Jeffery J. Puschell

Japanese Advanced Meteorological Imager: a next generation GEO imager for MTSAT-1R

The Japanese Advanced Meteorological Imager (JAMI) introduces next generation technology geosynchronous earth orbit (GEO) imagers for operational meteorological remote sensing. Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing is building JAMI for Space Systems/Loral as the imager subsystem for Japans MTSAT-1R system. JAMI represents the best balance between heritage and newer space-qualified technology and meets all Japan Ministry of Transport MTSAT requirements from beginning to end of life with considerable margin, using a simple, inherently low risk design. The advanced technology built into this imager benefits operational meteorological imaging for Japan, East Asia and Australia by enabling significantly better radiometric sensitivity and absolute accuracy, higher spatial resolution and faster full disk coverage times than available from current GEO imagers. JAMI is on schedule for an on time or early delivery to Space Systems/Loral.

Hyperspectral imagers for current and future missions

The future of remote sensing includes a significant role for hyperspectral imaging. Hyperspectral imaging can provide the data needed to derive detailed information on composition, biomass health, military status and other properties of Earths surface and atmosphere. The biggest challenges currently associated with hyperspectral imaging are related to handling high data rates in timely and efficient ways. This paper introduces hyperspectral imaging, discusses systems that have been built and tested and describes future system concepts.

Design and characterization of the Japanese Advanced Meteorological Imager (JAMI)

The Japanese Advanced Meteorological Imager (JAMI) was developed by Raytheon and delivered to Space Systems/Loral as the Imager Subsystem for the Japanese MTSAT-1R system. Detailed characterization tests show JAMI meets all MTSAT-1R requirements with margin. JAMI introduces the next generation of operational weather imagers in geosynchronous Earth orbit (GEO) and provides much improved spatial sampling, radiometric sensitivity, Earth coverage and 24-hour observation capability compared with current GEO imagers.

Fabry-Perot interferometer for geostationary-based observations of tropospheric ozone

Monitoring tropospheric chemistry from space is the next frontier for advancing present-day remote sensing capabilities to meet future high-priority atmospheric science measurement needs. Paramount to these measurement requirements is that for tropospheric ozone, one of the most important gas-phase trace constituents in the lower atmosphere. Such space-based observations of tropospheric trace species are challenged by the need for sufficient horizontal resolution to identify constituent spatial distribution inhomogeneities (that result from non-uniform sources/sinks and atmospheric transport) and the need for adequate temporal resolution to resolve daytime and diurnal variations. Both of these requirements can be fulfilled from a geostationary Earth orbit (GEO) measurement configuration. An advanced atmospheric remote sensing concept for the measurement of tropospheric ozone from a GEO-based platform is presented. The concept is centered about an imaging Fabry-Perot interferometer (FPI) observing a narrow spectral interval within the strong 9.6 micron ozone infrared band with a spectral resolution approximately 0.07 cm-1. This concept could also simplify other atmospheric chemistry sensor designs (which typically require spectral resolutions in the range of 0.01 - 0.1 cm-1), since such an FPI approach could be implemented for those spectral bands requiring the highest spectral resolution and thus simplify overall design complexity.

GWIS: geostationary wedge-filter imager-sounder

Imaging spectrometry from geostationary earth orbit (GEO) can provide the frequently-refreshed detailed information on physical properties of earths atmosphere and surface needed to enable critical new science missions and ultimately improve operational weather forecasting. We describe and evaluate a concept for imaging spectrometry from GEO that addresses both traditional imaging and sounding applications. Our Geostationary Wedge-filter Imager-Sounder (GWIS) uses spatially variable wedge filter spectrometers to collect earth radiance with approximately 2 km resolution over a 710 - 2900 cm-1 (3.45 - 14.0 micrometer) spectral range at 1% spectral resolution. The resulting instrument, based on LWIR and MWIR wedge spectrometer technology recently developed by Raytheon, is a compact, rugged imager-sounder with better sensitivity, spectral resolution, spatial resolution and full disk coverage time than the current multispectral GOES imager. GWIS sounding performance was simulated by evaluating retrieval performance with respect to a global database of 119,694 cloud-free samples using a stepwise regression algorithm. Retrieved atmospheric parameters included surface air temperature, surface skin temperature, surface water vapor, total precipitable water vapor, total ozone and vertical profiles of temperature and water vapor. In all cases, GWIS outperformed the current GOES sounder. Furthermore, GWIS RMS error performance approached that of advanced higher spectral resolution sounders (e.g., 1.2 K/1 km for GWIS versus 1 K/1 km for advanced sounders). Due to its higher spatial resolution and more complete spatial coverage, GWIS achieves this high quality cloud free sounding performance roughly two times more frequently than high spectral resolution advanced sounders. Combining this new technology with proven wedge spectrometer approaches for visible and near-infrared wavelengths would provide imaging- sounding data from GEO with unprecedented detail and fidelity for a wide range of weather, climate, land use, ocean color and other earth science studies.

Day/night band imager for a CubeSat

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 thatnis 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 compliesnwith 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 imagers 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.

Quantifying effects of lossy data compression on animation from geosynchronous imagers

Video quality metrics can be used to optimize design of advanced geosynchronous remote sensors by providing a basis for comparing information content of video at different data rates for given video sequences and compression methods and to optimize operation of future remote sensing systems by testing and monitoring quality of data collected by these systems. This paper examines and compares video quality metrics in three broad categories: distortion-based metrics that provide objective performance measures, perception-based metrics that attempt to quantify differences in images that are visible to the human visual system and utility-based metrics that address video quality for specific applications. Candidate figures of merit for describing effects of data compression on quality of video sequences or animation derived from geosynchronous imagers are presented along with recommendations for future work.

Lossy data compression for next-generation imager data

In the next decade, the volume of data produced by satellite-based remote sensing instruments will increase dramatically. The success of the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) instruments validates the decisions of government agencies to seek higher spectral and spatial resolution in the next generation of polar-orbiting and geosynchronous imagers, but transmitting the resulting high amounts of data to the Earth within constraints of available bandwidth will require new approaches to onboard data compression. In particular, the limitations of bandwidth will force greater use of lossy data compression, particularly in spectral channels with high spatial resolution, such as the reflective channels proposed for the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES) Advanced Baseline Imager (ABI), which will fly on GOES-R in 2012. In this study, we present analyses of the trade between two candidate lossy data compression algorithms, JPEG and JPEG-2000, for the encoding of reflective channel data from the ABI. These analyses include application to two types of real data: MODIS imagery and MODIS Airborne Simulator (MAS) imagery. The MODIS images are processed directly; the 50-m resolution MAS images are first run through a basic simulation of ABI spatial and radiometric response. In both cases, spectral channels corresponding to those that will be lossily compressed on ABI are available to support the performance trades between JPEG and JPEG-2000. The performance results are expressed in terms of peak signal to noise ratio (PSNR) and correlated noise, and they are placed in context with an assessment of the current technology readiness level (TRL) of the two standards.

A dual-etalon imaging Fabry-Perot interferometer for observing tropospheric ozone: airborne instrument design

Space-based observation of tropospheric trace species has been identified as a high-priority atmospheric science goal. In particular, global and regional measurements of lower atmosphere ozone concentrations are critical to both enhancing scientific understanding and to expanding capabilities for pollution monitoring. The interferometer addressed here will be a spatially imaging, spectrally tunable airborne sensor focused on making such important tropospheric ozone measurements, and is designed to be a risk-reduction and proof-of-concept test-bed for developing the corresponding orbiting instrument also based upon a dual etalon Fabry-Perot interferometer. We present herein details of the airborne instrument design and development process, including parameter specifications for the interferometer and other enabling subsystems, as well as plans for integration, test, and characterization in the laboratory.

Optimized imaging spectrometers for geostationary environmental satellite systems

The future of remote sensing includes a significant role for imaging spectrometers in operational environmental satellite systems. Optimizing an imaging spectrometer design for geostationary orbit requires detailed study and evaluation of available technology and design architectures versus performance requirements and possible resource limitations that are unique to geostationary orbit operation. This paper summarizes a trade study of two candidate geostationary imaging spectrometer architectures that is constrained by performance requirements, cost and technical risk factors.