IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Magazine - June 2014 - 8

TanDEM-X:
The New Global DEM Takes Shape
ManfreD Zink, Markus BachMann, BenjaMin BräutigaM,
thoMas fritZ, irena hajnsek, gerharD krieger,
alBerto Moreira, anD Birgit Wessel

Abstract-TanDEM-X (TerraSAR-X add-on for Digital
Elevation Measurements) is an innovative formation flying radar mission that opens a new era in spaceborne radar
remote sensing. The primary objective is the acquisition
of a global Digital Elevation Model (DEM) with unprecedented accuracy (12 m horizontal resolution and 2 m
relative height accuracy). This goal is achieved by extending
the TerraSAR-X synthetic aperture radar (SAR) mission by
a second, TerraSAR-X like satellite TanDEM-X (TDX) flying
in close formation with TerraSAR-X (TSX). The resulting
large single-pass SAR interferometer features flexible baseline selection enabling the acquisition of highly accurate
cross-track interferograms not impacted by temporal decorrelation and atmospheric disturbances. Beyond the global
DEM, several secondary mission objectives based on alongtrack interferometry as well as new bistatic and multistatic
SAR techniques have been defined.
Since 2010 both satellites have been operated in close
formation to map all land surfaces at least twice and difficult terrain even up to four times. While data acquisition for DEM generation will be concluded in the second
half of 2014 it is expected to complete the processing of
the global DEM by the end of 2015. This paper provides
an overview of the TanDEM-X mission and summarizes
its actual status as well as the performance of the system
and the first final DEMs. Up to now the mission driver
was the DEM generation and scientific experiments have
been limited to the pre-defined DEM formation geometries. This paper also outlines the current planning for
a dedicated science phase starting in the last quarter of
this year.

information. Above 60 deg latitude and for Antarctica
only lower resolution data are available on a large scale.
The primary objective of the TanDEM-X mission is the
generation of a world-wide, consistent, up-to-date, and
high-precision DEM, according to the specification listed
in Table 1 [2]. The mission concept is based on the two
Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) satellites TerraSAR-X and

I. MISSION OBJECTIVES
igital elevation models (DEMs) are of fundamental
importance for a wide range of scientific and commercial applications. Within the ! 60 deg latitude band,
data from the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM)
[1] featuring 12 m relative height error at 90 m spatial
sampling are currently the primary source of elevation

D

Digital Object Identifier 10.1109/MGRS.2014.2318895
Date of publication: 24 June 2014

8

2168-6831/14©2014IEEE ieee Geoscience and remote sensing magazine

june 2014



Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Magazine - June 2014

IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Magazine - June 2014 - Cover1
IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Magazine - June 2014 - Cover2
IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Magazine - June 2014 - 1
IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Magazine - June 2014 - 2
IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Magazine - June 2014 - 3
IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Magazine - June 2014 - 4
IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Magazine - June 2014 - 5
IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Magazine - June 2014 - 6
IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Magazine - June 2014 - 7
IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Magazine - June 2014 - 8
IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Magazine - June 2014 - 9
IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Magazine - June 2014 - 10
IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Magazine - June 2014 - 11
IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Magazine - June 2014 - 12
IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Magazine - June 2014 - 13
IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Magazine - June 2014 - 14
IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Magazine - June 2014 - 15
IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Magazine - June 2014 - 16
IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Magazine - June 2014 - 17
IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Magazine - June 2014 - 18
IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Magazine - June 2014 - 19
IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Magazine - June 2014 - 20
IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Magazine - June 2014 - 21
IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Magazine - June 2014 - 22
IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Magazine - June 2014 - 23
IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Magazine - June 2014 - 24
IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Magazine - June 2014 - 25
IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Magazine - June 2014 - 26
IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Magazine - June 2014 - 27
IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Magazine - June 2014 - 28
IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Magazine - June 2014 - 29
IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Magazine - June 2014 - 30
IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Magazine - June 2014 - 31
IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Magazine - June 2014 - 32
IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Magazine - June 2014 - 33
IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Magazine - June 2014 - 34
IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Magazine - June 2014 - 35
IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Magazine - June 2014 - 36
IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Magazine - June 2014 - 37
IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Magazine - June 2014 - 38
IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Magazine - June 2014 - 39
IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Magazine - June 2014 - 40
IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Magazine - June 2014 - 41
IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Magazine - June 2014 - 42
IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Magazine - June 2014 - 43
IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Magazine - June 2014 - 44
IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Magazine - June 2014 - 45
IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Magazine - June 2014 - 46
IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Magazine - June 2014 - 47
IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Magazine - June 2014 - 48
IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Magazine - June 2014 - 49
IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Magazine - June 2014 - 50
IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Magazine - June 2014 - 51
IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Magazine - June 2014 - 52
IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Magazine - June 2014 - 53
IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Magazine - June 2014 - 54
IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Magazine - June 2014 - 55
IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Magazine - June 2014 - 56
IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Magazine - June 2014 - 57
IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Magazine - June 2014 - 58
IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Magazine - June 2014 - 59
IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Magazine - June 2014 - 60
IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Magazine - June 2014 - 61
IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Magazine - June 2014 - 62
IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Magazine - June 2014 - 63
IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Magazine - June 2014 - 64
IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Magazine - June 2014 - 65
IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Magazine - June 2014 - 66
IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Magazine - June 2014 - 67
IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Magazine - June 2014 - 68
IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Magazine - June 2014 - 69
IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Magazine - June 2014 - 70
IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Magazine - June 2014 - 71
IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Magazine - June 2014 - 72
IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Magazine - June 2014 - 73
IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Magazine - June 2014 - 74
IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Magazine - June 2014 - 75
IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Magazine - June 2014 - 76
IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Magazine - June 2014 - 77
IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Magazine - June 2014 - 78
IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Magazine - June 2014 - 79
IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Magazine - June 2014 - 80
IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Magazine - June 2014 - 81
IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Magazine - June 2014 - 82
IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Magazine - June 2014 - 83
IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Magazine - June 2014 - 84
IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Magazine - June 2014 - 85
IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Magazine - June 2014 - 86
IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Magazine - June 2014 - 87
IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Magazine - June 2014 - 88
IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Magazine - June 2014 - 89
IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Magazine - June 2014 - 90
IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Magazine - June 2014 - 91
IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Magazine - June 2014 - 92
IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Magazine - June 2014 - 93
IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Magazine - June 2014 - 94
IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Magazine - June 2014 - 95
IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Magazine - June 2014 - 96
IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Magazine - June 2014 - 97
IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Magazine - June 2014 - 98
IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Magazine - June 2014 - 99
IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Magazine - June 2014 - 100
IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Magazine - June 2014 - 101
IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Magazine - June 2014 - 102
IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Magazine - June 2014 - 103
IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Magazine - June 2014 - 104
IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Magazine - June 2014 - Cover3
IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Magazine - June 2014 - Cover4
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/geoscience_december2023
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/geoscience_september2023
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/geoscience_june2023
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/geoscience_march2023
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/geoscience_december2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/geoscience_september2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/geoscience_june2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/geoscience_march2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/geoscience_december2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/geoscience_september2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/geoscience_june2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/geoscience_march2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/geoscience_december2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/geoscience_september2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/geoscience_june2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/geoscience_march2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/geoscience_december2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/geoscience_september2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/geoscience_june2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/geoscience_march2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/geoscience_december2018
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/geoscience_september2018
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/geoscience_june2018
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/geoscience_march2018
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/geoscience_december2017
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/geoscience_september2017
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/geoscience_june2017
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/geoscience_march2017
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/geoscience_december2016
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/geoscience_september2016
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/geoscience_june2016
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/geoscience_march2016
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/geoscience_december2015
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/geoscience_september2015
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/geoscience_june2015
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/geoscience_march2015
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/geoscience_december2014
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/geoscience_september2014
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/geoscience_june2014
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/geoscience_march2014
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/geoscience_december2013
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/geoscience_september2013
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/geoscience_june2013
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/geoscience_march2013
https://www.nxtbookmedia.com