A Space & astronomy forum. SpaceBanter.com

Go Back   Home » SpaceBanter.com forum » Space Science » News
Site Map Home Authors List Search Today's Posts Mark Forums Read Web Partners

TerraSAR-X exceeds all expectations: German radar satellite sends first data in record time (Forwarded)



 
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
  #1  
Old June 25th 07, 05:04 PM posted to sci.space.news
Andrew Yee[_1_]
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 1,209
Default TerraSAR-X exceeds all expectations: German radar satellite sends first data in record time (Forwarded)

Deutsches Zentrum fur Luft- und Raumfahrt (DLR)
Cologne, 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

Mathias Pikelj
EADS SPACE
Tel.: +49 7545 8 9123 Fax: +49 7545 8 5589

Mareike Doepke
Infoterra GmbH
Tel.: +49 7545 8 3924 Fax: +49 75454 8 1337

21 June 2007

TerraSAR-X exceeds all expectations: German radar satellite sends first data
in record time

Scientists and commercial users are flabbergasted and only the most
optimistic of engineers could have expected it, but just four days after the
launch of the German radar satellite TerraSAR-X from Baikonur, brilliant
first satellite images have been received.

To loud applause on Tuesday evening from the TerraSAR-X teams of the German
Aerospace Center (DLR), Astrium and Infoterra, the first pictures appeared
on the monitors of the DLR Space Operations Center in Oberpfaffenhofen, near
Munich. This occurred just 30 minutes after the receipt of the data by the
Neustrelitz ground station.

Although the satellite will only achieve its final orbit after ten days in
space, the first data, actually sent simply for testing purposes, is already
of a surprisingly high quality and sharp detail.

"I am so excited and inspired! This mission confirms the prominent
international position of Germany in the field of radar remote sensing. Our
data will be an important source for geoscientific research on one hand and
for commercial applications on the other. TerraSAR-X will play, in addition,
a prominent role in the European Earth observation programme, GMES," said
Professor Johann-Dietrich Worner, chairman of the board of DLR.

"These data show not only the comprehensive technical know-how and the
experience of many years of radar satellite and instrument development by
Astrium, but confirm also our successful partnership with DLR", added Uwe
Minne, Director of Earth Observation and Science at Astrium GmbH.

"The efficiency of the satellite system is proven with these first
impressive images -- the outlook for our commercial business could not be
better", commented a pleased Jorg Herrmann, managing director of Infoterra
GmbH, which can now start the commercial marketing of the TerraSAR-X data.

The TerraSAR-X team at DLR will work quickly in the next few months to
finally calibrate the radar instrument and optimise the data processing
system.

TerraSAR-X is the first German Public-Private Partnership (PPP) satellite --
jointly realised by DLR and EADS Astrium. EADS Astrium has taken on the
costs of development, building and employment of the satellite. Infoterra
GmbH, a subsidiary of the EADS Astrium, is responsible for the commercial
marketing.

Operating the mission involves four institutes alongside the space agency of
DLR. DLR covers the entire range of necessary technologies from the setting
up of TerraSAR-X's mission control to the processing and the use of the data
for scientific purposes.

TerraSAR-X is the first German satellite to be realised within the scope of
a public-private partnership (PPP) between DLR and Astrium: Europe's leading
satellite specialist, Astrium, is sharing the costs of the development,
construction and deployment of the satellite. The scientific use of the
TerraSAR-X data is the responsibility of DLR, as is the mission planning and
operation of the satellite, whilst Infoterra GmbH, a subsidiary of Astrium
specifically established for this purpose, will be responsible for the
commercial exploitation of the satellite data.

With its active antenna, the satellite will record new high-quality X-band
radar images of the entire planet whilst circling Earth in a polar orbit at
an altitude of 514 kilometres. TerraSAR-X will carry out its task for five
years, independently of weather conditions, cloud cover or daylight, and
will be able to provide radar images with a resolution as high as one metre.

TerraSAR-X at a glance:

Height: 4.88 m
Width: 2.4 m
Launch mass: 1 230 kg (including payload mass 400 kg)
Radar Frequency: 9.65 GHz
Power consumption: 800W average
Resolution: 1 m, 3 m, 16 m
Launcher: Dnepr 1 (formerly SS-18)
Launch: 15 June 2007, 4:14 h (CEST [0214 UTC]) from Baikonur, Kazakhstan
Orbit: 514 km
Inclination: 97.4 deg, Sun-synchronous
Life time: 5 years

[NOTE: Images supporting this release are available at
http://www.dlr.de/en/desktopdefault..../86_read-9519/ ]
 




Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

vB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Forum Jump

Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
TerraSAR-X -- German radar satellite launch successful (Forwarded) Andrew Yee[_1_] News 0 June 15th 07 05:50 PM
EVOLUTION BOOK BURNING EXCEEDS EXPECTATIONS -- Unmitigated Crap Turns to Ashes -- Evolution Goes Belly Up Ed Conrad Astronomy Misc 6 May 13th 06 02:26 AM
SeaSAR 2006: Satellite radar reveals ever-changing face of the ocean(Forwarded) Andrew Yee News 0 February 2nd 06 05:31 PM
Mars Express radar collects first surface data (Forwarded) Andrew Yee Astronomy Misc 0 August 5th 05 04:04 PM


All times are GMT +1. The time now is 11:36 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.6.4
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
Copyright ©2004-2024 SpaceBanter.com.
The comments are property of their posters.