TanDEM-X

Abstract

TanDEM-X (TerraSAR-X add-on for Digital Elevation Measurement) is a highly innovative Earth observation mission that opens a new era in remote sensing. TanDEM-X comprises two formation flying satellites, each equipped with a synthetic aperture radar (SAR) to map the Earth’s surface with high spatial resolution. Together, the two satellites form a unique single-pass SAR interferometer, offering the opportunity for flexible baseline selection. Primary objective of TanDEM-X is the acquisition of a global digital elevation model (DEM) with unprecedented accuracy and resolution (12 m horizontal and 2 m vertical resolution). Besides the primary mission goal, several secondary objectives based on along-track interferometry and new bistatic SAR techniques have been defined, representing a further important asset of the mission. TanDEM-X was successfully launched in June 2010 and started operational data acquisition in December 2010. This chapter outlines the TanDEM-X mission concept and its implementation, summarizes the main data processing and calibration steps, and provides an overview of the actual performance and mission status. Furthermore, results from several scientific experiments are presented, showing the great potential of future formation flying interferometric SAR missions to serve a wide spectrum of novel applications.