Spacecraft Instrumentation

SESA604
Thursday 10.00 (27 / 1137)

Friday 12.00 (13 / 3019)



Topics Covered
- Discussion of the various different types of spacecraft instruments, including
science and remote sensing.
- The instrumentation design process in general
- Key performance parameters:
- Overview of detector technology -.
- Data Handling and transmission including data processing
- Deployment Mechanisms
- Thermal and structural design requirements
- Future Developments
Low cost spacecraft
Micro-satellites
Nano-satellites
Formation flying
Reference List
Mohamed M Abid
Spacecraft Sensors (Hardcover) John Wiley
& Sons 2005 57

A M Cruise, J A Bowles, T J Patrick
and C V Goodall
Principles of Spacecraft Instrument Design,
Cambridge Aerospace Series 9 ISBN-10:
052102594X 43



Types of Sensors
Earth Observation- Remote sensing
Science
Communications and Navigation

Envisat
Galileo

Instrument System Design
Structure
Power
Pointing
Data
Configuration
Thermal
Spacecraft Environment
Historical Trend Toward Larger
Spacecraft
Explorer I, 1958
Envisat 2001
Yet the Opposite Trend in Computing
. . .
It isnt rocket science . . .
The Growth of Small Satellites
Apollo 11
Xatcobeo
Fundamental Limitations on Instrument
measurement
Newton/Keplers Laws
Maxwell Laws
Airy Diffraction
Nyquist
T
a
2
/ T
b
2
= R
a
3
/ R
b
3


It is not possible to independently fix orbital parameters- a spacecraft in an orbit close to the earth has to
move rapidly


LAW 1: The orbit of a satellite about the Earth is an ellipse with the
Earths centre of mass at one focus


LAW 2: A line joining the satellite and the Earth sweeps out equal areas in
equal intervals of time





LAW 3: The squares of the periods of the satellite are proportional to the
cubes of their semimajor axes:


Keplers Laws
Newtons 2
nd
Law
propellant the of mass the is
mass final the is
mass intial the is
ln
0
0
0
p
f
p f
f
M
M
M
M M M
M
M
gIsp v
=
= A
Manoeuvre Delta V Mass Ratio
Isp=300s
Earth to LEO 9.5km/s 25.2
LEO to GTO 2.5km/s 2.3
GTO to GEO 1.5km/s 1.7
LEO to Mars
surface
4.8km/s 5.1
Leo to Saturn orbit 15.7km/s 207.5
Limitations on specific impulse restrict efficient propellant usage. Current propulsion systems with high specific
impulse produce low thrust
Object Distance
(km)
Distance
AU
Time
Moon 375 thousand 0.0025 1.25seconds
Mars 117.0 million 0.619 6.50 minutes
Sun 147.4 million 0.985 8.19 minutes
Venus 163.8 million 1.095 9.10 minutes
Mercury 211 million 1.41 11.72 minutes
Jupiter 757 million 5.06 42.05 minutes
Saturn 1.41 billion 9.42 1.18 hours
Uranus 3.10 billion 20.71 2.87 hours
Neptune 4.62 billion 30.94 4.29 hours
Pluto 4.93 billion 32.97 4.57 hours
Sirius 82 trillion 548100 8.7 years
Implications on power and autonomy
Maxwell equations
Electromagnetic waves travel at the speed of light
Power is inversely proportional to distance squared
Even with a perfect lens, there is still a limit to the resolution of an image
created by a lens
Due to diffraction, the smallest point to which one can focus a beam of light
using a lens is the size of the Airy disk.
The angle at which the first minimum occurs is given by sinu
min
= 1.22 / D
where is the wavelength of the light and d is the diameter of the aperture
When the diffraction patterns of two sources are sufficiently close together, the
diffraction rings are no longer distinguished
The two images are said to be unresolved when the central max of one image
falls inside the first minimum of the other
This arbitrary resolution condition is called the Rayleigh Criterion
Assuming umin is quite small, and invoking the small angle approximation:



umin = 1.22 / D
O is in radians

Airy Diffraction
Rayleigh Criterion
Airy Disc
Diffraction Limited Resolution
Nyquist sampling therem
In order to sample a particular spatial frequency a certain sampling frequency is
required. This determines data rate.

Data rate= no of pixels across swath * rate of sampling along track * no of bits
per pixel* no of channels
Example
Satellite observing a 50km swath with 10m resolution
and 5 m samples
No of pixels across swath= 50000/10=5000
Rate of sampling along track= 6600/5 pixels/s
Date rate per channel = 5000*1320*8=52.8Mbits/s
The Nyquist rate is the minimum sampling required to avoid aliasing, equal to
twice the highest spatial frequency contained within the signal
3 Billion Euro vs
?
Designs of Spacecraft
From SSTL -Vested interest very important when comparisons made but
Astrium have now bought SSTL- what now?
Old New
Large
Multi-sensor
Expensive (hundreds of
millions of pounds)
Long Development time (10
years)
Low number of satellites
Delay in receiving data
High Risk
State of the art (+10)
Small (<100kgs)
Single or multi-sensor
Cheap( up to 5 million
pounds)
Short development time (6-
18 months)
Large number of satellites in
constellation)
Lots of data
Low risk COTS(+1)
Payload/Spacecraft Masses
Envisat Satellite
Launch vehicle lift-off mass 746000 kg
Satellite wet mass 8211kg
Satellite dry mass 7892 kg
Instrument mass 2118kg
i.e. 350 kg has to be launched for every 1kg Instrument
Instrument/spacecraft mass depends on
Instrument configuration
modularity
Instrument type
mission
lifetime
Mass of Instrument and Spacecraft
Spacecraft Payloa
d Mass
(kg)
Spacecraf
t Dry
Mass (kg)
Payload /
Spacecraft
Mass
Ratio (%)
Fuel
Required
(kg)
Meteosat 2 296 1063 28 1000
Cassini 340 2510 14 3130
SMOS 350 632 55 28
Cryosat 72 706 10 37
Envisat 2118 7892 27 319
Mass of Spacecraft/Payload for Geostationary
Spacecraft
There has been very little change in spacecraft/payload ratio over
past 30 years
37%
Size of Spacecraft from Payload Mass
E.g Payload mass 100kg
Spacecraft mass 270kg
Spacecraft volume =2.7m
3
Linear Dimension=1.6m
Body Area=2.6m
2

Moment of Inertia=77.7kg.m
2
Characteristic
Estimate Range
Density
Linear Dimension (m)
Body area (m
2
)
Moment of
Inertia(kg.m
2
)
100kg/m
3

S=0.25M
1/3
A=S
2
I=0.01M
5/3

50-500kg/m
3

0.15-0.30
Earth
Observation
satellites
Meteosat
Envisat
Cryosat
Metop
Envisat

Possible Applications- the big issues
Quantify global Warming
What global increase in temperature has occurred?
Changes in currents
Is there any perceivable long term change in the ocean currents?
Solar Terrestrial relations
To what extent can changes on the earth be linked back to the sun?
Changes in Cryosphere
What change in the worlds ice sheets and glaciers can be
expected?
Extreme Weather
How will the increased frequency and intensity of extreme weather
affect the world.
Key Requirements
(W
3
H)
Where?
Where should the measurement site be? The greater the distance the most costly a mission.
What?
What is to be measured in order to determine observed phenomenon? In general the
measurement is made indirectly by measuring electromagnetic energy
When?
Timeliness the rate at which observing opportunities arise
Duration- the length of time over which measurements are made
How?
The data has to be transformed into the science products using processing.this is particular
demanding if the primary data are indirect indicators of phenomena of interest.
Where?
Spacecraft height h increased
Communications Power =kh
2

Spatial Resolution=kh*
Coverage=kh
Array power=k
Orbital Period=

* This assumes diffraction limited resolution
of earth
r

t
3
2
r
h
Orbit Options
Communications and Earth Observation
LEO
GEO
MEO including Molniya
Science
Various- L1, L2, Interplanetary,
LEO, HEO
What?
Often the phenomenon of interest can only be observed indirectly
and the reflective or emissive properties limit the instrument
options
Examples
Measurement of Sea Surface Temperature
Sea surface temperature is measured by measuring the radiation
emitted.
The definition of the sea surface temperature is the temperature at
1m below the sea surface. This is traditionally measured by a
bucket but can know be done automatically using buoys
Satellites measure the radiation comes from the top layer of the
sea i.e 0.1mm or less. This is up to 1K different from 1m SST
Measurement of Ozone
It measures the radiance back-scattered from the atmosphere and
the surface of the earth in the ultraviolet and visible range
When?
This involves timeliness and duration
Timeliness is the rate at which measurement opportunities occur
Duration is the length of time which measurements must be made
Examples
Solar activity must be measured very frequently to measure the short sporadic events
that occur
Glacier changes requires a long study of many years but measurements need only be
taken a few times a year
Example Application
There is a requirement to monitor ship movements in the English channel.
An all weather capability is required
Measurements need to be taken every 30 minutes
What implications does this have for the spacecraft mission?

How?
An increase in global temperature of 2K would have profound
effects on the Earth- flooding, drought, etc.
Changes in global temperature and atmospheric CO2 can
easily be measured but corresponding changes does not
necessarily imply causation.
Beware spurious correlations
e.g. The number of fire engines that attends a fire is directly
related to the damage caused by the fire. Should we
conclude that fire engines cause the damage?
e.g. Students with long hair get better grades in GCSE
English than students with shorter hair. Should students let
their hair grow long to improve their grades?

Transforming data into science products
Example Global warming
An inconvenient truth?

Temperature and CO
2
changes

Remote sensing Instrumentation

The science of deriving information about the earth's land and water areas
from images acquired at a distance. It usually relies upon measurement of
electromagnetic energy reflected or emitted from the features of interest

The acquisition of information about an object without contacting it
physically. Methods include aerial photography, radar, and satellite imaging.

The collection and interpretation of information about an object without
physical contact with the object; eg, satellite imaging, aerial photography, and
open path measurements.


Definition of Remote Sensing
Earth Observation Sensors
PASSIVE
ACTIVE
Atmosphere
causing
absorption, etc
Atmosphere
causing
absorption, etc
Receiver
Receiver
Transmitter
Scene / Target
Scene / Target
4
5
2
5
2
2 2
1
2
1

ckT
kT
hc
hc
e
hc
P
kT
hc
e
kT
hc
kT
hc
= =
|
|
.
|

\
|

=
=
Radiation Laws
All bodies >0K radiate
increasing temperature
- radiance peak moves to shorter
- overall radiance level higher
P

=Power per m area per m wavelength

h = Planck's constant (6.626 x 10
-34
Js)
c = Speed of Light (3 x 10
8
m/s)
= Wavelength (m)
k = Boltzmann Constant (1.38 x 10
-23
J/K)
T = Temperature (K)

Optical Region : 0.35 - 2.50m
Optical Region : 0.35 - 2.50m
Visible region
approx 0.4 - 0.7m
Optical Region : 0.35 - 2.50m
Peak of solar energy around
0.5m
Optical Region : 0.35 - 2.50m
Peak of solar energy around
0.5m
Absorption by O
3
in the upper
atmosphere below 0.35m
Optical Region : 0.35 - 2.50m
Peak of solar energy around
0.5m
Absorption by O
3
in the upper
atmosphere below 0.35m
Absorption by O
2
at 0.76m
Optical Region : 0.35 - 2.50m
Peak of solar energy around
0.5m
Absorption by O
3
in the upper
atmosphere below 0.35m
Absorption by O
2
at 0.76m
Absorption by water vapour in
bands around 0.94m,
1.18m, 1.40m and 1.90m
Optical Region : 0.35 - 2.50mm
Near
Infrared
(NIR)
Optical Region : 0.35 - 2.50mm
Near
Infrared
(NIR)
Short-wave
Infrared
(SWIR)
Remote Sensing Process
A. Energy Source
B. Atmospheric Interaction
C. Scattering /Reflection from
surface
D. Reception on Satellite
E. Transmission to Ground
F. Analysis
G. Application




1. Energy Source or Illumination (A) - the first requirement for remote sensing is to
have an energy source which illuminates or provides electromagnetic energy to the
target of interest.
2. Radiation and the Atmosphere (B) - as the energy travels from its source to the
target, it will come in contact with and interact with the atmosphere it passes through.
This interaction may take place a second time as the energy travels from the target
to the sensor.
3. Interaction with the Target (C) - once the energy makes its way to the target
through the atmosphere, it interacts with the target depending on the properties of
both the target and the radiation.
4. Recording of Energy by the Sensor (D) - after the energy has been scattered
by, or emitted from the target, we require a sensor (remote - not in contact with the
target) to collect and record the electromagnetic radiation.
5. Transmission, Reception, and Processing (E) - the energy recorded by the
sensor has to be transmitted, often in electronic form, to a receiving and processing
station where the data are processed into an image (hardcopy and/or digital).
6. Interpretation and Analysis (F) - the processed image is interpreted, visually
and/or digitally or electronically, to extract information about the target which was
illuminated.
7. Application (G) - the final element of the remote sensing process is achieved
when we apply the information we have been able to extract from the imagery about
the target in order to better understand it, reveal some new information, or assist in
solving a particular problem.

Reflectance as a Function of Wavelength
VIS
WV
IR
Meteosat Images
Reflectance
Diffuse Specular
Tree- Visible and Near Infra-red

Spatial resolution

Spatial resolution refers to the size of the smallest object that can be
resolved on the ground. In a digital image, the resolution is limited by the
pixel size, i.e. the smallest resolvable object cannot be smaller than the
pixel size.

The intrinsic resolution of an imaging system is determined primarily by the
instantaneous field of view of the sensor, which is a measure of the ground
area viewed by a single detector element in a given instant in time.

This resolution can often be degraded by other factors which introduce
blurring of the image, such as improper focusing, atmospheric scattering
and target motion. The pixel size is determined by the sampling distance.

Worldvie
w 0.5m
resolutio
n
WorldView-
1, launched
September
of 2007,
The high-
capacity,
panchromati
c imaging
system
features
half-meter
resolution
imagery.
Operating at
an altitude of
496
kilometers,
WorldView-1
has an
average
revisit time
of 1.7 days
Worldview 2
Launched
October
2009
Radiometric Resolution
This defines the ability to measure very slight differences in energy. The finer the radiometric resolution the more sensitive it is to
measure small differences in reflected or emitted energy. It is the expected spread of variation in each estimate of scene reflectivity as
observed in an image. Smaller radiometric resolution is "better". It is commonly expressed as the number of bits (binary digits) needs to
store the maximum level.
256 levels
4 levels
Radiometric Accuracy
Example Along Track Scanning Radiometer

The system shall measure top of the atmosphere radiances to an
absolute accuracy of 5% over its entire range.



Spectral
Resolution

The spectral resolution is a measure of its power to resolve features in the
electromagnetic spectrum. It is usually defined by



where is the smallest difference in wavelength that can be distinguished, at a
wavelength of . So, for example, the space telescope imaging spectrograph
(STIS) can distinguish features 0.17 nm apart at a wavelength of 1000 nm,
giving it a resolving power of about 5,900. A typical remote sensing instrument
will be capable of making measurements at different frequencies

MERIS
MERIS is a 68.5-degree field-
of-view nadir-pointing
imaging spectrometer which
measures the solar radiation
reflected by the Earth in 15
spectral bands (visible and
near-infrared).
Its main objective is to
measure the sea colour and
quantify the ocean chlorophyll
content and sediment, thus
providing information on the
ocean carbon cycle and
thermal regime
MERI
S

A large
aquamarine-
coloured plankton
bloom is shown
stretching across
the length of
Ireland in the
North Atlantic
Ocean
Coccolithophores
Medium Resolution Imaging
Spectrometer (MERIS)
Meris optics

Scrambling Window Subassemby
(SWSA)
Camera Optics Sub-Assembly
Calibration Mechanism
Optical sensor
Optics
Scan Mechanism
i. whiskbroom
ii. pushbroom
Detectors
Calibration
Electronics
Meteosat

Meteosat SEVIRI
Characteristics:
Spectral Range:
0.4 1.6m (4 visible/NIR
channels)
3.9 13.4m (8 IR channels)
Resolution from 36 000 km
altitude:
1 km for the high resolution
visible channel
3 km for the infra-red and the 3
other visible channels
Focal plane is cooled to 85/95 k
One image every 15 minutes
245 000 images over 7 years
nominal lifetime
Instrument mass: 260 kg
Dimensions:
2.43 m height
1 m diameter without Sun Shield
Power consumption: 150 W
Data rate: 3.26 Mbit/s
SEVIRI
Mirror
Mirror Materials
ULE Glass (HST)
High temperature shock resistance
Very low thermal expansion
High operating temperature
Zerodur (SEVIRI- Meteosat)
Ceramic glass
Nearly zero thermal expansion
High internal quality
Can be polished to a very high accuracy
Can be coated easily
Good chemical stability
Beryllium (James Webb, AMSU)
Light metal
Very strong for its weight
Good conductor of heat and electricity
Whiskbroom
It uses rotating mirrors to scan the landscape below from side to side perpendicular to
the direction of the sensor platform, like a whiskbroom. The image is built up by the
mirror scanning and the motion of the spacecraft.
e.g Landsat MSS, TM

Pushbroom Scanner
Linear array of detectors (A) (aligned cross-track)
Reflected radiance passes through a lens ( C ) and onto a line of
detectors at the focal plane of the image (B)
Image is built up by movement of the satellite along its orbital track
(no scanning mirror)
Each individual detector measures the radiation from a single
ground resolution cell (D)
Array area can also be used for multi-spectral remote sensing
Dispersion used to split light into narrow spectral bands and
individual detectors
Whiskbroom vs Pushbroom
Wide swath width
Coupled mechanical
system
Simple optical system
Filters and sensors
Shorter dwell time
Pixel distortion
Narrow swath
Simple mechanical
system
Complex optics
Dispersion grating and
CCDs
Longer dwell time
No distortion
Detectors
CCD vs CMOS

CCD (charge coupled device) and CMOS (complementary metal oxide
semiconductor)

A CCD is as a semiconductor chip sensitive to light.
The CCD is placed in the focal plane of a telescope - the light-sensitive surface is
illuminated and an image of the field viewed forms on it. The arrival of a photon on a
pixel generates a small electrical charge which is stored for later read-out. The size of
the charge increases cumulatively as more photons strike the surface: the brighter the
illumination the greater the charge.

CMOS
CCD
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LVwmtwZLG88&feature=player_detailpage
- CCD sensors create high-quality, low-noise images. CMOS sensors,
traditionally, are more susceptible to noise.

- Because each pixel on a CMOS sensor has several transistors located next
to it, the light sensitivity of a CMOS chip tends to be lower. Many of the
photons hitting the chip hit the transistors instead of the photodiode.

- CMOS traditionally consumes little power. Implementing a sensor in CMOS
yields a low-power sensor.

- CCDs use a process that consumes lots of power. CCDs consume as much
as 100 times more power than an equivalent CMOS sensor.

- CMOS chips can be fabricated on just about any standard silicon production
line, so they tend to be extremely inexpensive compared to CCD sensors.

- CCD sensors have been mass produced for a longer period of time, so they
are more mature. They tend to have higher quality and more pixels.

CCD vs CMOS