Andrew Yee[_1_]
January 19th 08, 07:47 PM
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
Rolf Werninghaus
German Aerospace Center
Tel.: +49 228 447-587
Fax: +49 228 447-747
9 January 2008
TerraSAR-X goes into operation
German radar satellite delivers top quality Earth observation data
The German radar satellite, TerraSAR-X, went into operation on 7 January
2008. The German Aerospace Center (DLR) and Infoterra GmbH, the company
responsible for commercial marketing, decided on this date following the
successful outcome of the operational readiness review in December.
Scientists and engineers from DLR and EADS Astrium have spent the past few
months calibrating and commissioning the satellite . They appear to be
completely satisfied with the exceptional performance of the TerraSAR-X
system. "We are overjoyed that TerraSAR-X can go into operation as planned
and send back such fantastic images," said Rolf Werninghaus, the DLR project
manager for TerraSAR-X. "For the past five months the team has worked hard
on preparing the satellite and the associated Earth-based facilities for
this moment and optimising the data processing chain in order to obtain the
very best we can from the images produced".
Initial results after just four days in space
The German radar satellite, TerraSAR-X, was launched last year on 15 June
from the Russian Space Centre in Baikonur in Kazakhstan into a near-Earth
orbit 514 kilometres up. After just four days the German Remote Sensing Data
Centre in Neustrelitz recorded the first data. Shortly afterwards this was
successfully converted into the first images at the DLR Remote Sensing
Technology Institute in Oberpfaffenhofen .
Since then the satellite has been subjected to further tests in what is
called the "commissioning phase" including in particular the measuring
instruments on board that were calibrated by the DLR Institute for High
Frequency Technology and Radar Systems so that the images created will
satisfy the high demands of science and the commercial market. In a special
review it was recently ascertained that the radar satellite and the
Earth-based systems both for its operation and for creating the data
products were fully functional and ready to go into operation. The
TerraSAR-X operating phase can therefore start as planned. For this the
German Space Operations Centre in Oberpfaffenhofen has taken on the role of
mission control.
TerraSAR-X is the first German satellite to be manufactured under what is
called a public-private partnership (PPP) between the German Aerospace
Center and Astrium GmbH in Friedrichshafen.
The satellite circles Earth in a polar orbit and records unique,
high-quality X-band radar data of the whole planet with its active antenna.
TerraSAR-X works regardless of weather conditions, cloud cover and daylight
and is able to provide radar data with a resolution of up to one metre.
DLR is responsible for using TerraSAR-X data for scientific purposes. It is
also responsible for planning and implementing the mission as well as
controlling the satellite. Astrium built the satellite and shares the costs
for developing and using it. Die Infoterra GmbH, a subsidiary company
founded specifically for this purpose by Astrium, is responsible for
marketing the data commercially.
[NOTE: Images supporting this release are available at
http://www.dlr.de/en/desktopdefault.aspx/tabid-1/86_read-11191/ ]
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
Rolf Werninghaus
German Aerospace Center
Tel.: +49 228 447-587
Fax: +49 228 447-747
9 January 2008
TerraSAR-X goes into operation
German radar satellite delivers top quality Earth observation data
The German radar satellite, TerraSAR-X, went into operation on 7 January
2008. The German Aerospace Center (DLR) and Infoterra GmbH, the company
responsible for commercial marketing, decided on this date following the
successful outcome of the operational readiness review in December.
Scientists and engineers from DLR and EADS Astrium have spent the past few
months calibrating and commissioning the satellite . They appear to be
completely satisfied with the exceptional performance of the TerraSAR-X
system. "We are overjoyed that TerraSAR-X can go into operation as planned
and send back such fantastic images," said Rolf Werninghaus, the DLR project
manager for TerraSAR-X. "For the past five months the team has worked hard
on preparing the satellite and the associated Earth-based facilities for
this moment and optimising the data processing chain in order to obtain the
very best we can from the images produced".
Initial results after just four days in space
The German radar satellite, TerraSAR-X, was launched last year on 15 June
from the Russian Space Centre in Baikonur in Kazakhstan into a near-Earth
orbit 514 kilometres up. After just four days the German Remote Sensing Data
Centre in Neustrelitz recorded the first data. Shortly afterwards this was
successfully converted into the first images at the DLR Remote Sensing
Technology Institute in Oberpfaffenhofen .
Since then the satellite has been subjected to further tests in what is
called the "commissioning phase" including in particular the measuring
instruments on board that were calibrated by the DLR Institute for High
Frequency Technology and Radar Systems so that the images created will
satisfy the high demands of science and the commercial market. In a special
review it was recently ascertained that the radar satellite and the
Earth-based systems both for its operation and for creating the data
products were fully functional and ready to go into operation. The
TerraSAR-X operating phase can therefore start as planned. For this the
German Space Operations Centre in Oberpfaffenhofen has taken on the role of
mission control.
TerraSAR-X is the first German satellite to be manufactured under what is
called a public-private partnership (PPP) between the German Aerospace
Center and Astrium GmbH in Friedrichshafen.
The satellite circles Earth in a polar orbit and records unique,
high-quality X-band radar data of the whole planet with its active antenna.
TerraSAR-X works regardless of weather conditions, cloud cover and daylight
and is able to provide radar data with a resolution of up to one metre.
DLR is responsible for using TerraSAR-X data for scientific purposes. It is
also responsible for planning and implementing the mission as well as
controlling the satellite. Astrium built the satellite and shares the costs
for developing and using it. Die Infoterra GmbH, a subsidiary company
founded specifically for this purpose by Astrium, is responsible for
marketing the data commercially.
[NOTE: Images supporting this release are available at
http://www.dlr.de/en/desktopdefault.aspx/tabid-1/86_read-11191/ ]