The International Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium (IGARSS) is a place for those working in these fields to gather and discuss the current developments and future in a wide variety of perspectives. Why are digital elevation models so important? And why have radar satellites become of great importance to us? Stefan Dech, Director of DLR’s Earth Observation Centre, gives us his views at IGARSS 2012.

TerraSAR-X and TanDEM-X are exceeding the expectations of the scientific community. Why exactly? And what comes next? During the IGARSS 2012 symposium in Munich, we were able to speak to Manfred Zink, Project Manager of the Ground Segment of the mission. He is responsible for directing the entire mission, from the close flight formation of the TerraSAR-X and TanDEM-X satellites to the creation of the digital elevation model.

As we reach the equator of IGARSS 2012, we have the pleasure of speaking with the IGARSS General Co-Chairs: Alberto Moreira, Director of DLR’s Microwaves and Radar Institute, and Yves-Louis Desnos, Head of Research & Development section & Senior Advisor of EO Science and Applications Department at ESA-ESRIN.

We are still here at IGARSS, giving you more information about 'Remote Sensing for a Dynamic Earth'. We spoke with Marwan Younis, who took some time from an incredibly tight schedule to answer some questions regarding TerraSAR-X and TanDEM-X, as well as Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) technologies.

As the Ice Breaker at IGARSS 2012 was starting, we were able to speak with Richard Bamler, Director of DLR’s Remote Sensing Technology Institute. In this webcast, he tells us his views on the importance of remote sensing and its applications.

Some days ago, before the start of IGARSS 2012, we mentioned that we would try to give you a feel for the symposium. In the past few days, we have been talking to people, visiting stands and capturing some of the essence of this 32nd IGARSS symposium, the second one held in Munich.

These days, the International Conference Center in Munich is filled with people from all over the world; some of the faces are new, but many are familiar as well. A great number of experts in Earth observation and remote sensing walk through the exhibition hall and fill the conference rooms. It is great to see so many people prominent in this field, and even more so, to have the chance to speak with them in person. Yesterday, in between the Plenary Session, press conferences and various meetings, we had the honour of interviewing Johann-Dietrich Wörner, Chairman of the DLR Executive Board, who gave us his own perspective on the research areas covered at the IGARSS 2012 symposium and Germany’s contributions. Thank you so much!

DLR scientists had reason to celebrate one month ago – the successful TerraSAR-X mission celebrated its fifth anniversary in space. Today, on 23 July, during the Plenary Session at the International Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium (IGARSS 2012) in Munich, the hard work of DLR experts involved in the radar satellite TanDEM-X mission has been recognised. Our DLR colleagues were awarded with the ‘IEEE WRG Baker Paper Award’. This award is given annually to scientists who accomplish extraordinary achievements in the field of electrical engineering and computer science.

Welcome to Munich! The International Congress Center in Munich was buzzing today, and we expect even more activity in the coming days. You can find out about the events taking place via this blog and our various social media channels. The opening of the Symposium will be broadcast live by DLR and ESA; it will be streamed live from here tomorrow, Monday 23 July, between 09:00 and 12:30. This year’s theme is ‘Remote Sensing for a Dynamic Earth’.

Munich is a beautiful city, attracting about 70 million people from around the world every year. Starting tomorrow, the International Congress Centre will be home to scientists from around the globe contributing roughly 2000 papers on the topic ‘Remote Sensing for a Dynamic Earth’. The schedule is filled with exciting presentations, tutorials and poster sessions unveiling the latest achievements in this exciting field. And just as all the attendees will soon be doing, we have packed our bags and are getting ready for this magnificent event.

The DLR’s Advanced Rendezvous demonstration using GPS and Optical Navigation (ARGON) has been successfully executed during the PRISMA mission in the time frame April 23-27, 2012. The ARGON experiment demonstrated a long-range rendezvous to a non-cooperative target by means of angles-only measurements. Starting from more than 30 km distance, the active Mango s/c approached the passive Tango s/c to reach a 3 km safe hold-point within five days of ground-based operations.

Friday the thirteenth. In Paris. Was it a day like any other? No. What seemed like an entirely normal day at ESA, the meeting took an unusual turn. Whether this was an unlucky day or simply a day of perfectly normal chaos is a matter of personal judgement.

The countdown to the International Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium, IGARSS 2012, has begun - only 6 days remain. This year, IGARSS will be held at the International Congress Centre in Munich from 22-27 July, and with this blog, we will be reporting on all the breaking announcements and important events. We will do this with written entries, images and webcasts - in which specialists in Earth observation and remote sensing will join us.

Alongside the ILA Berlin Airshow and the Paris Airshow at Le Bourget, the Farnborough Airshow, being held at the moment, is the third large aerospace exhibition in Europe. My first visit to this event involved aviation and space to an equal extent. The journey there, access and my schedule presented major challenges, and surmounting these made for an interesting trip, albeit one with a few rough edges.

Late in the evening, just as the launch window opened at 23:36 CEST, the Ariane 5ECA VA207 launched successfully with the EchoStar XVII and MSG-3 satellites on board. About 34 minutes later, the two payloads were injected into geostationary transfer orbits. This was the 49th successive successful launch of an Ariane 5, and the third one this year.

It's that time again! Final preparations for the third Ariane 5 launch this year (VA207) are currently underway at Europe's spaceport in French Guiana. Following a successful launch readiness review on Tuesday and yesterday's roll out to the launch pad, no other formalities stand in the way of tonight's launch. The launch window opens at 23:36 CEST and closes 29 minutes later, that is, tomorrow at 00:05 CEST. The launch window opens at 23:36 CEST and closes 29 minutes later, that is, tomorrow at 00:05 CEST. Arianespace will be live streaming the launch here.