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NASA NTRS2008

Applications of a Forward-Looking Interferometer for the On-board Detection of Aviation Weather Hazards

The Forward-Looking Interferometer (FLI) is a new instrument concept for obtaining measurements of potential weather hazards to alert flight crews. The FLI concept is based on high-resolution Infrared (IR) Fourier Transform Spectrometry (FTS) technologies that have been developed for satellite remote sensing, and which have also been applied to the detection of aerosols and gases for other purposes. It is being evaluated for multiple hazards including clear air turbulence (CAT), volcanic ash, wake vortices, low slant range visibility, dry wind shear, and icing, during all phases of flight. Previous sensitivity and characterization studies addressed the phenomenology that supports detection and mitigation by the FLI. Techniques for determining the range, and hence warning time, were demonstrated for several of the hazards, and a table of research instrument parameters was developed for investigating all of the hazards discussed above. This work supports the feasibility of detecting multiple hazards with an FLI multi-hazard airborne sensor, and for producing enhanced IR images in reduced visibility conditions; however, further research must be performed to develop a means to estimate the intensities of the hazards posed to an aircraft and to develop robust algorithms to relate sensor measurables to hazard levels. In addition, validation tests need to be performed with a prototype system.

West, Leanne↗

NASA NTRS2011

Development of Tools and Techniques for Processing STORRM Flight Data

While at JSC for the summer of 2011, I was assigned to work on the sensor test for Orion relative-navigation risk mitigation (STORRM) development test objective (DTO). The STORRM DTO was flown on-board Endeavor during STS-134. The objective of the STORRM DTO is to test the visual navigation system (VNS), which will be used as the primary relative navigation sensor for the Orion spacecraft. The VNS is a flash lidar system intended to provide both line of sight and range information during rendezvous and proximity operations. The STORRM DTO also serves as a testbed for the high-resolution docking camera. This docking camera will be used to provide piloting cues for the crew during proximity operations. These instruments were mounted next to the trajectory control sensor (TCS) in Endeavour s payload bay. My principle objective for the summer was to generate a best estimated trajectory (BET) for Endeavor using the flight data collected by the VNS during rendezvous and the unprecedented re-rendezvous with the ISS. I processed the raw images from the VNS to produce range and bearing measurements. I then aggregated these measurements and extracted the measurements corresponding to individual reflectors. I combined the information contained in these measurements with data from the Endeavour's inertial sensors using Kalman smoothing techniques to ultimately produce a BET. This work culminated with a final presentation of the result to division management. Development of this tool required that traditional linear smoothing techniques be modified in a novel fashion to permit for the inclusion of non-linear measurements. This internship has greatly helped me further my career by providing exposure to real engineering projects. I also have benefited immensely from the mentorship of the engineers working on these projects. Many of the lessons I learned and experiences I had are of particular value because then can only be found in a place like JSC.

Robinson, Shane↗

NASA NTRS2006

UWB Tracking System Design for Lunar/Mars Exploration

This paper describes a design effort for a prototype ultra-wideband (UWB) tracking system that is currently under development at NASA Johnson Space Center (JSC). The system is being studied for use in tracking of lunar/Mars rovers during early exploration missions when satellite navigation systems are not available. The UWB technology is exploited to implement the tracking system due to its properties such as high data rate, fine time resolution, low power spectral density, and multipath immunity. A two-cluster prototype design using commercially available UWB products is proposed to implement the Angle Of Arrival (AOA) tracking methodology in this research effort. An AOA technique using the Time Difference Of Arrival (TDOA) information is utilized for location estimation in the prototype system, not only to exploit the precise time resolution possible with UWB signals, but also to eliminate the need for synchronization between the transmitter and the receiver. After the UWB radio at each cluster is used to obtain the TDOA estimates from the UWB signal sent from the target, the TDOA data is converted to AOA data to find the angle of arrival, assuming this is a far field application. Since the distance between two clusters is known, the target position is computed by a simple triangulation. Simulations show that the average tracking error at a range of 610 meters is 2.7595 meters, less than 0.5% of the tracking range. Outdoor tests to track the SCOUT vehicle (The Science Crew Operations and Utility Testbed) near the Meteor Crater, Flagstaff, Arizona were performed on September 12-13, 2005. The tracking performance was obtained with less than 1% tracking error at ranges up to 2000 feet. No RF interference with on-board GPS, video, voice and telemetry systems was detected. Outdoor tests demonstrated the UWB tracking capability.

Ni, Jianjun↗

NASA NTRS1987

On-board processing satellite network architecture and control study

For satellites to remain a vital part of future national and international communications, system concepts that use their inherent advantages to the fullest must be created. Network architectures that take maximum advantage of satellites equipped with onboard processing are explored. Satellite generations must accommodate various services for which satellites constitute the preferred vehicle of delivery. Such services tend to be those that are widely dispersed and present thin to medium loads to the system. Typical systems considered are thin and medium route telephony, maritime, land and aeronautical radio, VSAT data, low bit rate video teleconferencing, and high bit rate broadcast of high definition video. Delivery of services by TDMA and FDMA multiplexing techniques and combinations of the two for individual and mixed service types are studied. The possibilities offered by onboard circuit switched and packet switched architectures are examined and the results strongly support a preference for the latter. A detailed design architecture encompassing the onboard packet switch and its control, the related demand assigned TDMA burst structures, and destination packet protocols for routing traffic are presented. Fundamental onboard hardware requirements comprising speed, memory size, chip count, and power are estimated. The study concludes with identification of key enabling technologies and identifies a plan to develop a POC model.

Campanella, S. Joseph↗

NASA NTRS1992

Sea ice-atmosphere interaction. Application of multispectral satellite data in polar surface energy flux estimates

Satellite data for the estimation of radiative and turbulent heat fluxes is becoming an increasingly important tool in large-scale studies of climate. One parameter needed in the estimation of these fluxes is surface temperature. To our knowledge, little effort has been directed to the retrieval of the sea ice surface temperature (IST) in the Arctic, an area where the first effects of a changing climate are expected to be seen. The reason is not one of methodology, but rather our limited knowledge of atmospheric temperature, humidity, and aerosol profiles, the microphysical properties of polar clouds, and the spectral characteristics of the wide variety of surface types found there. We have developed a means to correct for the atmospheric attenuation of satellite-measured clear sky brightness temperatures used in the retrieval of ice surface temperature from the split-window thermal channels of the advanced very high resolution radiometer (AVHRR) sensors on-board three of the NOAA series satellites. These corrections are specified for three different 'seasons' and as a function of satellite viewing angle, and are expected to be applicable to the perennial ice pack in the central Arctic Basin.

Steffen, Konrad↗

NASA NTRS1994

A model-based approach for detection of runways and other objects in image sequences acquired using an on-board camera

This research was initiated as a part of the Advanced Sensor and Imaging System Technology (ASSIST) program at NASA Langley Research Center. The primary goal of this research is the development of image analysis algorithms for the detection of runways and other objects using an on-board camera. Initial effort was concentrated on images acquired using a passive millimeter wave (PMMW) sensor. The images obtained using PMMW sensors under poor visibility conditions due to atmospheric fog are characterized by very low spatial resolution but good image contrast compared to those images obtained using sensors operating in the visible spectrum. Algorithms developed for analyzing these images using a model of the runway and other objects are described in Part 1 of this report. Experimental verification of these algorithms was limited to a sequence of images simulated from a single frame of PMMW image. Subsequent development and evaluation of algorithms was done using video image sequences. These images have better spatial and temporal resolution compared to PMMW images. Algorithms for reliable recognition of runways and accurate estimation of spatial position of stationary objects on the ground have been developed and evaluated using several image sequences. These algorithms are described in Part 2 of this report. A list of all publications resulting from this work is also included.

Kasturi, Rangachar↗

NASA NTRS2010

Altair Navigation During Trans-Lunar Cruise, Lunar Orbit, Descent and Landing

The Altair lunar lander navigation system is driven by a set of requirements that not only specify a need to land within 100 m of a designated spot on the Moon, but also be capable of a safe return to an orbiting Orion capsule in the event of loss of Earth ground support. These requirements lead to the need for a robust and capable on-board navigation system that works in conjunction with an Earth ground navigation system that uses primarily ground-based radiometric tracking. The resulting system relies heavily on combining a multiplicity of data types including navigation state updates from the ground based navigation system, passive optical imaging from a gimbaled camera, a stable inertial measurement unit, and a capable radar altimeter and velocimeter. The focus of this paper is on navigation performance during the trans-lunar cruise, lunar orbit, and descent/landing mission phases with the goal of characterizing knowledge and delivery errors to key mission events, bound the statistical delta V costs for executing the mission, as well as the determine the landing dispersions due to navigation. This study examines the nominal performance that can be obtained using the current best estimate of the vehicle, sensor, and environment models. Performance of the system under a variety sensor outages and parametric trades is also examined.

lunar lander↗

NASA NTRS1999

Extra dose due to extravehicular activity during the NASA4 mission measured by an on-board TLD system

A microprocessor-controlled on-board TLD system, 'Pille'96', was used during the NASA4 (1997) mission to monitor the cosmic radiation dose inside the Mir Space Station and to measure the extra dose to two astronauts in the course of their extravehicular activity (EVA). For the EVA dose measurements, CaSO4:Dy bulb dosemeters were located in specially designed pockets of the ORLAN spacesuits. During an EVA lasting 6 h, the dose ratio inside and outside Mir was measured. During the EVA, Mir crossed the South Atlantic Anomaly (SAA) three times. Taking into account the influence of these three crossings the mean EVA/internal dose rate ratio was 3.2. Internal dose mapping using CaSO4:Dy dosemeters gave mean dose rates ranging from 9.3 to 18.3 microGy h-1 at locations where the shielding effect was not the same. Evaluation results of the high temperature region of LiF dosemeters are given to estimate the mean LET.

NASA Experiment Number 9401704↗

NASA NTRS1994

Galileo mission planning for Low Gain Antenna based operations

The Galileo mission operations concept is undergoing substantial redesign, necessitated by the deployment failure of the High Gain Antenna, while the spacecraft is on its way to Jupiter. The new design applies state-of-the-art technology and processes to increase the telemetry rate available through the Low Gain Antenna and to increase the information density of the telemetry. This paper describes the mission planning process being developed as part of this redesign. Principal topics include a brief description of the new mission concept and anticipated science return (these have been covered more extensively in earlier papers), identification of key drivers on the mission planning process, a description of the process and its implementation schedule, a discussion of the application of automated mission planning tool to the process, and a status report on mission planning work to date. Galileo enhancements include extensive reprogramming of on-board computers and substantial hard ware and software upgrades for the Deep Space Network (DSN). The principal mode of operation will be onboard recording of science data followed by extended playback periods. A variety of techniques will be used to compress and edit the data both before recording and during playback. A highly-compressed real-time science data stream will also be important. The telemetry rate will be increased using advanced coding techniques and advanced receivers. Galileo mission planning for orbital operations now involves partitioning of several scarce resources. Particularly difficult are division of the telemetry among the many users (eleven instruments, radio science, engineering monitoring, and navigation) and allocation of space on the tape recorder at each of the ten satellite encounters. The planning process is complicated by uncertainty in forecast performance of the DSN modifications and the non-deterministic nature of the new data compression schemes. Key mission planning steps include quantifying resource or capabilities to be allocated, prioritizing science observations and estimating resource needs for each, working inter-and intra-orbit trades of these resources among the Project elements, and planning real-time science activity. The first major mission planning activity, a high level, orbit-by-orbit allocation of resources among science objectives, has already been completed; and results are illustrated in the paper. To make efficient use of limited resources, Galileo mission planning will rely on automated mission planning tools capable of dealing with interactions among time-varying downlink capability, real-time science and engineering data transmission, and playback of recorded data. A new generic mission planning tool is being adapted for this purpose.

Gershman, R.↗

NASA NTRS2000

Ion Transmission to the Focal Plane of the Chandra X-Ray Observatory

The severe degradation in spectrometric performance observed by the AXAF CCD Imaging Spectrometer (ACIS) instrument on-board the Chandra X-ray Observatory (CXO) was associated with a sharp increase in charge transfer inefficiency combined with relatively constant dark current. It was also observed that damage occurred only during passage through the earth's radiation belts, and only when ACIS remained in the focal plane during the passage. Subsequent measurements and analyses support the conjecture that the damaging radiation entered through the Observatory's High-Resolution Mirror Assembly (HRMA) aperture. A mechanism whereby low energy magnetospheric protons and/or heavier ions are scattered through the HRMA and reach the focal plane with just enough energy to stop in the CCD's charge transfer region currently provides a reasonably consistent explanation of all observed phenomena. In this paper, we will describe analyses which support this conclusion. Simulations using standard ion transmission codes were used to generate a bi-directional response function (BDRF) for the mirror surfaces and transmission through the various path elements. The BDRF was convolved with the geometry via ray-trace. Damage estimates using measured proton fluence and ground measurements of ACIS- type CCD damage vs. proton energy will be presented and compared with observed on- orbit damage.

Kolodziejczak, J. J.↗

NASA NTRS1989

Preliminary assessment of rover power systems for the Mars Rover Sample Return Mission

Four isotope power system concepts were presented and compared on a common basis for application to on-board electrical prime power for an autonomous planetary rover vehicle. A representative design point corresponding to the Mars Rover Sample Return (MRSR) preliminary mission requirements (500 W) was selected for comparison purposes. All systems concepts utilize the General Purpose Heat Source (GPHS) isotope heat source developed by DOE. Two of the concepts employ thermoelectric (TE) conversion: one using the GPHS Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generator (RTG) used as a reference case, the other using an advanced RTG with improved thermoelectric materials. The other two concepts employed are dynamic isotope power systems (DIPS): one using a closed Brayton cycle (CBC) turboalternator, and the other using a free piston Stirling cycle engine/linear alternator (FPSE) with integrated heat source/heater head. Near term technology levels have been assumed for concept characterization using component technology figure-of-merit values taken from the published literature. For example, the CBC characterization draws from the historical test database accumulated from space Brayton cycle subsystems and components from the NASA B engine through the mini-Brayton rotating unit. TE system performance is estimated from Voyager/multihundred Watt (MHW)-RTG flight experience through Mod-RTG performance estimates considering recent advances in TE materials under the DOD/DOE/NASA SP-100 and NASA Committee on Scientific and Technological Information programs. The Stirling DIPS system is characterized from scaled-down Space Power Demonstrator Engine (SPDE) data using the GPHS directly incorporated into the heater head. The characterization/comparison results presented here differ from previous comparison of isotope power (made for Low Earth Orbit (LEO) applications) because of the elevated background temperature on the Martian surface compared to LEO, and the higher sensitivity of dynamic systems to elevated sink temperature. The mass advantage of dynamic systems is significantly reduced for this application due to Mars' elevated background temperature.

Bents, David J.↗

NASA NTRS1989

Preliminary assessment of rover power systems for the Mars Rover Sample Return Mission

Four isotope power system concepts were presented and compared on a common basis for application to on-board electrical prime power for an autonomous planetary rover vehicle. A representative design point corresponding to the Mars Rover Sample Return (MRSR) preliminary mission requirements (500 W) was selected for comparison purposes. All systems concepts utilize the General Purpose Heat Source (GPHS) isotope heat source developed by DOE. Two of the concepts employ thermoelectric (TE) conversion: one using the GPHS Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generator (RTG) used as a reference case, the other using an advanced RTG with improved thermoelectric materials. The other two concepts employed are dynamic isotope power systems (DIPS): one using a closed Brayton cycle (CBC) turboalternator, and the other using a free piston Stirling cycle engine/linear alternator (FPSE) with integrated heat source/heater head. Near-term technology levels have been assumed for concept characterization using component technology figure-of-merit values taken from the published literature. For example, the CBC characterization draws from the historical test database accumulated from space Brayton cycle subsystems and components from the NASA B engine through the mini-Brayton rotating unit. TE system performance is estimated from Voyager/multihundred Watt (MHW)-RTG flight experience through Mod-RTG performance estimates considering recent advances in TE materials under the DOD/DOE/NASA SP-100 and NASA Committee on Scientific and Technological Information programs. The Stirling DIPS system is characterized from scaled-down Space Power Demonstrator Engine (SPDE) data using the GPHS directly incorporated into the heater head. The characterization/comparison results presented here differ from previous comparison of isotope power (made for LEO applications) because of the elevated background temperature on the Martian surface compared to LEO, and the higher sensitivity of dynamic systems to elevated s

Bents, D. J.↗

NASA NTRS1981

On-board processing for future satellite communications systems: Satellite-Routed FDMA

A frequency division multiple access (FDMA) 30/20 GHz satellite communications architecture without on-board baseband processing is investigated. Conceptual system designs are suggested for domestic traffic models totaling 4 Gb/s of customer premises service (CPS) traffic and 6 Gb/s of trunking traffic. Emphasis is given to the CPS portion of the system which includes thousands of earth terminals with digital traffic ranging from a single 64 kb/s voice channel to hundreds of channels of voice, data, and video with an aggregate data rate of 33 Mb/s. A unique regional design concept that effectively smooths the non-uniform traffic distribution and greatly simplifies the satellite design is employed. The satellite antenna system forms thirty-two 0.33 deg beam on both the uplinks and the downlinks in one design. In another design matched to a traffic model with more dispersed users, there are twenty-four 0.33 deg beams and twenty-one 0.7 deg beams. Detailed system design techniques show that a single satellite producing approximately 5 kW of dc power is capable of handling at least 75% of the postulated traffic. A detailed cost model of the ground segment and estimated system costs based on current information from manufacturers are presented.

Berk, G.↗

NASA NTRS2009

GPS Navigation for the Magnetospheric Multi-Scale Mission

In 2014. NASA is scheduled to launch the Magnetospheric Multiscale Mission (MMS), a four-satellite formation designed to monitor fluctuations in the Earth's magnetosphere. This mission has two planned phases with different orbits (1? x 12Re and 1.2 x 25Re) to allow for varying science regions of interest. To minimize ground resources and to mitigate the probability of collisions between formation members, an on-board orbit determination system consisting of a Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver and crosslink transceiver was desired. Candidate sensors would be required to acquire GPS signals both below and above the constellation while spinning at three revolutions-per-minute (RPM) and exchanging state and science information among the constellation. The Intersatellite Ranging and Alarm System (IRAS), developed by Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) was selected to meet this challenge. IRAS leverages the eight years of development GSFC has invested in the Navigator GPS receiver and its spacecraft communication expertise, culminating in a sensor capable of absolute and relative navigation as well as intersatellite communication. The Navigator is a state-of-the-art receiver designed to acquire and track weak GPS signals down to -147dBm. This innovation allows the receiver to track both the main lobe and the much weaker side lobe signals. The Navigator's four antenna inputs and 24 tracking channels, together with customized hardware and software, allow it to seamlessly maintain visibility while rotating. Additionally, an extended Kalman filter provides autonomous, near real-time, absolute state and time estimates. The Navigator made its maiden voyage on the Space Shuttle during the Hubble Servicing Mission, and is scheduled to fly on MMS as well as the Global Precipitation Measurement Mission (GPM). Additionally, Navigator's acquisition engine will be featured in the receiver being developed for the Orion vehicle. The crosslink transceiver is a 1/4 Watt transmitter utilizing a TDMA schedule to distribute a science quality message to all constellation members every ten seconds. Additionally the system generates one-way range measurements between formation members which is used as input to the Kalman filter. In preparation for the MMS Preliminary Design Review (PDR), the Navigator was required to pass a series of Technology Readiness Level (TRL) tests to earn the necessary TRL-6 classification. The TRL-6 level is achieved by demonstrating a prototype unit in a relevant end-to-end environment. The IRAS unit was able to meet all requirements during the testing phase, and has thus been TRL-6 qualified

Bamford, William↗

NASA NTRS1999

A New Satellite System for Measuring BRDF from Space

Formation flying of satellites is at the beginning of an explosive growth curve. Spacecraft buses are shrinking to the point where we will soon be able to launch 10 micro-satellites or 100 nano-satellites on a single launch vehicle. Simultaneously, spectrometers are just beginning to be flown in space by both the U.S. and Europe. On-board programmable band aggregation will soon allow exactly the spectral bands desired to be returned to Earth. Further efforts are being devoted to radically shrink spectrometers both in size and weight. And GPS positioning and attitude determination, plus new technologies for attitude control, will allow fleets of satellites to all point at the same Earth target. All these advances, in combination, make possible for the first time the proper measurement of Bidirectional Reflectance Distribution (BRDF) form space. Previously space BDRF's were mere composites, built up over time by viewing different types of scenes at different times, then creating catalogs of BDRF functions whose use relied upon correct "scene identification" --the weak link. Formation-flying micro-satellites, carrying programmable spectrometers and precision-pointing at the same Earth target, can measure the full BDRF simultaneously, in real time. This talk will review these technological advances and discuss an actual proposed concept, based on these advances, to measure Earth-target BDRF's (clouds as well as surface) across the full solar spectrum in the 2010 timeframe. This concept is part of a larger concept called Leonardo for properly measuring the radiative forcing of Earth for climate purposes; lack of knowing of BDRF and of diurnal cycle are at present the two limiting factors preventing improved estimates of this forcing.

Wiscombe, W.↗

NASA NTRS2005

Data Fusion for Enhanced Aircraft Engine Prognostics and Health Management

Aircraft gas-turbine engine data is available from a variety of sources, including on-board sensor measurements, maintenance histories, and component models. An ultimate goal of Propulsion Health Management (PHM) is to maximize the amount of meaningful information that can be extracted from disparate data sources to obtain comprehensive diagnostic and prognostic knowledge regarding the health of the engine. Data fusion is the integration of data or information from multiple sources for the achievement of improved accuracy and more specific inferences than can be obtained from the use of a single sensor alone. The basic tenet underlying the data/ information fusion concept is to leverage all available information to enhance diagnostic visibility, increase diagnostic reliability and reduce the number of diagnostic false alarms. This report describes a basic PHM data fusion architecture being developed in alignment with the NASA C-17 PHM Flight Test program. The challenge of how to maximize the meaningful information extracted from disparate data sources to obtain enhanced diagnostic and prognostic information regarding the health and condition of the engine is the primary goal of this endeavor. To address this challenge, NASA Glenn Research Center, NASA Dryden Flight Research Center, and Pratt & Whitney have formed a team with several small innovative technology companies to plan and conduct a research project in the area of data fusion, as it applies to PHM. Methodologies being developed and evaluated have been drawn from a wide range of areas including artificial intelligence, pattern recognition, statistical estimation, and fuzzy logic. This report will provide a chronology and summary of the work accomplished under this research contract.

Volponi, Al↗

NASA NTRS2004

Development of an Information Fusion System for Engine Diagnostics and Health Management

Aircraft gas-turbine engine data are available from a variety of sources including on-board sensor measurements, maintenance histories, and component models. An ultimate goal of Propulsion Health Management (PHM) is to maximize the amount of meaningful information that can be extracted from disparate data sources to obtain comprehensive diagnostic and prognostic knowledge regarding the health of the engine. Data Fusion is the integration of data or information from multiple sources, to achieve improved accuracy and more specific inferences than can be obtained from the use of a single sensor alone. The basic tenet underlying the data/information fusion concept is to leverage all available information to enhance diagnostic visibility, increase diagnostic reliability and reduce the number of diagnostic false alarms. This paper describes a basic PHM Data Fusion architecture being developed in alignment with the NASA C17 Propulsion Health Management (PHM) Flight Test program. The challenge of how to maximize the meaningful information extracted from disparate data sources to obtain enhanced diagnostic and prognostic information regarding the health and condition of the engine is the primary goal of this endeavor. To address this challenge, NASA Glenn Research Center (GRC), NASA Dryden Flight Research Center (DFRC) and Pratt & Whitney (P&W) have formed a team with several small innovative technology companies to plan and conduct a research project in the area of data fusion as applied to PHM. Methodologies being developed and evaluated have been drawn from a wide range of areas including artificial intelligence, pattern recognition, statistical estimation, and fuzzy logic. This paper will provide a broad overview of this work, discuss some of the methodologies employed and give some illustrative examples.

Volponi, Allan J.↗

NASA NTRS2007

Effects of RAM Exposure on a Low Earth Orbit BroadBand Radiometer (BBR): CERES Experience and Implications for EarthCARE

In order to best detect real changes in the Earth's climate system it is estimated that space based instrumentation measuring the global Earth Radiation Budget (ERB) must remain calibrated with a stability of 0.3% per decade. This level of stability is beyond the specified accuracy of existing ERB programs such as the Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES, using three broadband radiometric scanning channels: the shortwave (SW 0.3 - 5?m), total (0.3 - >100 micron), and window (8 - 12 micron)). When in low earth orbit, it has been shown that optical response to blue-UV radiance can be reduced significantly (> 3%) due to UV hardened contaminants deposited on the surface of the optics. Evidence suggests that exposure of telescope optics to the forward looking ram direction is the primary cause of this contamination build up. With typical onboard calibration lamps emitting very low energy in the blue-UV region, this darkening is not directly measurable using standard internal calibration techniques. This paper describes a study using a model of ram exposure induced contaminant deposition and darkening, in conjunction standard established in-flight vicarious and internal calibration techniques to derive the spectral shape of the darkening to which a broadband instrument is subjected. The results of the model when applied to the CERES instruments are shown. These findings are of great importance to the EarthCARE project, whose BBR uses one broadband telescope permanently looking forward at 45 degrees, with continual exposure to the ram direction. Specific attention may therefore be needed in the design of BBR optics and on-board calibration in order to prevent or compensate for the spectral darkening seen in the CERES project.

Matthews, Grant↗