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The Digital Imaging and Remote Sensing (DIRS) Image Generation (DIRSIG) model has been significantly upgraded to support the Landsat Data Continuity Mission (LDCM). The DIRSIG improvements simulate the LDCM Thermal Infrared Sensor (TIRS) and the Operational Land Imager (OLI) sensor’s characteristics in support of the NASA and USGS image quality assessment programs. These improvements allow for simulation of spacecraft orbits using standard NORAD two line element (TLE) orbital descriptors. Sensor improvements include individual detector element lines of site, relative spectral response (RSR), bias, gain, non-linear response, and noise. Using DIRSIG’s existing source-targetsensor radiative transfer, atmospheric propagation, scene simulation, and thermal models, simulated Landsat 8 imagery was generated. These tools were developed to enable assessment of design trades during instrument development and build, and evaluation of expected performance during instrument test, as test data is used to refine the modeled instrument performance. Current efforts are aimed at refining predicted performance models, simulating on-orbit calibration maneuvers and generation of data to test data processing and analysis algorithms. Initial studies are aimed at assessing the impact of RSR variation on banding and striping in both OLI and TIRS and the use of side slither (90° Yaw) as a possible method to characterize and potentially compensate for non-linearity effects. Ongoing work aimed at simulating targets to support image based registration of the OLI and TIRS instruments is also presented. In general, the use of advanced simulation and modeling tools to support instrument design trades, image quality prediction, on-orbit image quality assessment and operational trades is reviewed. The overall effort is designed to provide simulated imagery incorporating all aspects of the instrument acquisition physics and scene phenomenology in support of instrument developers, operators, and Earth observation scientists.
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