Shuttle Radar Mission Data Explained

Overview

For radio planners wanting to reuse cartographic data, SRTM is the cost-effective alternative to Ordnance Survey data since it carries no royalties and can be used as required - all for a simple, one-off cost.

SRTM Cartographic Data

Using the data supplied by NASA's Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) ATDI is now able to supply digital terrain models of any region of the world with greater resolution than available before from public sources.

In 2000, the American space shuttle performed a ten-day SRTM flight, during which a woldwide topographic survey was performed using the interferometric radar technique.  The data obtained during this survey (which covered about 80% of the surface of the planet with a resolution of around 1 arc second), has now been made available by NASA with a planimetric resolution of 3 arc seconds.

The SRTM data offers a level of accuracy at least equal to traditional sources but also its technical specifications are clear and consistent across the whole planet, which represents a real first in the domain of medium resolution cartography.

ATDI is now able to take the SRTM data and, using its powerful ICS Map Server software, apply the relevant treatments to process the raw data for use in radio modelling (tiling, geoconversion, addition of coastline, etc) and thus provide a complete digital terrain model (DTM) of regions in the world between latitudes 60 degrees North to 56 degrees South, with minimal delivery delays and reduced costs.  When converted, the DTM has a planimetric resolution of 90 metres at the latitude of the area of interest.  The altimetric resolution is 16 metres.

For more information contact Peter Paul on +44 (0)1293 522052 or email peter.paul@atdi.co.uk.