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Platforms > Space-based Platforms > Earth Observation Satellites > TDX

Preferred term

TDX  

Definition

  • [SOURCE: http://www.dlr.de/dlr/en/desktopdefault.aspx/tabid-10378/566_read-426/#/gallery/345] The main objective of the TanDEM-X mission is to generate an accurate three-dimensional image of Earth that is homogeneous in quality and unprecedented in accuracy. At present, the elevation models that are available for large parts of Earth are of low resolution, inconsistent or incomplete. In addition, they are commonly based on different data sources and survey methods. TanDEM-X, TerraSAR-X add-on for Digital Elevation Measurement, is designed to close these gaps and deliver a homogenous elevation model that should prove indispensable for many scientific and commercial applications. Orbiting Earth at an altitude of around 500 kilometres, the two nearly-identical radar satellites have begun mapping its surface. The first of the two, TerraSAR-X, has been operating since 2007. Three years years on, it has been joined by its twin satellite, TanDEM-X. Flying in close formation only a few hundred metres apart, the two satellites are imaging the terrain below them simultaneously, from different angles. These images are processed into accurate elevation maps with a 12-metre resolution and a vertical accuracy better than 2 metres. The amount of data generated by the satellites will grow to 1.5 petabytes within three years, corresponding to a storage capacity of almost 200,000 DVDs. Like the TerraSAR-X mission, TanDEM-X is a project developed under a public-private partnership between the German Aerospace Center, DLR, and Astrium GmbH based in Friedrichshafen, Germany. The TanDEM-X mission The TanDEM-X mission will survey all 150 million square kilometres of Earth's land surface several times over during its three-year mission. Apart from its high measuring-point density (a 12-metre grid) and high vertical accuracy (better than two metres), the elevation model generated by TanDEM-X will have another unrivalled advantage – being entirely homogenous, it will serve as a basis for maps that are globally consistent. Conventional maps are often fragmented along national borders, or difficult to reconcile as they are based on different survey methods or because of time lags between survey campaigns. Together TanDEM-X and TerraSAR-X are form the first configurable synthetic aperture radar interferometer in space. Besides this primary goal, the mission has several secondary objectives based on new and innovative methods such as along-track interferometry, polarimetric synthetic aperture radar interferometry, digital beamforming and bistatic radar. The TanDEM-X satellite follows the TerraSAR-X design with minor modifications such as an additional cold gas propulsion system (powered by high-pressure nitrogen gas) to enable fine-tuning of its relative position during formation flying and an additional S-band receiver to receive status and position information sent by TerraSAR-X. The TanDEM-X satellite has been designed for a nominal lifetime of five years and has a planned overlap with TerraSAR-X of three years. TerraSAR-X holds consumables and resources for up to seven years of operation however, potentially allowing for a prolongation of the overlap and the duration of the TanDEM-X mission (en)

Broader concept

Change note

  • 2017-04-25 17:31:43.0 [aaleman] Insert Concept add broader relation (TDX [6c21f29b-5dd4-4e96-a6fb-44e4788d1973,309555] - Earth Observation Satellites [3466eed1-2fbb-49bf-ab0b-dc08731d502b,287601]);
  • 2017-04-25 17:33:33.0 [aaleman] added new keyword at NSIDC request insert AltLabel (id: null text: TanDEM-X language code: en); insert Definition (id: null text: [SOURCE: http://www.dlr.de/dlr/en/desktopdefault.aspx/tabid-10378/566_read-426/#/gallery/345] The main objective of the TanDEM-X mission is to generate an accurate three-dimensional image of Earth that is homogeneous in quality and unprecedented in accuracy. At present, the elevation models that are available for large parts of Earth are of low resolution, inconsistent or incomplete. In addition, they are commonly based on different data sources and survey methods. TanDEM-X, TerraSAR-X add-on for Digital Elevation Measurement, is designed to close these gaps and deliver a homogenous elevation model that should prove indispensable for many scientific and commercial applications. Orbiting Earth at an altitude of around 500 kilometres, the two nearly-identical radar satellites have begun mapping its surface. The first of the two, TerraSAR-X, has been operating since 2007. Three years years on, it has been joined by its twin satellite, TanDEM-X. Flying in close formation only a few hundred metres apart, the two satellites are imaging the terrain below them simultaneously, from different angles. These images are processed into accurate elevation maps with a 12-metre resolution and a vertical accuracy better than 2 metres. The amount of data generated by the satellites will grow to 1.5 petabytes within three years, corresponding to a storage capacity of almost 200,000 DVDs. Like the TerraSAR-X mission, TanDEM-X is a project developed under a public-private partnership between the German Aerospace Center, DLR, and Astrium GmbH based in Friedrichshafen, Germany. The TanDEM-X mission The TanDEM-X mission will survey all 150 million square kilometres of Earth's land surface several times over during its three-year mission. Apart from its high measuring-point density (a 12-metre grid) and high vertical accuracy (better than two metres), the elevation model generated by TanDEM-X will have another unrivalled advantage – being entirely homogenous, it will serve as a basis for maps that are globally consistent. Conventional maps are often fragmented along national borders, or difficult to reconcile as they are based on different survey methods or because of time lags between survey campaigns. Together TanDEM-X and TerraSAR-X are form the first configurable synthetic aperture radar interferometer in space. Besides this primary goal, the mission has several secondary objectives based on new and innovative methods such as along-track interferometry, polarimetric synthetic aperture radar interferometry, digital beamforming and bistatic radar. The TanDEM-X satellite follows the TerraSAR-X design with minor modifications such as an additional cold gas propulsion system (powered by high-pressure nitrogen gas) to enable fine-tuning of its relative position during formation flying and an additional S-band receiver to receive status and position information sent by TerraSAR-X. The TanDEM-X satellite has been designed for a nominal lifetime of five years and has a planned overlap with TerraSAR-X of three years. TerraSAR-X holds consumables and resources for up to seven years of operation however, potentially allowing for a prolongation of the overlap and the duration of the TanDEM-X mission language code: en);
  • 2019-03-18 12:36:50.0 [mmorahan] insert WeightedRelation (id: null related concept uuid: ab70584d-30b9-49c1-b1d6-b05cd8c9cbb0 relationship type: null relationship value: null generated by: null);
  • 2021-11-18 12:41:36.0 [tstevens] Move Concepts delete broader relation (null); add broader relation (TDX [6c21f29b-5dd4-4e96-a6fb-44e4788d1973,826341] - Space-based Platforms [b39a69b4-c3b9-4a94-b296-bbbbe5e4c847,835875]);
  • 2021-11-30 09:33:35.0 [tstevens] Move Concepts delete broader relation (null); add broader relation (TDX [6c21f29b-5dd4-4e96-a6fb-44e4788d1973,826341] - Earth Observation Satellites [3466eed1-2fbb-49bf-ab0b-dc08731d502b,826121]);

URI

https://gcmd.earthdata.nasa.gov/kms/concept/6c21f29b-5dd4-4e96-a6fb-44e4788d1973

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