|
|
|
Abstract
TerraSAR-X : A High-Resolution Spaceborne
Radar Sensor Supporting Surveying, Mapping &
Infrastructure Development in Africa
Nikolaus Faller
Chief Operating Officer
Infoterra GmbH
Germany
As pointed out in the workshop description, Africa is a largely unmapped continent at
scales less than 1: 50,000; further, it suffers from inadequate infrastructure facilities,
which hinder economic and social development of the countries. There is a strong
need for reliable and efficient mapping, as well as infrastructure assessment and monitoring
of infrastructure developments. The new German radar satellite TerraSAR-X,
for which Infoterra holds the exclusive commercial exploitation rights, was successfully launched in June of 2007. The satellite is delivering high-quality radar data and
will be able to significantly support these tasks. Its flexible acquisition modes that
enable data takes at 16m, 3m or even 1m resolution, depending on the specific application
and client requirements – e.g. densely populated urban areas may be mapped
and monitored at a high resolution using 1m TerraSAR-X data, while for large open
spaces that are widely uninhabited the less resolved (and less costly) 3m or 16m resolution
data could be sufficient. It must be touched upon the fact that – beyond mapping,
surveying and infrastructure, the satellite provides a significant potential for numerous
further applications with a particular relevance for Africa. Examples include
environmental management, water resource monitoring, agriculture, natural resource
assessment, monitoring and applications and many more.
|
|
|