Klaus Koeble, head of EADS Astrium's TerraSAR-X launch team on site in Baikonur, regularly reports the current status of activities from Baikonur:

While most of Europe enjoyed the public holiday on Monday, EADS Astrium team members from Lampoldshausen carried out the delicate process of fuelling TerraSAR-X with the highly toxic propellant hydrazine.

During the entire fuelling process, the engineers had to wear full protective clothing as well as being connected to an external oxygen supply.

Due to the extensive experience of the EADS Astrium team, the schedule could be met without problems. Concluding tests detected no traces of hydrazine on or around the spacecraft, proving that the TerraSAR-X's fuel system is leakproof.

The next DNEPR launch, bringing the Egyptian satellite Egyptsat into orbit, has been postponed to April 17th. Following this, the final launch preparations for TerraSAR-X -expected to require another four to six weeks- can begin, permitting a potential launch date in late May.