Scientific use of TerraSAR-X

TerraSAR-X is a new German radar satellite to be launched in April 2006. The expected lifetime is 5 years. It carries a high frequency X-band SAR sensor that can be operated in different modes and polarization. The Spotlight-, Stripmap- and ScanSAR-modes provide high resolution SAR images for detailed analysis as well as wide swath data whenever a larger coverage is required. Imaging is possible in single, dual and quad-polarization. TerraSAR-X is an operational SAR-system for scientific and commercial applications that equally shares the satellite tasking time. DLR is responsible for the scientific use while the Astrium GmbH has the exclusive commercial exploitation rights. The status "scientific use" needs to be gained via a selection process. An announcement of opportunity (AO) is to be released one year before the launch. TerraSAR-X data can be provided for the costs of fulfilling the user request