Day/Night Band Imager for a CubeSat

Eric J. Stanton; Jeffery J. Puschell

doi:10.1117/12.942461

23 October 2012 Day/night band imager for a CubeSat

Proceedings Volume 8516, Remote Sensing System Engineering IV; 85160C (2012) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.942461
Event: SPIE Optical Engineering + Applications, 2012, San Diego, California, United States

Abstract

Day/Night Band (DNB) earth sensing and meteorological systems like the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP) Operational Line Scanner (OLS) provide visible wavelength imagery 24 hours a day that is used primarily for cloud imaging in support of weather forecasting. This paper describes a compact pushbroom imager that meets low light imaging requirements for DMSP OLS and the NOAA/NASA Joint Polar Satellite System (JPSS) as documented in the Integrated Operational Requirements Document (IORD). The presentation describes the imager design, including system level concepts of operation for data collection, radiometric and spatial calibration, and data transmission to Earth. This small, lightweight imager complies with the low mass, low power CubeSat standard, and could be built into a variety of different satellites, for example, as a payload on Iridium NEXT, DMSP, or the International Space Station (ISS). Depending on power generation capabilities, the imager could be implemented as a free flyer in formation with other CubeSats or as a free flyer operating on its own. The imager's volume will fill about half of a 3U CubeSat; roughly measuring 170x80x80 mm3 and having mass less than 1.5 kg. Considering an estimated 3U CubeSat average core avionic power usage of 0.8W and total orbit average power of 4W, the available average power for the payload imager is 3.2W.

Citation Download Citation

Eric J. Stanton and Jeffery J. Puschell "Day/night band imager for a CubeSat", Proc. SPIE 8516, Remote Sensing System Engineering IV, 85160C (23 October 2012); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.942461

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