Paz (satellite)

For observational purposes, Paz uses a synthetic aperture radar (SAR) to collect images of Earth for governmental and commercial use, as well as other ship tracking and weather sensors, which enables high-resolution mapping of large geographical areas at day and night.{{Cite web|url=https://spaceflightnow.com/launch-schedule/|title=Launch Schedule |work=Spaceflight Now|access-date=7 February 2018}} The X-band radar imaging payload operates at a wavelength of {{convert|3.1|cm|in}}, or a frequency of 9.65 gigahertz.

The Paz satellite is operated in a constellation with the German SAR fleet TerraSAR-X and TanDEM-X on the same orbit. The collaboration was agreed on by both Hisdesat and former European aerospace manufacturer Astrium, operator of the two other satellites.{{Cite web|url=http://www.intelligence-airbusds.com/en/3085-terrasar-x-paz-constellation|title=TerraSAR-X & PAZ Constellation : Airbus Defence and Space|website=www.intelligence-airbusds.com|language=en|access-date=22 February 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180309105017/http://www.intelligence-airbusds.com/en/3085-terrasar-x-paz-constellation|archive-date=9 March 2018|url-status=dead}} The high-resolution images will be used for military operations, border control, intelligence, environmental monitoring, protection of natural resources, city, and infrastructure planning, and monitoring of natural catastrophes.

Originally, Paz was scheduled for launch from the Yasny launch base, Russia, in 2014, but this was delayed due to Russia's 2014 annexation of Crimea, resulting in an International Court of Arbitration legal battle between Hisdesat and Kosmotras. The US launch was estimated to cost around {{€|53 million}}, cost partially reduced by the inclusion of several mobile internet satellites on the same flight.

The satellite launched on a reused Falcon 9 rocket by SpaceX from Vandenberg Air Force Base, SLC-4E on 22 February 2018 at 14:17 UTC. The satellite hosted two secondary payloads: an AIS receiver and the Radio-Occultation and Heavy Precipitation (ROHP) experiment.{{cite press release|url=http://www.hisdesat.es/eng/noticias_notas.php?id=152|title=Hisdesat Commits Launch of PAZ Satellite to SpaceX|publisher=Hisdesat|date=7 March 2017|access-date=22 August 2017|url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170822174709/http://www.hisdesat.es/eng/noticias_notas.php?id=152|archive-date=22 August 2017}} The launch was shared by two {{convert|400|kg|lb|abbr=on}} SpaceX test satellites for their Starlink, named Tintin A and B.{{cite web |url=http://space.skyrocket.de/doc_sdat/microsat-2.htm|title=MicroSat 2a, 2b|website=Gunter's Space Page|first=Gunter|last=Krebs|access-date=17 January 2018}} It was the final flight of a Block 3 first stage, and reused the booster B1038 from the Formosat-5 mission. Paz weighs {{convert|1282|kg|lb|abbr=on}},{{cite web |url=http://space.skyrocket.de/doc_sdat/paz.htm|title=Paz|website=Gunter's Space Page|first=Gunter|last=Krebs|access-date=9 March 2017}} and its total mass with fuel is {{convert|1341|kg|lb|abbr=on}}. The payloads were carried to a Sun-synchronous dawn-dusk orbit. The launch was originally scheduled for 30 January 2018.

The booster flew without landing legs and was expended at sea.{{cite news|url=https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2018/02/falcon-9-static-fire-vandenberg-paz-starlink/|title=Falcon 9 static fires at Vandenberg ahead of Paz + Starlink launch|work=NASASpaceFlight.com|first=Ian|last=Atkinson|date=11 February 2018|access-date=12 February 2018}} It also featured Fairing 2.0 with a recovery attempt using a crew boat named Mr. Steven that is equipped with a net. The fairing narrowly missed the boat, leading to a soft water landing.{{cite news |url=https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2018/02/spacex-falcon-9-paz-launch-starlink-demo-new-fairing/|title=SpaceX Falcon 9 set for PAZ launch with Starlink demo and new fairing|work=NASASpaceFlight.com}}{{cite web|url=https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/966692641533390848|title=Missed by a few hundred meters...|first=Elon|last=Musk|work=Twitter.com}}

PAZ Mission (39718494114).jpg

PAZ Mission (25557987937).jpg

PAZ Mission (25557986627).jpg

PAZ Mission (25557986367).jpg

PAZ satellite images have been successfully used to monitor ground surface displacements,{{Cite journal |last1=Tomás |first1=R. |last2=Díaz |first2=E. |last3=Szeibert |first3=W. T. |last4=Liu |first4=X. |last5=Lopez-Sanchez |first5=J. M. |last6=Zhao |first6=C. |date=June 2023 |title=Geomorphological characterization, remote sensing monitoring, and modeling of a slow-moving landslide in Alcoy (Southern Spain) |url=https://link.springer.com/10.1007/s10346-023-02032-8 |journal=Landslides |language=en |volume=20 |issue=6 |pages=1293–1301 |doi=10.1007/s10346-023-02032-8 |bibcode=2023Lands..20.1293T |hdl=10045/132303 |issn=1612-510X|hdl-access=free }} precipitation and cloud ice{{Cite journal |last1=Padullés |first1=Ramon |last2=Cardellach |first2=Estel |last3=Turk |first3=F. Joseph |last4=Ao |first4=Chi O. |last5=Wang |first5=Kuo Nung |last6=De la Torre Juárez |first6=Manuel |last7=Oyola |first7=Mayra |date=2021-03-04 |title=Sounding Heavy Precipitating Vertical Cloud Structures with Polarimetric Radio Occultations aboard PAZ |journal=Egu General Assembly Conference Abstracts |doi=10.5194/egusphere-egu21-9405 |doi-access=free |bibcode=2021EGUGA..23.9405P |hdl=10261/270271 |hdl-access=free }} and crop classification.{{Cite journal |last1=Busquier |first1=Mario |last2=Valcarce-Diñeiro |first2=Rubén |last3=Lopez-Sanchez |first3=Juan M. |last4=Plaza |first4=Javier |last5=Sánchez |first5=Nilda |last6=Arias-Pérez |first6=Benjamín |date=2021-09-30 |title=Fusion of Multi-Temporal PAZ and Sentinel-1 Data for Crop Classification |journal=Remote Sensing |language=en |volume=13 |issue=19 |pages=3915 |doi=10.3390/rs13193915 |doi-access=free |bibcode=2021RemS...13.3915B |issn=2072-4292|hdl=10045/118784 |hdl-access=free }}

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{{Space program of Spain}}

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Category:Satellites of Spain

Category:2018 in Spain

Category:Spacecraft launched in 2018

Category:SpaceX military payloads

Category:Synthetic aperture radar satellites

Category:INTA satellites

Category:Imaging reconnaissance satellites

Category:Military equipment introduced in the 2010s

Category:Earth observation satellites

Category:Satellites in low Earth orbit