The launch of the German Earth Integrated satellite TerraSAR-X by the Russian-Ukrainian rocket DNEPR-1 has been rescheduled for the end of May. Originally the launch of the Egyptian satellite Egyptsat planned for the end of March by DNEPR was moved to 17 April. The German satellite is in excellent condition and waits at Baikonur for its mission.
TerraSAR-X is the first German Public-Private Partnership (PPP) satellite - jointly realised by DLR and EADS Astrium. EADS Astrium has taken on the costs of development, building and employment of the satellite. The processing as well as the use of TerraSAR-X data for scientific purposes is run by DLR. Infoterra GmbH, a subsidiary of the EADS Astrium, is responsible for the commercial marketing.
The satellite will circle Earth at a height of 514 kilometres in a polar orbit and its Earth Observation data will provide a 1-metre resolution. TerraSAR-X will work independently of any weather and light conditions.