German Remote Sensing Data Center

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DLR is Germany´s national research center for aeronautics and space. Its extensive research and development work is integrated into national and international cooperative ventures. As Germany´s space agency, DLR has been given responsibility for the forward planning and the implementation of the German space program by the German federal government as well as for the international representation of German interests.
Approximately 5600 people work for DLR; the center has 28 institutes and facilities at 13 locations in Germany: Berlin, Bonn, Braunschweig, Bremen, Cologne (headquarters), Goettingen, Hamburg, Lampoldshausen, Neustrelitz, Oberpfaffenhofen, Stuttgart, Trauen and Weilheim. DLR also has offices in Brussels, Paris and Washington, D.C.

The German Remote Sensing Data Center (DFD) is an institute of the German Aerospace Center. Together with the Remote Sensing Technology Institute, it comprises DLR’s Applied Remote Sensing Cluster, in which many of DLR’s activities related to earth observation with satellites and aircraft are concentrated.
The German Remote Sensing Data Center is concerned with the reception, processing, archiving, distribution and utilization of earth observation data. In addition to applied research objectives, DFD is expert in developing and assuring the operational performance of information technology systems. Its technical expertise is concentrated in the following areas:

• Reception of data from earth observation satellites. For this purpose DFD operates both stationary antenna facilities in Germany and transportable receiving systems able to record data from remote regions worldwide;

• Long-term data archiving in the National Remote Sensing Data Library. Via the Internet this data can be accessed, ordered, and in some cases directly downloaded;


• Development of innovative methods, products and services for gaining practical information from remote sensing data for environmental protection and planning, sustainable development, climate and atmospheric research, civil security, and rapid mapping for natural disasters and in the context of humanitarian aid activities

• Encouraging the utilization of data in cooperation with partners in science, education, government and industry.

As a DLR research institution, DFD is firmly embedded in European and international space infrastructures. It acts on behalf of the European Space Agency (ESA) as a data and processing center for European and international earth observation missions. It is also a partner of NASA in other missions. DFD operates dedicated user services, such as the Center for Satellite Based Crisis Information (ZKI), the GeoVisualization Center (GeoVIS), the World Data Center for Remote Sensing of the Atmosphere (WDC-RSAT), and jointly with the Remote Sensing Technology Institute an Optical Airborne Remote Sensing and Calibration Facility.