The FESTER field trial

Alexander M. J. van Eijk; Willie H. Gunter; Faith J. February; Benita Maritz; George Vrahimis; Mokete S. Koago; Carl Wainman; Christian Eisele; Dirk Seiffer; Erik Sucher; Karin Stein; Miranda van Iersel; Leo H. Cohen; Sven A. Van Binsbergen; H. J. M. (Eric) Heemskerk; A. Sternberg; H. Schulte; Arthur D. van Rheenen; Erik Brenthagen; Jan B. Thomassen; D. Griffith

doi:10.1117/12.2240642

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19 September 2016 The FESTER field trial

Alexander M. J. van Eijk, Willie H. Gunter, Faith J. February, Benita Maritz, George Vrahimis, Mokete S. Koago, Carl Wainman, Christian Eisele, Dirk Seiffer, Erik Sucher, Karin Stein, Miranda van Iersel, Leo H. Cohen, Sven A. Van Binsbergen, H. J. M. (Eric) Heemskerk, A. Sternberg, H. Schulte, Arthur D. van Rheenen, Erik Brenthagen, Jan B. Thomassen, D. Griffith

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Proceedings Volume 9979, Laser Communication and Propagation through the Atmosphere and Oceans V; 99790Q (2016) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2240642
Event: SPIE Optical Engineering + Applications, 2016, San Diego, California, United States

Abstract

An overview is given of the First European – South African Transmission ExpeRiment (FESTER), which took place in South Africa, over the False Bay area, centered around Simon’s Town. The experiment lasted from April 2015 through February 2016 and involved continuous observations as well as periodic observations that took place during four Intensive Observation Periods (IOPs) of 2 weeks each, which were spread over the year. The continuous observations aimed at a characterization of the electro-optical propagation environment, and included standard meteorology, aerosol, refraction and turbulence measurements. The periodic observations aimed at assessing the performance of electro-optical sensors in VIS / SWIR / MWIR and LWIR wavebands by following a boat sailing outbound and inbound tracks. In addition, dynamic aspects of electro-optical signatures, i.e., the changes induced by variations in the environment and/or target orientation, were studied. The present paper provides an overview of the trial, and presents a few first results.

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Alexander M. J. van Eijk, Willie H. Gunter, Faith J. February, Benita Maritz, George Vrahimis, Mokete S. Koago, Carl Wainman, Christian Eisele, Dirk Seiffer, Erik Sucher, Karin Stein, Miranda van Iersel, Leo H. Cohen, Sven A. Van Binsbergen, H. J. M. (Eric) Heemskerk, A. Sternberg, H. Schulte, Arthur D. van Rheenen, Erik Brenthagen, Jan B. Thomassen, and D. Griffith "The FESTER field trial", Proc. SPIE 9979, Laser Communication and Propagation through the Atmosphere and Oceans V, 99790Q (19 September 2016); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2240642

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