The German radar satellite TerraSAR-X has been launched successfully. A Dnepr launcher carried the satellite into space from Baikonur ... all » cosmodrome, Kazakhstan, at 04:14 h GMT (08:14 h local time). Fifteen minutes after lift-off the spacecraft separated from the third stage of the launcher. At 04:29 the first signals from TerraSAR-X were received via the Malindi Ground Station (Kenya). Orbiting the Earth at an altitude of approximately 514 kilometres, the satellite will use a radar beam to scan the planet's surface -- regardless of weather conditions, cloud cover or daylight -- and deliver fast and reliable data for a wide range of applications, producing a completely new range of options for commercial, public and scientific users. TerraSAR-X is the first national remote sensing satellite to be realised within the scope of a Public Private Partnership (PPP): Astrium developed and built the spacecraft under contract to the German Aerospace Center DLR,...