09-06-09 Construction completed on TanDEM-X radar satellite

The German radar satellite TanDEM-X has been successfully completed by the space company Astrium in Friedrichshafen.The satellite has been developed in conjunction with the German Aerospace Centre (DLR).Next week,the satellite,which is five metres long and weighs 1.3 tonnes,will be transported to Ottobrunn near Munich where it will undergo testing at Astrium’s and IABG’s test facilities.TamDEM-X will remain there until mid-September,where final checks will be conducted ahead of launch.It will then be transported to the Baikonur space centre (Kazakhstan) with lift-off aboard a Russian Dnepr launcher scheduled for October.TanDEM-X will fly in tandem formation with the identical TerraSAR-X satellite for a period of two years,generating a digital elevation model of the Earth's land masses.By flying in close formation at distances of just a few kilometres to 200 metres apart,both satellites form a radar interferometer.Through this process the satellites will be able to provide radar images of unprecedented quality over the coming years