[14] Sentinel-1 provides continuity of data from the ERS and Envisat missions, with further enhancements in terms of revisit, coverage, timeliness and reliability of service.
A summary of the main applications of Sentinel-1 include:[19] The C-SAR instrument is capable of measuring land subsidence through the creation of interferometric synthetic-aperture radar (InSAR) images.
The analysis of phase changes between two or more synthetic aperture radar images taken at different times is able to create maps of the digital elevation and measure the land surface deformation of an area.
High spatial (20m) and temporal (6 days) resolutions allow Sentinel-1 to improve on current InSAR techniques and provide systematic continuity to the data.
[20] Shortly after the August 2014 South Napa earthquake, data collected by Sentinel-1A was used to develop an interferometric synthetic-aperture radar, or InSAR, image of the affected region.
[21] The prime contractor of the mission is Thales Alenia Space Italy, with whole system integration and also with production of platform Spacecraft Management Unit (SMU) and payload Data Storage and Handling Assembly (DSHA).
Other technologies such as the T/R modules, the C-band synthetic-aperture radar antenna, the advanced data management and transmission subsystems, and the on-board computer, were developed in L'Aquila and Milan.