description SRTM Overview
The Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) was an international project led by the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) and NASA. Flown aboard the Space Shuttle Endeavour in February 2000, it utilized a synthetic aperture radar system to acquire land elevation data. The mission produced a near-global digital elevation model (DEM) covering latitudes between 60 degrees north and 56 degrees south. This dataset has become a foundational resource for geographers, earth scientists, and mapping applications worldwide.
help SRTM FAQ
What space shuttle mission carried the SRTM into orbit?
The Shuttle Radar Topography Mission was launched aboard the Space Shuttle Endeavour during the STS-99 mission in February 2000. It used interferometric synthetic aperture radar to capture the Earth's topography.
What resolution is the global SRTM digital elevation data available in?
The global digital elevation model produced by SRTM is publicly available at a 1-arc-second resolution, which equates to roughly 30 meters. Previously, the highest resolution available globally was 3-arc-seconds (90 meters) until the 30-meter data was fully released in 2014.
Which government organizations collaborated to create the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission?
The SRTM was a joint collaborative effort between NASA and the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA). The German and Italian space agencies also participated by contributing the X-band synthetic aperture radar hardware.
What latitudes does the SRTM elevation dataset actually cover?
Because of the orbital inclination of the Space Shuttle Endeavour, the SRTM data covers over 80% of the globe, specifically from 56 degrees south to 60 degrees north latitude. It does not provide topographic data for the extreme polar regions like Antarctica.
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