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At least 19 records

Thermal infrared pushbroom imagery acquisition and processing

A 9-element focal plane detector array and signal processing electronics was developed and delivered in December 1977. It was integrated into a thermal infrared imaging system using LSI microprocessor image processing and CRT display. After three years of laboratory operation, the focal plane has demonstrated high reliability and performance. On the basis of the 9-channel breadboard, the 90-element Aircraft Pushbroom IR/CCD Focal Plane Development Program was funded in October 1977. A follow-on program was awarded in July 1979, for the construction of a field test instrument and image processing facility. The objective of this project was to demonstrate thermal infrared pushbroom hard-copy imagery. It is pointed out that the successful development of the 9-element and 90-element thermal infrared hybrid imaging systems using photoconductive (Hg,Cd)Te has verified the operational concept of 8 to 14 micrometer pushbroom scanners.

Brown, T. J.↗

An airborne short wave infrared /SWIR/ pushbroom imaging system using a 64-element PbS detector array

Research evidence indicates that data in the short wave infrared (SWIR) spectral region will greatly improve the information content of remotely sensed data. Bands are required in the 1.55-1.75 micron and 2.08-2.35 micron spectral regions for a variety of agricultural and geological investigations. It is anticipated that future Landsat sensors will use pushbroom linear array technology to obtain high resolution, improved sensitivity and increased system reliability. To obtain early laboratory and field data, an airborne pushbroom image system has been designed for operation in the short wave infrared spectral region. The system uses a 64-element staggered PbS array and is operated at 195 K; the instrument has been designed to operate in an aircraft and will view a 19 degree swath width with a 5.8 mrad IFOV. The spectral bandwidth of each channel is .05 micron and the noise equivalent reflectivity in the order of .2% is provided. The requirements for more advanced detector arrays for use in future NASA spacecraft remote sensing instruments are also discussed.

Husain-Abidi, A. S.↗

The pushbroom microwave radiometer and aircraft measurement of soil moisture

Soil moisture has been identified as a controlling parameter in the occurrence of atmospheric variations and crop vigor. Evapotranspiration rates impact local temperature, precipitation and motion fields of the atmosphere. The multiple beam pushbroom microwave radiometer (MBPMR) is a candidate for moisture monitoring on the Earth Observation System. A prototype MBPMR has been devised for airborne technology evaluations of pushbroom scanning capabilities. The instrument scans at 1.4 GHz with a Diche radiometer. Test flights on a NASA aircraft with the antenna mounted on the bottom of the fuselage have generated soil moisture data over crop areas for which ground truth data were gathered. Large antennas deployed from the Orbiter could collect sufficient data for mapping the global soil moisture in 6 days.

Harrington, R. F.↗

Optical-system design for next-generation pushbroom sensors

Next-generation pushbroom sensors for earth observation require high-performance optics that provide high spatial resolution over wide fields of view. Specifically, blur diameters on the order of 10 to 15 microns are needed over 5 to 15 deg fields. In addition to this fundamental level of optical performance, other characteristics, such as spatial coregistration of spectral bands, flat focal plane, telecentricity, and workable pupil location are significant instrument design considerations. The detector-assembly design, optical line-of-sight pointing method and sensor packaging all hinge on these secondary attributes. Moreover, the need for broad spectral coverage, ranging from 0.4 to 12.5 microns, places an additional constraint on optical design. This paper presents alternative design forms that are candidates for wide-field pushbroom sensors, and discusses the instrument-design tradeoffs that are linked to the selection of these alternate optical approaches.

Mika, A. M.↗

An airborne multiple-beam 1.4 GHz pushbroom microwave radiometer

A method is described for providing soil moisture measurements from satellites by performing simultaneous measurements across track (the pushbroom approach). The method has the advantage of obtaining the required swath width without sacrificing sensitivity. A prototype Pushbroom Microwave Radiometer developed at NASA's Langley Research Center is described. It is a multibeam L-Band (1413 MHz) radiometer system providing simultaneous cross track measurements. Results of flight tests onboard a P-3 aircraft are discussed.

Harrington, R. F.↗

Design and development of a multibeam 1.4 GHz pushbroom microwave radiometer

The design and operation of a multiple beam, digital signal processing radiometer are discussed. The discussion includes a brief description of each major subsystem and an overall explanation of the hardware requirements and operation. A series of flight tests was conducted in which sea-truth sites, as well as an existing radiometer were used to verify the Pushbroom Radiometer performance. The results of these tests indicate that the Pushbroom Radiometer did meet the sensitivity design goal of 1.0 kelvin, and exceeded the accuracy requirement of 2.0 kelvin. Additional performance characteristics and test results are also presented.

Lawrence, R. W.↗

Design of a Pushbroom Imaging Spectrometer that Exceeds AVIRIS Performance

This slide presentation reviews the design of a Pushbroom Imaging Spectrometer, that will exceed the performance of Airborne Visible/Infrared Imaging Spectrometer (AVIRIS). The approach for the AVIRIS-II instrument is reviewed as are the specifications for the new spectrometer. Even though the pushbroom spectrometer is inherently non-uniform, the design of the AVIRIS-II provides for uniformity. Spot diagrams at the slit and at the detector inside the 27micron box are presented. A few of the challenges in the mechanical design and the making of the slit are discussed. The specifications of the 6604A detector array are reviewed. Slides showing the expected Signal to Noise Ratio performance are presented.

Airborne Visible/Infrared Imaging Spectrometer (AV↗

On-board compensation for temporal changes in pushbroom scanner detector arrays

The design and operation of pushbroom and mechanical scanners are reviewed in order to determine differences in data preprocessing. Data preprocessing is categorized into spatial registration and radiometric corrections, as well as into systematic versus nonsystematic corrections. The category of nonsystematic radiometric errors due to temporal changes in detector array properties is emphasized as a subject of special interest and a challenging problem for onboard data preprocessing. Concepts for onboard compensation of temporal changes are presented. In particular one concept which uses dark current as an indicator of temperature change for determining gain and offset corrections is shown to have a number of advantages.

Jobson, D. J.↗

LAPR: An experimental aircraft pushbroom scanner

A three band Linear Array Pushbroom Radiometer (LAPR) was built and flown on an experimental basis by NASA at the Goddard Space Flight Center. The functional characteristics of the instrument and the methods used to preprocess the data, including radiometric correction, are described. The radiometric sensitivity of the instrument was tested and compared to that of the Thematic Mapper and the Multispectral Scanner. The radiometric correction procedure was evaluated quantitatively, using laboratory testing, and qualitatively, via visual examination of the LAPR test flight imagery. Although effective radiometric correction could not yet be demonstrated via laboratory testing, radiometric distortion did not preclude the visual interpretation or parallel piped classification of the test imagery.

Wharton, S. W.↗

Development of an earth resource pushbroom scanner utilizing a 90-element 8-14 micrometer /Hg,Cd/Te array

A detailed description is presented of thermal infrared 'pushbroom' scanners being developed for NASA's earth resources survey experiments in the middle to late 1980's. The devices offer high spectral, temporal and spatial resolution, and great reliability as well, due to simplicity of design. Their mode of operation does not require moving optics, since chopping and calibration are integral. The specific device described, a 90-element IR/CCD instrument, was developed to demonstrate scan imagery in the 8-14 micron spectral region in simulated aircraft tests. The scanning operation covers a straight-line path with a linear array of solid-state IR detectors, whose elements are activated sequentially in the cross-track direction while being swept forward along a flight path that, at an aircraft altitude of 10 km, is 7 km wide.

Brown, T. J.↗

LAPR - An experimental pushbroom scanner

A three-band Linear Array Pushbroom Radiometer (LAPR) was built and flown on an experimental basis by NASA, at the Goddard Space Flight Center. The functional characteristics of the instrument and the methods used to preprocess the data, including radiometric correction, are described. The radiometric sensitivity of the instrument was tested and compared to that of the Thematic Mapper and the Multispectral Scanner. The radiometric correction procedure was evaluated quantitatively, using laboratory testing, and qualitatively, by visual examination of the LAPR test flight imagery. Although effective radiometric correction could not yet be demonstrated by laboratory testing, radiometric distortion did not preclude the visual interpretation or classification of the test imagery.

Wharton, S. W.↗

Concept for a multiple resolution pushbroom sensor

A general purpose pushbroom sensor will have parameters determined by the needs of the majority of potential users. These parameters may not satisfy the needs of certain users: Agriculture requires a very short return visit interval; cartography requires a very small pixel size; land use and geology would be satisfied with moderate resolution and seasonal return times. The aggregate solution of these needs would produce a sensor with extremely high data rates. A sensor conept is proposed which may meet the combined needs without the extreme data rate.

Billingsley, F. C.↗

Pushbroom radiometry and its potential using large space antennas

Electromagnetic radiation is emitted by matter which was heated to a temperature above absolute zero. The amount of blackbody radiation in the microwave frequency region of interest (10 to the 8th power f 10 to the 10th power Hz) emitted by matter can be determined from the Rayleigh-Jeans approximation to Planck's Radiation Law. The amount of electromagnetic radiation from matter which is not a blackbody is a function of the emissivity of the material. The emissivity is a factor less than unity and is a function of several parameters including chemical composition, temperature, frequency, surface characteristics, and viewing angle. A radiometer is an instrument which detects and provides a measure of the electromagnetic radiation being emitted by a material or surface area within the radiometer's antenna beamwidth. Microwave radiometers provide the capability for remote measurements from Earth orbits of geophysical parameters. These measurements will require the use of a microwave imaging radiometer using a large aperture deployable antenna with multiple beams in a pushbroom mode to achieve high spatial resolution and large swath width.

Harrington, R. F.↗

Concept for a multiple resolution pushbroom sensor

A general purpose pushbroom sensor will have parameters determined by the needs of the majority of potential users. These parameters may not satisfy the needs of certain users: Agriculture requires a very short return visit interval; cartography requires a very small pixel size; land use and geology would be satisfied with moderate resolution and seasonal return times. The aggregate solution of these needs would produce a sensor with extremely high data rates. A sensor concept is proposed which may meet the combined needs without the extreme data rate. Previously announced in STAR as N82-28735

Billingsley, F. C.↗

Results from the pushbroom microwave radiometer flights over the Konza Prairie in 1985

Four flights were conducted by the NASA C-130 aircraft sensor platform bearing the 'pushbroom' microwave radiometer (PBMR) over the Konza Prairie in central Kansas in 1985, in order to monitor soil surface variations. When the brightness temperature maps thus obtained were analyzed, a striking difference was noted between burned and unburned watersheds; the latter had a very high emissivity despite having saturated soils, while the former had low values that increased with the gradual drying of the soils. The lack of sensitivity for the unburned watershed is tentatively attributed to the build-up of a thatch layer by the decaying vegetation, which serves as a good microwave absorber when wet.

Schmugge, T. J.↗

Multibeam 1.4-GHz Pushbroom Microwave Radiometer

Airborne prototype of multiple-beam pushbroom microwave radiometer (PBMR) developed to advance radiometric technology necessary for remote sensing of geophysical parameters. Instrument used in several joint Langley Research Center/United States Department of Agriculture soil-moisture flight experiments in Virginia, Texas, and California. Data from experiments used to modify, develop, and verify algorithms used to predict soil moisture from remote-sensing measurements. Image data useful in study of effects of characters of beams on radiometer imaging data.

Lawrence, Roland W.↗