The total wet mass of the satellite is about 1230 kg.įigure 2: Artist's view of the deployed TerraSAR-X spacecraft in orbit (image credit: DLR, EADS Astrium GmbH) The deep-space looking surface is used for the LCT (Laser Communication Terminal) and as thermal radiator.

The other nadir looking side is reserved for the accommodation of an S-band TT&C antenna, a SAR data downlink antenna - carried by a deployable boom of 3.3 m length in order to avoid RF interferences during simultaneous radar imaging and data transmission to ground - and a Laser Retro Reflector to support precise orbit determination. The SAR antenna is mounted on one of the hexagon sides, which in flight attitude points 33.8º off nadir. Three sides of the hexagon are populated with electronics equipment, while the sun-facing side is additionally carrying the solar array. The cross-sectional view of Figure 5 illustrates the mounting concept of radiator, solar array, and SAR antenna elements. The S/C bus design features a central hexagonal CFRP structure as the main load carrying element. The hexagonal outer shape of the spacecraft, with a total height of about 5 m and a diameter of about 2.4 m, is mainly driven by the accommodation of the SAR instrument, the body mounted solar array, and the geometrical limitations given by the Dnepr-1 launcher fairing. The TerraSAR X-band satellite, built by EADS Astrium GmbH, Friedrichshafen, employs a mission-tailored AstroSat-1000 bus (successor of Flexbus and LEOSTAR due to industrial merger - initially AstroSat-1000 was referred to as AstroBus) concept with a heritage of CHAMP and GRACE missions. 12) 13) 14)įigure 1: Overview of the SAR program roadmap in 2012 (image credit: DLR, Astrium GEO-Information Services) 15) 16)

A commercial goal is also to provide monitoring services for European initiative GMES (Global Monitoring for Environment and Security). Infoterra has established a global distribution network with a range of service options for its customers. in Farnborough, UK, and Infoterra GmbH in Friedrichshafen, Germany (a subsidiary of EADS Astrium GmbH). Infoterra, a subsidiary of EADS Astrium, is comprised of Infoterra Ltd. The business goal in this venture is to establish a commercial EO (Earth Observation) market by Infoterra on a sustainable service concept to its customer base. The capability of ATI (Along-Track Interferometry).The capability of repeat-pass interferometry.The capability of multi-temporal imaging.The single, dual and quad polarization mode capability.The high geometric and radiometric resolution (experimental 300 MHz Mode for very high range resolution).The science potential of the mission is given by: The science objectives are to make multi-mode and high-resolution X-band data available for a wide spectrum of scientific applications in such fields as: hydrology, geology, climatology, oceanography, environmental and disaster monitoring, and cartography (DEM generation) making use of interferometry and stereometry. TerraSAR-X is of SIR-C/X-SAR (1994) and SRTM (2000) heritage - DLR SAR instruments flown on Shuttle missions. The satellite has a design life of at least five years. The satellite is owned and operated by DLR, and the scientific data rights remain with DLR. In exchange, EADS Astrium/Infoterra received the exclusive commercial exploitation rights for the TerraSAR-X data. In this arrangement, EADS Astrium funded part of the implementation cost of the TerraSAR-X system. In 2002, EADS Astrium GmbH was awarded a contract to implement the X-band TerraSAR satellite (TerraSAR-X) on the basis of a public-private partnership agreement (PPP). The project is supported by BMBF (German Ministry of Education and Science) and managed by DLR (German Aerospace Center). TerraSAR-X1 (also referred to as TSX or TSX-1) is a German SAR satellite mission for scientific and commercial applications (national project).

Commercial grade satellite downlink