RADARSAT is in a sun-synchronous orbit with a 24-day exact repeat cycle (in 343 orbits) and a 7-day near repeat subcycle that drifts slightly eastward. The data acquisition plan for RGPS calls for complete arctic coverage (one snapshot) four times per 24-day cycle. Episode 1 refers to the first snapshot in a cycle. The time interval between successive episodes is 7, 7, 7, 3 days. This guarantees substantial overlap from one episode to the next, and it realigns the coverage pattern after 24 days to that of episode 1. This scheme enables the use of fixed orbits and frames over long time spans. In the following maps, the notation at the end of each swath (e.g. 32D) refers to the orbit number and the pass direction (A=Ascending, D=Descending).