VZCZCXRO6822
PP RUEHAG RUEHAST RUEHDF RUEHHM RUEHLN RUEHLZ RUEHMA RUEHPB RUEHPOD
RUEHTM
DE RUEHRL #1575/01 3261605
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 211605Z NOV 08
FM AMEMBASSY BERLIN
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 2704
RUEHZN/ENVIRONMENT SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY COLLECTIVE
RUCNFRG/FRG COLLECTIVE
INFO RUCNFRG/FRG COLLECTIVE
RUEHRL/USDAO BERLIN GE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 BERLIN 001575 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
SIPDIS 
STATE FOR EUR/CE, EUR/ERA AND OES 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: TSPA EINV ETRD PGOV PREL PINR GM
SUBJECT: GERMAN FIRM INFOTERRA EYEING NEXT SAR-LUPE 
CONTRACT AND FUTURE USG CUSTOMERS 
 
¶1.  (SBU) SUMMARY: Infoterra, a subsidiary of EADS-Astrium, 
believes that their next generation digital synthetic 
aperture radar (SAR) technology provides them with a 
competitive edge in securing the SAR-Lupe follow-on contract 
with the German MOD and are actively pursuing entry into the 
USG defense intelligence market.  In an October 31 meeting at 
the U.S. Embassy in Berlin, Infoterra Managing Director, 
Joerg Herrmann delivered a tailored briefing to embassy staff 
with an underlying message of Infoterra's value to U.S. 
customers and their desire to break into the USG market. 
During this brief, Herrmann touted his company's solid 
financial position, successful Public Private Partnership 
(PPP) missions with the German Space Agency (DLR), and their 
plans to for the next generation TerraSAR-X2 (TSX-2) - 
scheduled for deployment in 2013.  Herrmann commented at the 
end of his briefing that the USG is a high priority customer 
and that although selling data is Infoterra's preference, 
they would be willing to sell to the USG a complete 
spacecraft capability, including ownership of the data.  END 
SUMMARY 
 
SOLID FINANCIAL POSITION -> COMMERCIAL FLEXIBILITY 
--------------------------------------------- ----- 
¶2.  (SBU) Infoterra, created in 2001 to prepare and 
commercially exploit the TerraSAR-X (TSX-1) mission under a 
PPP financial structure, finds itself in a strengthened 
financial position without the need for government funding 
for future commercial satellite projects.  Herrmann stated 
that for the first time in Infoterra's seven-year history, 
Infoterra will turn a modest profit in 2008.  According to 
Herrmann, Infoterra's improved financial resources give them 
greater control of their data products and satellite tasking. 
 (Comment: Under the PPP agreement with DLR, DLR had rights 
to 50 percent of all TSX-1 data leaving the other 50 percent 
available for Infoterra commercial exploitation.  End Comment) 
 
INFOTERRA OPTIMISTIC ON THE NEXT SAR-LUPE CONTRACT 
--------------------------------------------- ----- 
¶3.  (SBU) Herrmann was adamant that his company will submit 
the superior proposal for the SAR-Lupe follow-on contract and 
said "Infoterra will not lose out to OHB again."  (Comment: 
OHB-System AG is located in Northern Germany and has 
successfully deployed and operated Germany's first 
satellite-based radar reconnaissance system.  End Comment) 
Infoterra is likely in the advanced stages of its advanced 
TSX-2 design and Hermann expressed confidence that OHB does 
not possess comparable technology. The current SAR-Lupe 
system (contract awarded to OHB in August 2005 and first 
satellite launched in December 2006) has a life expectancy of 
10 years.  This implies that the follow-on system will likely 
need to be deployed by 2017 with the contract awarded in the 
2013-2015 timeframe. 
 
DESIGN IMPROVEMENTS: RESOLUTION, COVERAGE, AND THROUGHPUT 
--------------------------------------------- ------------ 
¶4.  (SBU) The next generation TSX-2 will aim for better 
imaging resolution, increased coverage area, and larger data 
throughput volumes.  Current TSX-1 performance parameters are 
given below: 
 
                   RESOLUTION    COVERAGE AREA 
                   ----------    ------------- 
-- spotlight mode: 1 m           5 km x 10 km scene 
-- stripmap mode:  3 m           30 km swath width 
-- scanSAR mode:   16 m          100 km swath width 
 
Herrmann expressed confidence that Infoterra's next SAR 
generation will achieve resolutions on the order of 0.5 m in 
spotlight mode and 1 m with a 70 km scene width in stripmap 
mode, the workhorse mode.  Herrmann projects that this 
technology will be deployable by 2013. 
 
¶5.  (SBU) In a meeting at DLR on October 27, DLR TSX-1 
Project Manager, Rolf Werninghaus, discussed DLR efforts to 
develop a High Resolution Wide Swath (HRWS) imaging 
capabilities using digital "beamforming" techniques. 
Werninghaus stated the desired goal is to collect 1-meter 
resolution radar imagery over an area of approximately 100 km 
(equivalent to the TSX-1 scanSAR mode).  This ambitious plan 
is being closely coordinated with Infoterra and could 
possibly be implemented with Infoterra's next generation SAR 
satellites. 
 
¶6.  (U) The penalty for imaging larger areas with greater 
resolution is the need for increased data transmission 
bandwidth to the ground station.  DLR's innovative approach 
 
BERLIN 00001575  002 OF 002 
 
 
to this problem is to create a space-based optical Laser 
Communication Technology (LCT) data network (Germany awarded 
the first LCD contracts to Tesat-Spacecom GmbH at the end of 
the 1990s).  Infoterra's TSX-1 bus is equipped with a 
experimental LCT payload intended to demonstrate high 
bandwidth satellite-to-satellite optical communications.  In 
February 2008, the LCT aboard TSX-1 and NFIRE (a U.S. 
experimental satellite) successfully exchanged data covering 
a distance of more than 5000 km without any errors, at a 
bandwidth of 5.5 Gbit/s (a data equivalence to roughly 400 
DVDs per hour).  The next step will be to relay TSX-1 data 
via LCT from a geosynchronous relay (GEO-Relay) satellite to 
a ground station.  The first GEO-relay satellite is scheduled 
to launch in 2012. 
 
DIGITAL ELEVATION MEASUREMENTS - UNPRECEDENTED ACCURACY 
--------------------------------------------- ---------- 
¶7.  (SBU) - Between September and December of 2009, Infoterra 
in a PPP cooperation with DLR will launch TanDEM-X, a nearly 
identical twin of TSX-1 with a three-year interferrometry 
mission to acquire high quality Digital Elevation Models 
(DEM) of the entire Earth.  TanDEM-X will operate in 
conjunction with TSX-1 to form a tandem constellation, 
separated by only 200 m.  DLR's stated goal with this program 
is to acquire HRTI-3 level data with the following parameters: 
 
Spatial Resolution: 12 m X 12 m 
Absolute Horizontal Accuracy:  < 10 m 
Absolute Vertical Accuracy:  < 5 m 
Relative Vertical Accuracy: < 0.8 m 
 
This accuracy, if achievable, would likely represent the 
highest fidelity global DEM data available and would likely 
be of interest to U.S. defense customers. 
 
INFOTERRA SEES OPPORTUNITY KNOCKING WITH USG CUSTOMERS 
--------------------------------------------- --------- 
¶8.  (SBU) Thus far, foreign satellite data providers have 
been unable to break into the U.S. defense market, but an 
unclassified July 2008 USAF Space Radar Acquisition Decision 
Memorandum (ADM) calling for potential use of international 
entities to fill future Warfighter needs may change this. 
Specifically, the July ADM calls for action to "Quantify the 
performance, capability, and utility of the near-term 
available sources of radar data from commercial and 
international space systems."  In response to this, Herrmann 
commented that Infoterra is prepared to sell data directly to 
the USG to fill this need and would even be prepared to offer 
a complete spacecraft capability, including ownership of the 
data.  It is believed that Infoterra has already submitted a 
proposal in response to this ADM. 
 
GERMANY TO HOST SEMINAR IN WDC ON GERMAN DATA SECURITY LAW 
--------------------------------------------- ------------- 
¶9.  (SBU) On November 24 at the German Embassy in Washington 
DC, the German government, in coordination with DLR, 
Infoterra GmbH, and RapidEye AG will host a seminar to 
discuss scientific, operational, and legal aspects of 
Germany's Act on Satellite Data Security law.  Clearly, the 
implications at this seminar will be centered on future USG 
procurement of German sources space-based imagery and the 
role German export control restrictions will play. 
 
COMMENT 
------- 
¶10.  (SBU) Infoterra is clearly advancing its SAR technology 
at a rapid pace and their technical cooperation with DLR has 
certainty paid dividends fostering this advancement.  As 
Infoterra's economic position improves, so does its ability 
to embark on projects independently without obligations to 
the German government.  Given the U.S. need for alternative 
sources for space-based radar data detailed in the USAF Space 
Radar ADM and Infoterra's emergence as a world leader in SAR 
technology,  Infoterra believes it is well-positioned to 
break into the U.S. defense market. 
TIMKEN JR