Satellite-Ground Integrated External Calibration of the WindRAD Scatterometer Onboard FY-3E Satellite

The first scatterometer onboard Chinese meteorological satellites is a dual-frequency and dual-polarization scatterometer named Wind Radar (WindRAD). It uses an advanced fan-beam conical scanning mechanism to acquire wind vector observation of global ocean surfaces and other geophysical parameters. Since the launch in 2021, external calibration using ground-based active radar calibrator (ARC) has been carried out to evaluated WindRAD in-orbit situation and observation accuracy. Satellite-ground integrated external calibration process is proposed, and optimal satellite-ground observation mode is specially designed for the WindRAD, greatly reducing the complexity of satellite-ground interaction and improving the efficiency of external calibration observation. This article proposes the algorithm of WindRAD external calibration, with comprehensive consideration of scientific nature and engineering realizability. WindRAD in-orbit observation data as well as ARC data were used to calculate the real antenna patterns and absolute calibration coefficients of each polarization for both C- and Ku-bands. The evaluation results revealed that the in-orbit antenna pattern hadn’t changed much compared with the prelaunch test result, which for the first time confirmed the correctness of the key parameters used in WindRAD calibration. Moreover, the calibration accuracy is better than 1 dB. For the first time, the stability of WindRAD in orbit is confirmed using external active reference target.