radar - Reading palsar k&c 50 data in GDAL or other open source application

I posted this inquiry in the grass-user list.

JAXA is providing free access to PALSAR 50m Orthorectified K & C Mosaic. According to the website, data are provided in:

Data files (Raw format) and image files (PNG format)

However, I can't get GDAL to access the data (Raw format). I've tested other sample PALSAR data and GDAL can easily access them using the PALSAR driver

I'm looking for open source apps that can read and export this data to the more common raster formats like geotiff, etc.

The header file is described in this pdf: http://www.eorc.jaxa.jp/ALOS/en/kc_mosaic/map/PALSAR_MSC_dsc.pdf

UPDATE: I found a non-foss application that can directly read the kc_mosaic format. It is called MapReady developed by the Alaska Satellite Facility. It can convert to various image format including geotiff.

Another tool is the Next ESA SAR Toolbox (NEST). However testing with NEST4C-1.1, the data format is not recognized.

Answer

Good old GRASS GIS' r.in.bin easily reads the data. It requires various parameters such as the extent (NSEW), number of rows and columns, and the number of bytes per cell. All these information are in the provided .hdr text file.