Free RADAR TerraSAR Images from Japan Earthquake

DLR and Astrium GEO-Information Services support research following the Sendai earthquake.

The German radar satellite TerraSAR-X will acquire co-seismic data and a post-seismic time series of three months duration, covering the area around Sendai, Japan, in ascending (orbit 156, strip 9, incidence 35 degrees) and descending (orbit 42, strip 10, incidence 37 degrees) orbits in 3m resolution (StripMap Mode).

The data will be made available free of charge via the GEO Geohazards Supersites mechanism. First datasets are now accessible, and additional datasets will be uploaded regularly throughout the months of April, May and June.

Such radar data stacks will deliver valuable input for the activities of geophysical and particularly seismic researchers. The data can be used for performing long-term change detection, interferometric analysis, and for documenting even very small aftershocks of the recent quake.

Additional data of this area can be accessed via DLR's science service system for scientific purposes, and via Astrium GEO-Information Services TerraSAR-X Services for commercial purposes.

Contacts:
Cheryl Billson (Astrium Services GEO-Information division) Tel: +44 (0) 7791 720460

Jennifer Newlands (Astrium Services GEO-Information division) Tel: +33 (0) 5 62 19 40 09

Mareike Doepke (Astrium Services GEO-Information division) Tel: + 49 7545 8 3294

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TerraSAR-X ELEVATION Product Suite

Infoterra GmbH, the wholly-owned subsidiary of EADS Astrium that holds the exclusive commercial exploitation rights for the high-resolution radar satellite TerraSAR-X, has announced the first element of its TerraSAR-X ELEVATION product suite.

Featuring a 10m grid spacing and an absolute height accuracy of up to 5m, the TerraSAR-X ELEVATION DSM (digital surface model) is now operationally available for areas as small as only 500 sqkm, and up to full regional coverage, worldwide. Particularly the unique reliability of the weather-independent radar sensor makes this an ideal complement to the established Spot Infoterra portfolio of elevation data sets such as Reference 3D, based on SPOT HRS optical data.

"In addition to this unique reliability and the resulting time- and cost-efficient data acquisition, customers will particularly appreciate our flexible delivery concept;" Dr. Gertrud Riegler, Product Manager for Digital Elevation Models at Infoterra, explains: "It allows the users to adapt the scope of delivery to their individual requirements, as a set of auxiliary layers and the corresponding orthorectified image are optional additions to our TerraSAR-X ELEVATION DSM."

As the propagation of the radar beam can be measured very precisely, with the satellite featuring a unique positional accuracy, the extracted height information is based on very solid input: TerraSAR-X StripMap stereo pairs, acquired in both ascending and descending orbit directions, are processed automatically, applying radargrammetry techniques. With algorithms specifically developed for this purpose, outliers, artefacts and gaps are identified and corrected. Water body features derived from corresponding TerraSAR-X image data are included and a subsequent manual editing of shorelines guarantees hydrological consistency.

This novel approach enables Infoterra to offer highly time-efficient production schemes: "Full data acquisition and production for our minimum order unit of 500 sqkm can be carried out within about one month. For areas of about 500.000 sqkm, customers can expect the delivery within a year after ordering," Dr. Riegler says, and then confidently assures the unique quality of the TerraSAR-X ELEVATION DSM products: "The product's performance and accuracy values were determined in an extensive validation and verification campaign. In order to asses various terrain and land cover types; we have covered more than 15 test sites worldwide, with high-quality reference data available for each."

Precise elevation data is the initial foundation of any accurate geospatial product, particularly when the integration of multi-source imagery and data is performed based upon it. Topographic mapping, communications network planning, hydrologic modelling, air traffic security and, last but not least, the reliable orthorectification of high-resolution satellite imagery are only examples of the wide range of applications that benefit from precise, reliable elevation data.

Infoterra is thus working towards expanding the Spot Infoterra elevation data portfolio even further: today, radar-based Digital Terrain Models (DTM), a representation of the ground surface as so-called bare-earth terrain, are available tailor-made. An operational processing facility to generate standardised DTMs (TerraSAR-X ELEVATION DTM) is currently under development and expected to be implemented in 2010.

Lastly, the upcoming TanDEM-X mission, where TerraSAR-X and its "twin" TanDEM-X will be collecting interferometric data synchronously, has significant potentials in store: Together, the twin satellites will be collecting the data basis for a complete global elevation model, unprecedented in coverage and accuracy. TanDEM-X is scheduled to be launched on June 21, 2010; global elevation data products are expected to be available from 2013.

Sample data sets are available for free download on www.infoterra.de.

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TerraSAR-X Virtual Ground Station - Malaysia

Infoterra and its Malaysian partner IMS have now installed a TerraSAR-X Virtual Ground Station at the Malaysian Remote Sensing Agency (MRSA) in Kuala Lumpur: Following the delivery and installation of all necessary technical equipment as well as thorough training on the planning and ordering tool, Nikolaus Faller, Chief Operations Officer of Infoterra GmbH, officially handed the access key to Nik Mazlina Nik Mustapha, Head of Remote Sensing Data Services at MRSA, on Friday, Dec 4.

"From today, the MRSA will be able to access the ordering system, plan acquisitions, and task the TerraSAR-X satellite directly," states Azhar Salleh, Chief Executive officer of IMS. Describing the concept of a Virtual Ground Station, Nikolaus Faller adds: “At Infoterra, we will ensure the immediate processing and delivery of any data requested by the MRSA through our established ground segment. The data will be accessible for MRSA on our servers the minute the processing has been finalized“.

The contract includes not only the Virtual Ground Station, but large volumes of TerraSAR-X data that will be acquired and delivered throughout 2010. This data will be used for flood management purposes, as Malaysia is regularly affected by severe
flooding along its coasts as well as inland, and damages are often significant.

Based on TerraSAR-X data, Malaysians experts will create an up-to-date database for those regions regularly affected by flooding. “Based on this database, we will be able to initiate appropriate prevention measures and – in case disaster strikes – react more quickly and target our emergency response effort more effectively," says Nik Mazlina Nik Mustapha, outlining the purpose of acquiring this data. "The unique reliability of the weather-independent TerraSAR-X satellite, along with its excellent geometric accuracy, will surely be a key advantage in such time-critical situations. Its data will help us to prevent damages and maybe even save lives."

The privileged access to TerraSAR-X acquisition capacities via a Virtual Ground Station is exclusively provided by the German EADS Astrium subsidiary Infoterra GmbH, holder of the commercial marketing rights for the satellite's data and services. Around the globe, particularly customers that receive large amounts of data and/or require a quick and flexible tasking option, make use of this access concept.

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TerraSAR-X performance, certified

The accuracy defined in the TerraSAR-X data product specifications has been confirmed by the Civil and Commercial Applications Project (CCAP) Group within the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA). The group published the results of their geolocation accuracy evaluation of TerraSAR-X radar satellite imagery during the ASPRS Annual Conference in Baltimore this week.

Thomas P. Ager, NGA System Engineer for Radar, confirms that "the results of this evaluation are consistent with the accuracy values listed in the product specification", and even adds that "it is plausible that the TerraSAR-X accuracy is even better".

NGA's CCAP regularly performs geolocation accuracy evaluations for civil and commercial imagery being purchased or considered for purchase by the Agency. To Infoterra, holder of the exclusive commercial exploitation rights for TerraSAR-X data and provider of numerous services based on this data, "the independent confirmation of the spacecraft's performance by such a renowned institution is of course of immense value," states Joerg Herrmann, Managing Director of the German EADS Astrium subsidiary. "This endorsement will surely support our growing sales activities in the North American market."

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TerraSAR-X data - do your own assessment

ScanEx R&D Center and Infoterra GmbH offers all users from Russia and CIS countries to do their own independent assessment of TerraSAR-X data quality – first radar images at 1 meter resolution. The
German radar satellite of the new generation was launched on June 15, 2007 and started to deliver data to commercial users as of January 15.

TerraSAR-X satellite performs imaging in three different modes, varying in spatial resolution, nominal scene size and polarization. The presented image of the Nerungri area for expert evaluation (Fig.1) was acquired in SpotLight mode (1 m resolution) with single HH polarization on January 7, 2008.

All specialists interested may do their own study of new radar imaging possibilities and sent a request to sales@scanex.ru to get the image in GeoTIFF format for free! We are waiting for your requests

Source : http://www.scanex.com/

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TerraSAR-X supports UN Emergency Response

Only 48 hours after UNOSAT, a United Nations operational programme of UNITAR that provides an enhanced access to satellite imagery, contacted Infoterra GmbH's teams in Friedrichshafen, the company's experts were able to deliver a readily processed high-resolution radar image acquired by the new German radar satellite TerraSAR-X.

Heavy rainfall had caused severe flooding in Bolivia, already killing more than 60 and leaving over 40.000 people homeless by February 13th, 2008. In the worst-hit province, Beni, thousands of people had to leave their homes amid rising floodwaters; rivers had broken their banks, and floodwaters were threatening to breach a raised road surrounding the provincial capital Trinidad, home to some 90,000 people.

Fearing the worst for the local population and rushing to prepare an effective emergency response, UNOSAT's Rapid Mapping, Applications and User Relations Unit, considering TerraSAR-X "the only radar satellite capable of properly detecting floods inside an urban setting like Trinidad", asked Infoterra to assess the possibilities of acquiring high-resolution radar imagery of the area.

A rapid tasking of the satellite led to an image acquisition February 14th; on the same day, the image was downloaded to the ground station and entered into the processing procedures with a high priority. On February 15th, a mere 48 hours after the initial inquiry, the image was delivered to the UNOSAT experts, who expressed a great satisfaction not only with the rapid response and delivery, but the impressive quality of the data as well.

Less than another 24 hours later, UNOSAT made a preliminary flood water analysis at scale 1:20.000 publicly available through its website: a valuable source of information not only to UN institutions, but to any other organization preparing emergency relief actions in the area – whether national or international, governmental or non-governmental.

According to UNOSAT, the map clearly depicts the flood waters over the affected urban extent of Trinidad. The flood water analysis was conducted with a single TerraSAR-X radar scene recorded on February 14th, enhanced by previously acquired RADARSAT-1 satellite data (8 February 2008, 5 April 2001). Reference: www.unosat.com

Source : http://www.infoterra-global.com/

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TerraServer New Website

TerraServer, the leader in online imagery, is proud to announce the release of the new TerraServer.com website. This new version includes a completely redesigned layout and also includes many new subscription features and download/print options.

After five months and over 4,000 man-hours of work, the new website was released to the public. Extensive analysis was done in order to create the redesigned website including use of customer surveys, competitive comparisons, usability studies, and outside design consultants. Many of the new features were added directly based on customer feedback. The new version had been available to the public in beta release for over a month to allow users to become familiar and test out the new website.

In order to offer many of the new website benefits, previous partnerships with TerraServer image and print providers were renewed and expanded. This resulted in new contracts with DigitalGlobe, GlobeXplorer, AirPhotoUSA and LandVoyage for imagery data and an exclusive print partnership with MyTopo.

"We will continue to base the development of our product and website features on the feedback of our users," said Brian Randy Funk, COO of TerraServer. "Our site is continually evolving to meet the demands of an industry that is growing in leaps and bounds."

The new website has been greatly simplified and streamlined while continuing to have all of the benefits from the previous version. The new TerraServer also brings in some features that are brand new including the ability for all users, both subscribers and on-subscribers, to zoom in to the full extent of the requested imagery. The free image viewer allows users to view all of the aerial photos, satellite images and USGS topo maps on TerraServer at full resolution before ever paying for any products.

"Months were spent redesigning the backend infrastructure to both handle the extensive traffic loads and maximize overall efficiency," said Dave Overdier, Senior Software Developer at TerraServer. "It's excellent to see the whole package finally released and meeting the highest expectations of our customers."

TerraServer subscribers also have several new benefits including an instant discount of 10% off of all print/poster and image download purchases. Subscribers also have an increased viewer size that is twice as large as the free viewer and is free of watermarks. From this viewer, subscribers may e-mail, link or print images on their own printers for free.

Subscribers also have access to a new drawing and measuring tool that allows the user to measure distance and area while drawing on top the imagery. Users can change the line width and color while drawing. The overlays feature is also available to subscribers, which displays information on the image such as street names, zip codes, schools, hospitals, and even natural disaster data. Subscribers also have the ability to save all of their custom images in a Favorites folder for later viewing.

Visit TerraServer to download images.


Source: TerraServer.com

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TerraSAR-X sends first image

The first satellite images from the German radar satellite TerraSAR-X have been received just five days after its launch. Only 30 minutes after the data had been received by the ground station in Neustrelitz – the first images appeared on the monitors at the German Aerospace Centre (DLR) space centre in Oberpfaffenhofen, although the satellite will only reach its final orbital position in ten days’ time.

Over the next few months, the DLR’s TerraSAR-X team will be working towards completing the calibration of the radar instrument and optimising the data processing chain.

The first TerraSAR-X image acquired on June 19, delivered by DLR’s processing system captures a region in Southern Russia; about 500 km northeast of the Black Sea and 50 km west of Wolgograd.

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TerraSAR-X to be launched on 15 June

The German radar satellite TerraSAR-X is to be launched on 15 June from the Baikonur centre in Kazakhstan. The companies, Astrium and the German Aerospace Center DLR are preparing for the satellite lift-off.

TerraSAR-X, the German satellite is developed under public-private partnership (PPP) between DLR and Astrium. Astrium, is sharing the costs of the development, construction and deployment of the satellite. While DLR will do the mission planning and operation of the satellite, whilst Infoterra , will be responsible for the commercial exploitation of the satellite data.

TerraSAR-X will record X-band radar images of earth in a polar orbit at an altitude of 514 kilometres. TerraSAR-X is fuelled for five years, and it will be able to provide radar images with a resolution upto one metre.

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