- Infoterra GmbH announces start of commercial business operations
- Commissioning of high resolution radar satellite concluded as scheduled
Data acquired by the first commercial high- resolution radar satellite TerraSAR-X is now operationally available: Infoterra GmbH, the owner of the exclusive commercial exploitation rights for this data, has announced its commercial sales operations to be up-and-running.
Ever since the spacecraft delivered first impressive images a mere four days after the successful launch on June 15th, 2007, the global user community of Earth observation data has eagerly awaited this day: the weather independent satellite with a resolution of up to 1m is a uniquely reliable data source. Flexible acquisition modes and a rapid response time make TerraSAR-X data a valuable input for a variety of geo-information applications.
"We have been working towards this for several years now and thoroughly prepared our business processes," deliberates Joerg Herrmann, managing director of Infoterra GmbH: "Our teams have established a reliable customer service, a secure technical infrastructure and efficient business processes for the data sales. In addition, our geo-information experts have developed a sound portfolio of radar-based geo-information services that is now ready to be brought into the market."
Less than seven months after launch – precisely as scheduled – the German Aerospace Centre DLR declared the TerraSAR-X commissioning phase to be finalized: The satellite is functioning flawlessly, and all related ground infrastructure has been implemented and tested successfully.
Extensive Partner Network supports marketing worldwide
Infoterra's global marketing activities are significantly enhanced by the extensive TerraSAR-X Distribution Partner Network spanning the six continents: nearly sixty partners in as many countries are available to support customers with their distinct local knowledge and experiences.
Promotional Acquisition Campaign concluded
With the beginning of the operational business, Infoterra GmbH has concluded the TerraSAR-X promotional acquisition campaign: during the past months, more than 1.500 users from around the globe have placed a request for a total of 3.000 TerraSAR-X scenes, many of which could be recorded during the commissioning phase. These scenes – provided free of charge for evaluation and trial purposes – are scheduled to be delivered starting February 2008.
Business success ensures sustainable TerraSAR-X mission
“It is now up to us to advance the TerraSAR-X mission”, explains Joerg Herrmann. “In the coming years, we will ensure the long-term commercial success of the mission and secure the sustainability of this German radar mission.” Infoterra is expected to re-invest profits from this business into TerraSAR-X-2, which is scheduled to replace TerraSAR-X at the end of its five year lifespan in 2012, representing a further step towards the sub-meter resolution and coverage.
Customer service availability
Infoterra's customer service team is continuously available to inform and consult customers and receive data orders via terrasar[at]infoterra.de or
+49 7545 8 4344.
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About Infoterra GmbH
Infoterra GmbH, Germany, holds the exclusive commercial exploitation rights for the new German radar satellite TerraSAR-X, successfully launched on June 15th, 2007 – enabling the company to provide weather-independent, high-resolution, new-quality radar data as well as reliable data access services.
A variety of geo-information products and services complete the portfolio: based on radar data as well as data acquired by other spaceborne sensors, Infoterra provides reliable and timely knowledge to customers operating in versatile fields of application around the globe.
Infoterra GmbH has been a leader in development and validation of GMES services for several years, having established a strong expertise in geoinformation services for land monitoring, water quality assessment, flood risk management, and spatial planning applications.
The company is headquartered in Friedrichshafen and operates a production centre in Potsdam, currently employing an overall workforce of 63 employees. Infoterra GmbH is part of the Infoterra Group, which comprises companies in France, Germany, the United Kingdom and Hungary, and a wholly owned subsidiary of Astrium, Europe's leading space specialist.
About TerraSAR-X
The TerraSAR-X Earth observation satellite is a joint venture being carried out under a public-private-partnership between the DLR and Astrium GmbH (Friedrichshafen). At the DLR, a team of four institutes is responsible for implementing the mission in collaboration with the space agency. Astrium GmbH developed, built and launched the satellite; the exclusive commercial exploitation rights are held by the geo-information service provider Infoterra GmbH.
