Figure 10 summarizes a daily access report for M10

to each ground segment. A total of 70 accesses
daily are available to download captured data, or
upload telecommand to each spacecraft as required.
This configuration serves to usher a new approach
in data generation.

A line of sight constraint of a minimum of 6

degrees elevation angle is applied to each
groundstation.
CONCLUSION
The enormous benefits of oil to Nigeria were
highlighted, and so were the potential hazards if not
properly monitored. The current loses incurred due
to inadequate surveillance of Nigerias oil resource
were also mentioned. The approach adopted to
meet a series of developed mission objectives, was
the use of a SAR satellite for surveillance of illegal
oil activities, and the detection of oil spills within
the territorial waters.
The benefits include over 20% increase access time
to the existing ground station in Nigeria when
compare to NigeriaSat-2 mission, as well as the
possibility for 24 hours surveillance divulge of
lighting or bad weather conditions. Furthermore,
the potential to cover the territorial waters where
oil resources are located in every pass exists.
Other
neighbouring countries
in similar
circumstances were identified using classification
by latitude. An approach to solving Nigerias
pending problem as well as meeting several other
mission objectives was suggested. This is the use of
a Multisatic SAR system dedicated to monitoring
the equatorial region, which Nigeria lays herein.
An approach suggesting the formation of a
consortium of developing nations within the ER
was also proposed. Advantages of the consortium
include further reduction in cost of space mission,
due to shared cost, availability of cheaper data,
availability of a variety of data, and opportunity to
apply the data for various form of development.
Five sites were selected as locations for ground
segments, which will facilitate a nearly 24 hours
availability of data with a total of 70 access passes
to the ground segments.

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