Artist's impression of Radarsat in orbit. Radarsat is a Canadian satellite which will use a synthetic aperture radar (SAR) to observe the Earth's surface. Radarsat will be launched into a polar orbit by a Delta II rocket, currently manifested for a December 1994 departure. Radarsat will make observations of ice conditions, crops, forests, ocean surfaces and geological formations over its 5-year design life. Maritime users will be able to obtain imagery of sea ice within 4 hours of data acquisition, updated every 24 hours. The SAR allows Radarsat to alter the swath of its coverage between 45km and 500km, allowing high-resolution or large-area observation.