Proceedings Article | 12 December 2001
Proc. SPIE. 4540, Sensors, Systems, and Next-Generation Satellites V
KEYWORDS: Microbolometers, Infrared cameras, Thermography, Infrared sensors, Electronics, Sensors, Satellites, Head, Signal detection, Prototyping
MEMS technology now makes possible to produce active microdevices combining detection, signal processing, and data storage with accuracy and compactness. In view of their characteristics, it can be expected that such microsensors will be used extensively in space applications dedicated to micro and nano satellites. The advanced architecture of a MicroInfraRedEarthSensor generic system based on a Vox microbolometer array associated with optics and electronics 'on the shelves' for signal processing and depointing computation, used to control the attitude of satellites in low earth orbits, has been completely developed, through the design of a virtual prototype combined with a breadboard implementation of an IR camera (called MST, and has been developed by EADS-SODERN, in the frame of IASI project). The correlation of the virtual prototyping approach, has allowed to build one complete optical head part of the instrument with efficient and optimized parameters where the performances are consistent with the main mission specifications (pointing accuracy <EQ 0.1 degree(s), measurement frequency > 10 Hz, aperture angle: > 36 degree(s), volume <EQ 250cm3, self contained measurement system able to operate self-calibration, should operate 24 hours a day). In addition, this standard and compactness electronics is very generic, which means that the system can be adapted to any kind of microbolometer, for LEO and also GEO (by the way of a new software) ADCS control and be used even in other fields of remote sensing.
