TerraSAR-X: A pre-launch status report

Kurzfassung

TerraSAR-X is a new German radar satellite that shall be launched end of June 2006 with a lifetime of 5 years. It carries a high frequency X-band SAR sensor that can be operated in three different modes and various polarizations. The Spotlight-, Stripmap- and ScanSARmodes provide high resolution images for detailed analysis as well as wide swath data whenever a larger coverage is required. Imaging will be possible in single, dual and quadpolarization. TerraSAR-X will be an operational SAR-system for scientific and commercial applications. Innovative and unique features with respect to spaceborne systems are the high geometric (1m-25m) and radiometric resolution together with the single, dual and quad-polarization capability. Additionally several incidence angle combinations will be possible and double side access can be realized by satellite roll maneuvers. The atellite will be positioned in an 11 days repeat orbit. 95 % of the Earth’s surface can be seen within 2.5 days after ommanding, also in the very high resolution Spotlight mode. In principle all modes of TerraSAR-X are of interest for the observation of urban areas. In particular the high geometric resolution of Spotlight and Stripmap modes open new perspectives on the high precision mapping of settlements, industrial areas and infrastructure like roads and railway tracks. Due to the general benefits of SAR systems like the weather independent observation capability a frequent land use mapping and change detection is possible. Multi-polarization enables further improvements on the classification of the radar data. The short revisit times allow to immediately image areas affected by a disaster for damage assessments. The TerraSAR-X Pre-Launch Announcement of Opportunity (June13 – October 4, 2005) was the first chance applying for data. 205 proposals were submitted and 197 were accepted. Five main themes were addressed in the call namely “land cover and vegetation”, “risk management and security”,” water resources”, “ocean, marine and polar applications” and “SAR methods and research”.