science

SAOCOM

SAOCOM is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand SAOCOM rather than just read about it. In short: SAOCOM (Satélite Argentino de Observación COn Microondas, Spanish for Argentine Microwaves Observation Satellite) is an Earth observation satellite constellation of Argentina's space agency CONAE. Two satellites are already orbiting the Earth in a Sun-synchronous orbit.

Key takeaways

SAOCOM belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect SAOCOM to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of SAOCOM from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

SAOCOM (Satélite Argentino de Observación COn Microondas, Spanish for Argentine Microwaves Observation Satellite) is an Earth observation satellite constellation of Argentina's space agency CONAE. Two satellites are already orbiting the Earth in a Sun-synchronous orbit. The second one was launched on 30 August 2020. CONAE contracted the company INVAP as main contractor for the project.

Configuration The two satellites, SAOCOM 1A and SAOCOM 1B, both are equipped with an L-band (about 1.275 GHz) full polarimetric synthetic-aperture radar (SAR) to help predict and monitor the mitigation of natural disasters. Each satellite has a mass of 3,050 kg (6,720 lb).

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 was launched on 30 August 2020.

SAOCOM 1A

SAOCOM 1A was launched on a polar orbit on 8 October 2018 at 02:21:28 UTC. The SAOCOM (Satélite Argentino de Observación Con Microondas) constellation comprises two L-band SAR satellites. The mission is headed by Comisión Nacional de Actividades Espaciales (CONAE). INVAP is the prime contractor for the design and construction of the SAOCOM 1A spacecraft and its SAR payload. The SAOCOM 1A spacecraft benefit from the heritage of the SAC-C spacecraft platform. Synthetic-aperture radar (SAR-L), 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 (50 to 100 Gbits) for image storage, and a high bit rate downlink system (two X-band channels at 150 Mbits/s each). 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 launched the SAOCOM 1B satellite for CONAE, Argentina's space agency, on 30 August 2020. 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 was launched from Cape Canaveral on 30 August 2020 at 23:18 UTC which make it the first use of the southern polar corridor to reach orbit from the Cape Canaveral since 1969. SAOCOM-1b is in a Sun-synchronous orbit. Two small rideshare payloads are ridden into orbit with SAOCOM 1B. After releasing SAOCOM 1B around 14 minutes into the mission, the Falcon 9 deployed two smaller satellites named GNOMES 1 and Tyvak 0172 about an hour after liftoff, according to SpaceX.

Launch and operations SAOCOM 1A was launched on 8 October 2018, at 02:22 UTC. The satellite was deployed into a polar orbit. The Falcon 9 rocket booster landed as planned at Landing Zone 4 at the Vandenberg Air Force Base, making it SpaceX's first land landing for a launch occurring on the Pacific coast. The same orbit is used for SAOCOM 1B on launch from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, pad SLC-40. This is an unusual launch from Cape Canaveral as the trajectory turned back to the west to skirt the southern coast of Florida and then fly over Cuba for the polar orbit. The four-time-flown Falcon 9 rocket booster successfully landed as planned at Landing Zone 1 at the Cape Canaveral, just a few miles from the launch site.

SIASGE constellation These two satellites operate jointly with four X-band (~9.6 GHz) SAR-equipped COSMO-SkyMed satellites from the Italian Space Agency (ASI), to form the Italian-Argentine System of Satellites for Emergency Management (Sistema Italo-Argentino de Satélites para la Gestión de Emergencias) (SIASGE) constellation. A successful design review was held at the Argentinian space centre Teófilo Tabanera near the city of 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 (CSG-1 and CSG-2) satellites and two additional SAOCOM satellites, SAOCOM 2A (launch in August 2028) and SAOCOM 2B (launch in August 2030). This would raise the SIAGSE constellation total number of satellites to 10.

References

External links

SAOCOM Official Website (in Spanish) SAOCOM.INVAP Official Website (Argentina space program) SAOCOM overview on earth online by ESA SAOCOM infographic summary by ESA

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with SAOCOM

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what SAOCOM claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to SAOCOM before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about SAOCOM ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of SAOCOM

In research: SAOCOM appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses SAOCOM in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: SAOCOM is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 2018 in Argentina, 2020 in Argentina, Earth imaging satellites, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for SAOCOM outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study SAOCOM in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what SAOCOM means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain SAOCOM out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is SAOCOM in simple terms?

Why does SAOCOM matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study SAOCOM?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on SAOCOM.