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Shuttle Radar Topography Mission Updates

Global Data Coverage (Image Source: NASA)

Check out our SRTM Image Gallery

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News & Updates:

SRTM Data Availability Update - Under an agreement with NASA and NIMA, USGS is now distributing elevation data from the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM). Preliminary 1-arc second (30 meter) SRTM data of the continental United States, southern Alaska, and Puerto Rico can now be obtained via electronic download from the USGS Seamless Data Distribution System-Enhanced. (01/08/03)

Space Shuttle Mission Data Results in Vast Improvement - Solid Terrain Modeling (STM), manufacturer of the world's most accurate 3-D solid terrain models, has completed a new model for National Geographic's Explorers Hall museum in Washington, D.C. (11/21/02)

Interested in using SRTM Data? - you may be interested in a nifty resource called DG Terrain Viewer. According to the author, David Gil (a student from Lisbon, Portugal), "this program allow users to virtually visit and study real Landscapes obtained from the recent mapping mission made by JPL & NASA Space Shuttle Topography Mission(SRTM)". The 1.4 MB download includes the SRTM 3arcseg TO drc Converter. (08/26/02)

Sighting Opportunities for:

Space Shuttle

International Space Station

SpatialNews SRTM Exclusives

• Space Radar Tape Duplication Finished 5/15/00
  
• From the Maldeives Islands to Flinders Australia, or How to Map the World in Nine Days Six Hours and 23 Minutes 2/22/00
  
• NASA Managers Decide to Give Nine Hours of Additional Mapping to Shuttle Mission 2/19/00
  
• A Sneak Peek at the World's First Digital 3D Map 2/15/00
  
• Shuttle Begins Its Ambitious Map of the World 2/12/00

SRTM News Articles

• JPL releases three new perspective views of the San Andreas and Garlock Faults in Southern California 4/28/00
  
• SRTM C-Band Radar Data Processing Steps and Timeline 4/14/00
  
• Memorandum of Understanding for information about how the SRTM data will be archived and made available for use 4/14/00
  
• Tops in Topography Available Online 3/25/00
  
• Historic Shuttle Mission Uses KaZaK Precision Pultrusions 3/15/00
  
• NASA/JSC Special Event Features STS-99 Astronauts 3/14/00
  
• We've gathered some details to help explain about data quality and other data issues
  
• Powerful SGI Computers Help Generate 3D Map Of Earth 2/17/00
  

SRTM Favorites!

View SRTM Images in the Gallery

View Breaking Shuttle News Updates And The Latest Status Report

View The Latest SRTM Data Coverage Map

View Facts About The Mission

Track Endeavour's Orbit - Real Time

SpatialNews.com is following the progress of Endeavour's SRTM mission of mapping the Earth. We have an exclusive look at the mission after the boom's deployed and a first peek at what the worldwide map will look like. Features are provided by a full-time aerospace writer - with over 15 years of experience - covering the space shuttle and other aspects of the space program. Be sure to keep checking in for the latest developments.

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STS-99 Mission Crew (Source: NASA)

About The SRTM Mission
The Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) is an ambitions effort of NASA to obtain the most complete, near global, high resolution database of the Earth's topography. The mission will be accomplished by a 6 member crew aboard STS-99 Shuttle Endeavour. The mission is sponsored by NIMA, NASA, The German Aerospace Center (DLR), and The Italian Space Agency (ASI), and managed by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL)

Data will be collected covering approximately 80% of the Earth's land mass. This will take roughly 80 hours to obtain and will result in some 9.8 Terabytes of data - or 15,000 CDs.

SRTM Coverage

Data Product Applications
Scientific applications: Geology, geophysics, earthquake research, volcano monitoring, Hydrologic modelling, Co-registration of remotely-acquired image data

Civilian applications: Enhanced Ground Proximity Warning Systems for aircraft, Civil engineering, land use planning, Line of sight determination for communications (e.g. cell phones)

Military applications: Flight simulators, Logistical planning, trafficability, Missile and weapons guidance systems Battlefield management, tactics.

To help you get familiar with the STS-99 space shuttle mission, we've gathered a number of documents from NASA that will explain the mission to you in detail.

• Mission countdown
  
• STS-99 - Mission Overview
  
• STS-99 - Payload: Data Recording, Processing, and Products
  
• STS-99 - Payload: EarthKAM
  
• STS-99 - Payload Overview, Applications, and Benefits
  
• STS-99 - SRTM Hardware--the Antenna
  
• STS-99 - SRTM Hardware--the Mast
  
• STS-99 - Mission Objectives Overview

Other SRTM News Features

Article "Endeavour Maps the World in Three Dimensions" - (04/01/00)
High- resolution radar images from space shuttle mission will help Cornell unlock secrets of Andes geology - (02/11/00)
Space Shuttle Images of Earth to Reside On 3Com e-Network (02/11/00)
Shuttle mission launch is delayed - (02/01/00)
So Why Use Radar? - Description of radar applications
Space.com to cover shuttle liftoff - Web Portal to feature breaking news

Related WebLinks

SRTM Website
Countdown Status
NASA for Kids
EarthKam Website
Space.About.com

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