SAR Through the YearsAn abridged history of the strange and beautiful machines that use microwaves to see.

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1964

Quill

Lockheed · Goodyear≈ 1,477 kg

NRO / United States

The pathfinder.

The first space-based SAR satellite launched in 1964 but was only declassified in 2009. Its mission lasted only four days, but it successfully captured the first SAR images and returned them home on 70mm film.

29 chapters · 1964—2025Use the arrow keys to travel through timeMade by @mouthofmorrison and GPT-6.1 Sol