German TanDEM-X radar satellite complete

The aerospace company Astrium completed construction of the German radar satellite TanDEM-X, created in collaboration with the German Aerospace Center (Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt; DLR).

The satellite has now been transported to Ottobrunn, a town near Munich. The satellite will undergo trials until mid-September 2009 to confirm its suitability for operation in outer space. It will be subjected to extreme temperatures and radiation and, in particular, the loads experienced during launch will be simulated. Once the tests are completed, the satellite will be transported to the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.

The provisional launch date, on board a Russian Dnepr rocket, is October 2009. TanDEM-X stands for "TerraSAR-X add-on for Digital Elevation Measurement".

The TanDEM-X project – just like its 'sister' mission, TerraSAR-X – is being implemented on a joint basis by DLR and Astrium, in an arrangement known as a Public-Private Partnership (PPP). This PPP agreement defines many aspects of TanDEM-X, including the financing arrangements and the intended use of the data. [via]