Using worldwide available TerraSAR-X data to calibrate the geo-location accuracy of optical sensors

A method to calibrate the geo-location accuracy of optical sensors is presented which is based on a novel multi-modal image matching strategy. This concept enables to transfer points from highly accurate TerraSAR-X imagery to optical images. These points are then used to register the images or to update the optical sensor models. The potential of the methodology is demonstrated on Spot 5, Ikonos and RapidEye images.