Terra-SAR-X 1

Launch data: Designation  31698 / 07026A Launch date  15 Jun 2007 - 02:14 UT Launch site  B, LC-109/95 (silo) Launch vehicle  Dnepr-1 Mission  Radar imaging Earth orbit: Perigee / Apogee  507 x 509 km Inclination  97.45° Period  94.79 min

Credit: Astrium GmbH

Spacecraft data:

Mission details:

• The EADS Astrium/DLR TerraSAR-X radar imaging satellite was launched from Baykonur on Jun 15 aboard a Dnepr rocket. The 1346 kg satellite carries an X-band imaging radar with 1 meter resolution; it is in a 499 x 512 km x 97.5 deg orbit, while the Dnepr final stage ended up in a higher 506 x 1024 km orbit.
• Imaging radar satellites appear to have come of age; since the launch of NASA's Seasat in 1978, missions have been launched at the rate of one or two a year, but TerraSAR-X is the fifth in the past year, following Germany's SAR-Lupe-1, Japan's IGS R-2, China's Yaogan 2, and Italy's COSMO 1; SAR-Lupe-2 is due for launch soon.