NSCAT measured the wind along two swaths located to the sides of the sub-satellite track. Each swath was 600 km wide. No data was returned in the gap between the right and left swaths.
The NSCAT satellite had 3 antenna on each side of the satellite, each oriented at a different angle. Each antenna measured the radar return along a narrow strip of ocean (shown by the long diagonal lines). As the satellite moves along the track, each section of the ocean in a swath is first illuminated by the forward antenna, then the center antenna, then the aft antenna. For each location on the sea surface, wind direction is determined by comparing the three radar returns from these antennas.
