Radargrammetric registration of airborne multi-aspect SAR data of urban areas

In this paper, the registration of decimeter-resolution airborne multi-aspect SAR (MASAR) data of inner city areas by application of the radargrammetric range-Doppler equations is investigated. The geometrical model is adapted to linear flight trajectories and zero-Doppler processed SAR data, whereas the observed trajectory parameters are adjusted using a strict Gauss–Helmert model and known ground control points. The significance of the estimated corrections is examined and the most suitable set of free parameters is determined. Finally, the methodology is applied to real test data of an airborne campaign over the city of Munich, Germany, and the feasability of the proposed radargrammetric registration method is shown.