The currency of geodata is an important factor for many advanced geospatial applications. Examples for this are security questions in the control of international borders and coastal areas, or up-to-date information following natural hazards. Here a near real time availability of geoinformation is of high value. A wide range of commercial satellites providing near real time information are available. Satellites with active sensors, such as Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) systems, can deliver such information even at night and in areas with cloud coverage.

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The German SAR satellite mission with the TerraSAR-X and TanDEM-X satellites provides coverage of every location on earth within 1-3 days. The acquired data can be made available for processing within hours or in certain cases even minutes. Continue reading →