TerraSAR-X High Resolution SAR-Interferometry

Abstract:
TerraSAR-X has been in orbit since June 15th, 2007 and has continuously been collecting data. Thousands of images have been acquired for evaluation during the commissioning phase that has lasted until end of 2007. In order to proof the phase quality of the overall system a number of interferometric pairs and even small stacks of repeated InSAR data have been scheduled during this phase. Our paper explains necessary modifications on the InSAR algorithms to process the TerraSAR-X data. The interferometric characteristics of these data have been checked by case studies and a representative overview of our evaluation results is given. The technical quality and performance of the sensor and data processing system has been proofed by application case studies. We illustrate the information content of spotlight SAR images in urban areas and focus on the new potentials of high resolution SAR interferometry by processing examples. Using spotlight mode, the pixel size is reduced to 1 meter allowing to distinguish and monitor different parts of buildings. Our current results are encouraging us to predict that spotlight interferometry will be a hot topic in the next years with many practical applications e.g. coherent stacking for PSI time series and tomography.