Germany Completes Radar Constellation
Jul 22, 2008
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By Michael A. Taverna
Germany has orbited the fifth and final satellite in its SARLupe X-band satellite constellation, providing the German armed forces and Europe with its first full space-based radar imaging capability.
Like the four preceding spacecraft, the 1,700-pound satellite was orbited from the Plesetsk cosmodrome in northern Russia atop a Cosmos 3M launcher.
First contact between the spacecraft and the German Aerospace Center control facility in Oberpfaffenhofen, Germany, was established at 5:43 Central European Time on July 22, 1 hour 3 minutes after launch, and a preliminary check found all systems working nominally, according to prime contractor OHB-System.
The satellite will be handed over to the German forces in late August, when the system will reahttp://151.108.55.35/iw-cc/command/iw.group.formspub.save_valid_form Save Form EntrySavech full deployment status. The five SARLupe spacecraft occupy three orbital planes to provide coverage of the entire globe. The first SARLupe launch was in December 2006 (Aerospace DAILY, Dec. 22, 2006).
Germany will be able to fuse the radar imagery from SARLupe with optical images from France's Helios II system under a data sharing agreement between the two countries that went into effect in January, providing timely all-weather day/night IMINT support to troops in overseas theaters, notably in Afghanistan.
Germany Completes Radar Constellation | AVIATION WEEK
You gents understand what this means?
With five radarsats up, the D-landers can find and track your large surface ships anywhere on the planet. Hope they don't share info with not-so-nice people.