Radiometric Accuracy and Stability of TerraSAR-X and TanDEM-X

Abstract

The TerraSAR-X and the TanDEM-X satellite produce high quality SAR images for a number of scientific and commercial applications. To guarantee the stability of the high accurate SAR products both systems are perma-nently monitored over the full life time. This paper describes the applied methods and presents the latest results of Long-Term System Monitoring (LTSM) with the focus on radiometric accuracy and stability that include the gain and phase properties of the T/R modules, the antenna pattern checked by evaluating uniformly distributed targets and radiometric stability over permanently deployed point targets. The outcome demonstrates the remarkable performance of both systems since launch.