TerraSAR-X -- German radar satellite launch successful (Forwarded)

Deutsches Zentrum fur Luft- und Raumfahrt (DLR)
Koeln, Germany

Contact:

Dr. Niklas Reinke
Deutsches Zentrum fur Luft- und Raumfahrt (DLR) -- German Aerospace Center
Corporate Communications
Tel.: +49 228 447-394
Fax: +49 228 447-386

Rolf Werninghaus
German Aerospace Center
Space Agency
Tel.: +49 228 447-587
Fax: +49 228 447-747

15 June 2007

TerraSAR-X -- German radar satellite launch successful

The successful launch of the German radar satellite TerraSAR-X on Friday 15
June 2007 at 08:14 local time (04:14 CEST [0214 UTC]) from the Russian
Cosmodrome in Baikonur (Kazakhstan) represents the start of a new level of
quality in the mapping of Earth. Over the next five years, new and
high-quality radar images of our planet's surface will be collected.

"The aim of the five-year mission is to use radar to collect new,
high-quality data of Earth's surface," says Prof. Johann-Dietrich Worner,
Chairman of the German Aerospace Center (DLR). He continues: "TerraSAR-X is
the first German satellite developed within the framework of a
public-private partnership (PPP) between government and industry."

The total costs for the building and launch of the satellite amount to 130
million euros [USD 173.8 million]. From this, DLR is responsible for 102
million euros [USD 136.3 million] and the space company Astrium for 28
million euros [USD 37.4 million].

The development of the ground segment and the ongoing costs for the five
year mission cost an extra 55 million euro [USD 73.5 million] for which DLR
is responsible for 45 million euros [USD 60.2 million]. The remainder of
this cost is taken up by Infoterra GmbH, a subsidiary of Astrium founded
specifically for the commercial marketing of the data.

The use of the data for scientific purposes will be the task of DLR, which
is also responsible for the mission concept and implementation, as well as
control of the satellite. Astrium is contributing towards the costs of
development, construction and use of the satellite. Infoterra GmbH takes
over the commercial marketing of the data. 50% of the available data will
benefit the scientific community and the other half is made commercially
available to industry .

TerraSAR-X has built upon the technical knowledge learned from previous
radar missions, and scientists have developed new techniques to be used by
the satellite. For instance, Earth's vegetation is of vital importance to
human life. Precise and current information about the distribution,
composition and change of kinds of vegetation forms the basis for many
applications. One of the outstanding characteristics of TerraSAR-X is its
high spatial resolution, exceeding conventional radar systems. This makes it
possible for scientists to study detailed soil characteristics and be able
to observe and better classify different arable crops.

TerraSAR-X will also offer completely new perspectives for the observation
of urban areas. The high resolution of TerraSAR-X will enable individual
buildings, urban structures and infrastructure such as roads and railway
lines to be accurately mapped.

Another scientific application for TerraSAR-X is the observation of Earth's
oceans and coastal regions which are subject to human activities such as
offshore drilling, shipping and fishing. Global climate change is affected
by the expansion, contraction and distribution of sea ice as well as by the
volume of icebergs. In observing the polar regions using radar, the freeing
of TerraSAR-X from the vagaries of the weather, and also independence from
whether or not the Sun is shining, are great advantages.

The satellite will circle Earth at a height of 514 kilometres in a polar
orbit, using its active antenna to gather radar data day and night, at a
resolution of up to one metre, regardless of weather conditions or cloud
coverage.

Beside the radar, there are also two secondary payloads on board:

The Laser Communication Terminal (LCT) is a technology demonstrator to be
used in orbit, for the verification of fast optical data communication in
space. With financing from DLR and built by the company TESAT, the
instrument is a connection between TerraSAR-X and a future ground station.
Over this new laser system, large datasets can be sent to Earth.

The Tracking, Occultation and Ranging Experiment (TOR) was built for
TerraSAR-X in a cooperation between the GeoForschungsZentrum Potsdam (GFZ)
and the Center for Space Research at the University of Texas (UT-CSR). It
consists of a dual-frequency GPS (Global Positioning System) as well as a
laser reflector unit. TOR allows the satellite to perform highly-accurate
course changes as little as 10 centimetres, which improves the quality of
the radar images.