Processing system and algorithms for the TanDEM-X mission

In 2009, the German radar satellite TerraSAR-X will be supplemented with the TanDEM-X satellite to form the first bi-static single pass interferometer in space. TanDEM-X will fly close to TerraSAR-X in a controlled helix configuration for 3 years to jointly acquire interferometric SAR data in bistatic mode. The primary TanDEM-X mission goal is to generate a global Digital Elevation Model (DEM) with a relative point-to-point height accuracy of 2 meters for moderate terrain at 12 m posting. This paper outlines the SAR data workflow from quality check screening through to bistatic focusing and interferometric processing to raw DEM generation.