RapidEye constellation relative radiometric accuracy measurement using lunar images

Joe Steyn; George Tyc; Keith Beckett; Yoshi Hashida

doi:10.1117/12.829728

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22 September 2009 RapidEye constellation relative radiometric accuracy measurement using lunar images

Joe Steyn, George Tyc, Keith Beckett, Yoshi Hashida

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Proceedings Volume 7474, Sensors, Systems, and Next-Generation Satellites XIII; 74740Y (2009) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.829728
Event: SPIE Remote Sensing, 2009, Berlin, Germany

Abstract

The RapidEye constellation includes five identical satellites in Low Earth Orbit (LEO). Each satellite has a 5-band (blue, green, red, red-edge and near infrared (NIR)) multispectral imager at 6.5m GSD. A three-axes attitude control system allows pointing the imager of each satellite at the Moon during lunations. It is therefore possible to image the Moon from near identical viewing geometry within a span of 80 minutes with each one of the imagers. Comparing the radiometrically corrected images obtained from each band and each satellite allows a near instantaneous relative radiometric accuracy measurement and determination of relative gain changes between the five imagers. A more traditional terrestrial vicarious radiometric calibration program has also been completed by MDA on RapidEye. The two components of this program provide for spatial radiometric calibration ensuring that detector-to-detector response remains flat, while a temporal radiometric calibration approach has accumulated images of specific dry dessert calibration sites. These images are used to measure the constellation relative radiometric response and make on-ground gain and offset adjustments in order to maintain the relative accuracy of the constellation within ±2.5%. A quantitative comparison between the gain changes measured by the lunar method and the terrestrial temporal radiometric calibration method is performed and will be presented.

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Joe Steyn, George Tyc, Keith Beckett, and Yoshi Hashida "RapidEye constellation relative radiometric accuracy measurement using lunar images", Proc. SPIE 7474, Sensors, Systems, and Next-Generation Satellites XIII, 74740Y (22 September 2009); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.829728

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