The scientists from the DLR Microwaves and Radar Institute were given this award for their joint work on the paper TanDEM-X: A Satellite Formation for High-Resolution SAR interferometry, published at IEEE Transactions on Geoscience and Remote Sensing, Vol. 45, Issue 11, November 2007, pp. 33173341.
The awardees:
Gerhard Krieger, DLR Microwaves and Radar Institute, Head Radar Concepts
Alberto Moreira, General Co-Chair of IGARSS 2012 and Director of the DLR Microwaves and Radar Institute
Hauke Fiedler, DLR Microwaves and Radar Institute, Space Institute Development
Irena Hajnsek, DLR Microwaves and Radar Institute, Group manager Polarimetric SAR Interferometry
Marian Werner, DLR Microwaves and Radar Institute, Manager Satellite SAR Systems
Marwan Younis, DLR Microwaves and Radar Institute, Group manager, SAR technologies
Manfred Zink, DLR Microwaves and Radar Institute, Project manager TanDEM-X-Ground Segments and Head of Satellite SAR Systems
Image: Awardees Alberto Moreira, Irena Hajnsek, Marian Werner, Manfred Zink, Hauke Fiedler, Marwan Younis, Gerhard KriegerCredit: REALIZE GmbH
The TanDEM-X mission
TanDEM-X (TerraSAR-X-Add-on for Digital Elevation Measurements) 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 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.
For more information about the mission, visit the TanDEM-X-Blog.
