SPECTRALON diffusers used as in-flight optical calibration hardware
conference paper
The Medium Resolution imaging Spectrometer (MERIS), developed under European Space Agency (ESA) contract, for the Envisat 1 Polar Orbit Earth Mission belongs to a new generation of Ocean Color sensors which aim to improve the knowledge of some crucial processes of our planet. The instrument currently in the final stages of development is built by an international team led by AEROSPATIALE under ENVISAT prime contractor-ship of DORNIER. MERIS is a "pushbroom" type instrument which measures the radiance of the Earth in 15 programmable spectral bands (programmable in width and position) between 390 nm and 1040 nm over a 1150 km swath width. During the duration of the MERIS mission, radiometric in-flight calibration sequences are carried on a regular basis by the observation of SpectralonTM diffusers directly illuminated by the sun. The high accuracy required over the 4 years mission duration necessitates the precise knowledge of the calibration reference and the stability of the reference over the mission has to be controlled. This presentation details the influence of cleaning procedures on optical stability of the SpectralonTM flat plate diffusers calibration reference under space conditions and sun illumination (UV-VUV radiation). This paper will also define the BRDF characterization performances achieved with the Flight Model flat plate diffusers following implementation of the selected cleaning procedure.
Topics
TNO Identifier
811971
Publisher
SPIE
Source title
International Symposium on Optical Science, Engineering, and Instrumentation, Optical Systems Contamination and Degradation, 27 October 1998, San Diego, CA, USA
Collation
13 p.
Pages
382-393
Files
To receive the publication files, please send an e-mail request to TNO Repository.