The Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) is a research effort that obtained elevation data on a near-global scale to generate the most complete high-resolution digital topographic database of Earth to date. SRTM consisted of a specially modified radar system that flew onboard the Space ShuttleEndeavour during an 11-day mission in February of 2000. To acquire topographic (elevation) data, the SRTM payload was outfitted with two radar antennas. One antenna was located in the Shuttle's payload bay, the other on the end of a 60-meter (200-foot) mast that extended from the payload pay once the Shuttle was in space. This long range radar antenna (approximately 40m (130ft) in diameter) rotates on a track to observe activities near the horizon. ... The Space Shuttle Columbia seconds after engine ignition, 1981 (NASA). ... Shuttle Orbiter Endeavour (NASA Orbiter Vehicle Designation: OV-105) is the fifth and final operational NASA space shuttle to be built. ... This article is about the year 2000. ... Surface of the Earth Topography, a term in geography, has come to refer to the lay of the land, or the physiogeographic characteristics of land in terms of elevation, slope, and orientation. ...
The Shuttle Radar Topography Mission is an international project spearheaded by the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).
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In the SRTM mission, the main antenna onboard the space shuttle collected one data set and the other data set was collected by the outboard antenna located at the end of the 60 meter (200 foot) mast.
For SRTM, the main antenna located in the payload bay of the space shuttle illuminated a portion of the surface of the Earth.
Although the intended goal was a bit larger surface area of the world, the SRTM has successfully collected data over most of the land surfaces that lay between 60 degrees north latitude and 54 degrees south latitude.
SRTM elevation data matches the 30-meter (98-foot) resolution of most Landsat images and will substantially help in analyzing the large and growing Landsat image archive.
SRTM used the same radar instrument that comprised the Spaceborne Imaging Radar-C/X-Band Synthetic Aperture Radar (SIR-C/X-SAR) that flew twice on the Space Shuttle Endeavour in 1994.
SRTM was designed to collect 3-D measurements of the Earth’s surface.
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