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Optical Remote Sensing Payloads, from Design to Flight Test

A special issue of Remote Sensing (ISSN 2072-4292).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 March 2025 | Viewed by 7009

Special Issue Editors

1. Changchun Institute of Optics, Fine Mechanics and Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 101101, China
2. CGSTL (Chang Guang Satellite Co., Ltd.), Changchun 130032, China
Interests: spaceborne cameras development; ultra-compact high resolution remote sensing; advanced optical design

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Guest Editor
Centre Spatial de Liège and Department of Space Instrumentation, University of Liège, 4031 Liège, Belgium
Interests: engineering physics; aeronautical engineering; aerospace engineering; thermal engineering; engineering thermodynamics
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

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Guest Editor
Department of Precision Instrument, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China
Interests: micro satellite and micro high precision attitude measurement sensor; micro and nano measurement technology
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

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Guest Editor
National Satellite Meteorological Center Beijing, Beijing 101101, China
Interests: calibration; infrared, measurement; astrophotography; space sciences; earth observation; atmosphere satellite; cloud instruments; remote sensing

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The development of optical remote sensing systems has a long history; however, with the progress of materials, processing, detection technology, and sensor technology, new optical remote sensing systems continue to emerge. The rich application scenarios are also constantly promoting the technical progress of new optical remote sensors. Particularly in recent years, miniaturized UAVs and micro-nano satellites are being applied to operational remote sensing services, which establishes new requirements for the cost performance, power consumption, size, and weight of optical remote sensing systems. This generates new challenges for the entitre process of remote sensing system development, from design to flight tests.

This Special Issue aims to optimize the design and flight testing of different optical remote sensing systems. This includes decomposition from the breakdown analysis of top requirements, system optimization and performance testing, ground and in-flight calibration, system performance verification, flight test methods and results analysis, lessons learned, etc. The types of remote sensing systems include high resolution, multispectral, hyperspectral, infrared, etc. The platform types are not limited.

Articles may address, but are not limited, the following topics:

  • Advanced high-resolution systems
  • Multispectral and Hyperspectral systems
  • Ultraviolet and Infrared remote sensing systems
  • Atmospheric composition observation remote sensing systems
  • Laser ranging and LiDAR systems
  • Stereo mapping remote sensing systems
  • Polarization remote sensing systems
  • Interferometric remote sensing system
  • Next-generation remote sensing systems

Dr. Xing Zhong
Prof. Pierre Rochus
Prof. Dr. Fei Xing
Prof. Dr. Xiuqing Hu
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Remote Sensing is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • optical remote sensing systems
  • remote system design
  • remote system optimization
  • performance analysis
  • calibration
  • verification
  • flight test

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Published Papers (8 papers)

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Research

23 pages, 44092 KiB  
Article
A Global-Scale Overlapping Pixels Calculation Method for Whisk-Broom Payloads with Multi-Module-Staggered Longlinear-Array Detectors
by Xinwang Du, Chao Wu, Quan Liang, Lixing Zhao, Yixuan Xu, Junhong Guo, Xiaoyan Li and Fansheng Chen
Remote Sens. 2025, 17(3), 433; https://doi.org/10.3390/rs17030433 - 27 Jan 2025
Viewed by 387
Abstract
A multi-module staggered (MMS) long-linear-array (LLA) detector is presently recognized as an effective and widely adopted means of improving the field of view (FOV) of in-orbit optical line-array cameras. In particular, in terms of low-orbit whisk-broom payloads, the MMS LLA detector combined with [...] Read more.
A multi-module staggered (MMS) long-linear-array (LLA) detector is presently recognized as an effective and widely adopted means of improving the field of view (FOV) of in-orbit optical line-array cameras. In particular, in terms of low-orbit whisk-broom payloads, the MMS LLA detector combined with the one-dimensional scanning mirror is capable of achieving both large-swath and high-resolution imaging. However, because of the complexity of the instantaneous relative motion model (IRMM) of the whisk-broom imaging mechanism, it is really difficult to determine and verify the actual numbers of overlapping pixels of adjacent detector sub-module images and consecutive images in the same and opposite scanning directions, which are exceedingly crucial to the instrument design pre-launch as well as the in-orbit geometric quantitative processing and application post-launch. Therefore, in this paper, aiming at addressing the problems above, we propose a global-scale overlapping pixels calculation method based on the IRMM and rigorous geometric positioning model (RGPM) of the whisk-broom payloads with an MMS LLA detector. First, in accordance with the imaging theory and the specific optical–mechanical structure, the RGPM of the whisk-broom payload is constructed and introduced elaborately. Then, we qualitatively analyze the variation tendency of the overlapping pixels of adjacent detector sub-module images with the IRMM of the imaging targets, and establish the associated overlapping pixels calculation model based on the RGPM. And subsequently, the global-scale overlapping pixels calculation models for consecutive images of the same and opposite scanning directions of the whisk-broom payload are also built. Finally, the corresponding verification method is presented in detail. The proposed method is validated using both simulation data and in-orbit payload data from the Thermal Infrared Spectrometer (TIS) of the Sustainable Development Goals Satellite-1 (SDGSAT-1), launched on 5 November 2021, demonstrating its effectiveness and accuracy with overlapping pixel errors of less than 0.3 pixels between sub-modules and less than 0.5 pixels between consecutive scanning images. Generally, this method is suitable and versatile for the other scanning cameras with a MMS LLA detector because of the similarity of the imaging mechanism. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Optical Remote Sensing Payloads, from Design to Flight Test)
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21 pages, 8470 KiB  
Article
A Coupling Method for the Stability of Reflectors and Support Structure in an ALB Optical-Mechanical System
by Guoqing Zhou, Jianyin Liu, Ke Gao, Rundong Liu, Yi Tang, Angte Cai, Xiang Zhou, Jiasheng Xu and Xiaolan Xie
Remote Sens. 2025, 17(1), 60; https://doi.org/10.3390/rs17010060 - 27 Dec 2024
Viewed by 485
Abstract
This research presents a “flexible support structure between reflective mirrors” through a coupling analysis method to restrain the surface shaping error of reflectors in the optical system of airborne LiDAR bathymetry (ALB) under various working conditions. The flexible structure proposed adjusts the mechanical [...] Read more.
This research presents a “flexible support structure between reflective mirrors” through a coupling analysis method to restrain the surface shaping error of reflectors in the optical system of airborne LiDAR bathymetry (ALB) under various working conditions. The flexible structure proposed adjusts the mechanical relationship between the reflectors and the support structure to reduce reflector mirror deformation. The optical system is first modeled using Zemax and exported to SolidWorks to create a 3D model of the optical receiving system. Ansys is then used to conduct stiffness testing and surface analysis on the support structure of the annular thin cylinder. According to the analysis results, the first-order frequency of the support structure using a ring-shaped thin cylinder is as high as 353.64 Hz, which indicates that it has good dynamic characteristics. The PV value of the reflector mirror deformation under the thermal coupling reaches 32.59 nm, and the RMS value reaches 8.62 nm. Additionally, it is discovered that the maximum acceleration response of the reflector mirror under the applied 1 g acceleration excitation reaches 4.22 g when carrying out the dynamics analysis of the support structure. Under random vibration analysis, the maximum acceleration RMS value of the reflector mirror assembly reaches 2.18 g, and the maximum stress of the flexible device of the support structure reaches 2.65 MPa. Especially, five groups of experimental results demonstrated that the proposed coupling analysis method can receive the echo signals, the reflector mirror support structure designed in this paper, and the flexible structure is stable and reliable. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Optical Remote Sensing Payloads, from Design to Flight Test)
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28 pages, 17997 KiB  
Article
Research on the Earth Reflected Solar Spectral Radiation Observation System Based on the Lagrange L1 Point of the Earth–Moon System
by Cong Zhao, Kai Wang, Shuqi Li, Xin Ye, Xiaolong Yi, Ye Jiang and Wei Fang
Remote Sens. 2025, 17(1), 28; https://doi.org/10.3390/rs17010028 - 26 Dec 2024
Viewed by 409
Abstract
We propose an observation system based on the Lagrange L1 point of the Earth–Moon system to observe solar spectral radiation reflected from the Earth, enabling continuous hyperspectral observation of the Earth’s hemisphere. The system can observe the solar spectral radiation reflected by the [...] Read more.
We propose an observation system based on the Lagrange L1 point of the Earth–Moon system to observe solar spectral radiation reflected from the Earth, enabling continuous hyperspectral observation of the Earth’s hemisphere. The system can observe the solar spectral radiation reflected by the Moon, with its data applicable to on-orbit spectral radiation calibration. In this paper, the spectral irradiance at the entrance pupil of the Earth spectral radiation observation system (ESROS) is analyzed, and the optical design of the ESROS is introduced. An off-axis two-mirror telescope system, a coupling system of a microlens array and a fiber bundle, and an optical splitting system based on concave grating are used to achieve the full field of view hyperspectral splitting and miniaturization of the instrument. Finally, the stray radiation suppression of the instrument is introduced. The results show that the spectral resolution of the system is better than 5 nm in the 380–1000 nm band, and the spectral resolution is better than 10 nm in the 1000–1700 nm band. When observing the Earth, the signal-to-noise ratio is greater than 200. The external stray radiation suppression reaches the order of 10−9. The ESROS will provide crucial data support for researching global energy balance, climate change, and the spectral characteristics of exoplanets, facilitating planetary science and the exploration of extraterrestrial life. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Optical Remote Sensing Payloads, from Design to Flight Test)
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23 pages, 20172 KiB  
Article
Color-Distortion Correction for Jilin-1 KF01 Series Satellite Imagery Using a Data-Driven Method
by Jiangpeng Li, Yang Bai, Shuai Huang, Song Yang, Yingshan Sun and Xiaojie Yang
Remote Sens. 2024, 16(24), 4721; https://doi.org/10.3390/rs16244721 - 17 Dec 2024
Viewed by 615
Abstract
Color distortion is a common issue in Jilin-1 KF01 series satellite imagery, a phenomenon caused by the instability of the sensor during the imaging process. In this paper, we propose a data-driven method to correct color distortion in Jilin-1 KF01 imagery. Our method [...] Read more.
Color distortion is a common issue in Jilin-1 KF01 series satellite imagery, a phenomenon caused by the instability of the sensor during the imaging process. In this paper, we propose a data-driven method to correct color distortion in Jilin-1 KF01 imagery. Our method involves three key aspects: color-distortion simulation, model design, and post-processing refinement. First, we investigate the causes of color distortion and propose algorithms to simulate this phenomenon. By superimposing simulated color-distortion patterns onto clean images, we construct color-distortion datasets comprising a large number of paired images (distorted–clean) for model training. Next, we analyze the principles behind a denoising model and explore its feasibility for color-distortion correction. Based on this analysis, we train the denoising model from scratch using the color-distortion datasets and successfully adapt it to the task of color-distortion correction in Jilin-1 KF01 imagery. Finally, we propose a novel post-processing algorithm to remove boundary artifacts caused by block-wise image processing, ensuring consistency and quality across the entire image. Experimental results show that the proposed method significantly eliminates color distortion and enhances the radiometric quality of Jilin-1 KF01 series satellite imagery, offering a solution for improving its usability in remote sensing applications. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Optical Remote Sensing Payloads, from Design to Flight Test)
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29 pages, 50680 KiB  
Article
Relative Radiometric Correction Method Based on Temperature Normalization for Jilin1-KF02
by Shuai Huang, Song Yang, Yang Bai, Yingshan Sun, Bo Zou, Hongyu Wu, Lei Zhang, Jiangpeng Li and Xiaojie Yang
Remote Sens. 2024, 16(21), 4096; https://doi.org/10.3390/rs16214096 - 2 Nov 2024
Viewed by 901
Abstract
The optical remote sensors carried by the Jilin-1 KF02 series satellites have an imaging resolution better than 0.5 m and a width of 150 km. There are radiometric problems, such as stripe noise, vignetting, and inter-slice chromatic aberration, in their raw images. In [...] Read more.
The optical remote sensors carried by the Jilin-1 KF02 series satellites have an imaging resolution better than 0.5 m and a width of 150 km. There are radiometric problems, such as stripe noise, vignetting, and inter-slice chromatic aberration, in their raw images. In this paper, a relative radiometric correction method based on temperature normalization is proposed for the response characteristics of sensors and the structural characteristics of optical splicing of Jilin-1 KF02 series satellites cameras. Firstly, a model of temperature effect on sensor output is established to correct the variation of sensor response output digital number (DN) caused by temperature variation during imaging process, and the image is normalized to a uniform temperature reference. Then, the horizontal stripe noise of the image is eliminated by using the sensor scan line and dark pixel information, and the vertical stripe noise of the image is eliminated by using the method of on-orbit histogram statistics. Finally, the method of superposition compensation is used to correct the vignetting area at the edge of the image due to the lack of energy information received by the sensor so as to ensure the consistency of the image in color and image quality. The proposed method is verified by Jilin-1 KF02A on-orbit images. Experimental results show that the image response is uniform, the color is consistent, the average Streak Metrics (SM) is better than 0.1%, Root-Mean-Square Deviation of the Mean Line (RA) and Generalized Noise (GN) are better than 2%, Relative Average Spectral Error (RASE) and Relative Average Spectral Error (ERGAS) are greatly improved, which are better than 5% and 13, respectively, and the relative radiation quality is obviously improved after relative radiation correction. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Optical Remote Sensing Payloads, from Design to Flight Test)
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10 pages, 3569 KiB  
Communication
Hybrid Refractive and Diffractive Testing Method for Free-Form Convex Mirror in High-Resolution Remote-Sensing Cameras
by Nan Deng, Yanjie Li, He Ma and Feifei Zhang
Remote Sens. 2024, 16(20), 3865; https://doi.org/10.3390/rs16203865 - 17 Oct 2024
Viewed by 764
Abstract
The development of high-resolution and large field of view remote-sensing cameras is inextricably linked to the application of free-form mirrors. The free-form mirror offers higher design of freedom and is more effective at correcting aberrations in optical systems. The surface shape error of [...] Read more.
The development of high-resolution and large field of view remote-sensing cameras is inextricably linked to the application of free-form mirrors. The free-form mirror offers higher design of freedom and is more effective at correcting aberrations in optical systems. The surface shape error of a free-form mirror directly affects the imaging quality of remote-sensing cameras. Consequently, a high-precision free-form mirror detection method is of paramount importance. For the convex free-form surface mirror with a large aperture, a hybrid refractive and diffractive testing method combining computer-generated holography (CGH) and spherical mirrors for high-precision null test is proposed in this paper. When comparing the effect of error and the detection sensitivity of different designs, the results showed that the influence of the system error is reduced by about 42% and the sensitivity is increased by more than 2.6 times. The proposed method can achieve higher testing accuracy and represents an effective and feasible approach for the surface shape detection method. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Optical Remote Sensing Payloads, from Design to Flight Test)
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20 pages, 15495 KiB  
Article
A General On-Orbit Absolute Radiometric Calibration Method Compatible with Multiple Imaging Conditions
by Liming Fan, Zhongjin Jiang, Shuhai Yu, Yunhe Liu, Dong Wang and Maosheng Chen
Remote Sens. 2024, 16(18), 3503; https://doi.org/10.3390/rs16183503 - 21 Sep 2024
Viewed by 927
Abstract
On-orbit absolute radiometric calibration is not only a prerequisite for the quantitative application of optical remote sensing satellite data but also a key step in ensuring the accuracy and reliability of satellite observation data. Due to the diversity of imaging conditions for optical [...] Read more.
On-orbit absolute radiometric calibration is not only a prerequisite for the quantitative application of optical remote sensing satellite data but also a key step in ensuring the accuracy and reliability of satellite observation data. Due to the diversity of imaging conditions for optical remote sensing satellite sensors, on-orbit absolute radiometric calibration usually requires a large number of imaging tasks and manual labor to calibrate each imaging condition. This seriously limits the timeliness of on-orbit absolute radiometric calibration and is also an urgent problem to be solved in the context of the explosive growth of satellite numbers. Based on this, we propose a general on-orbit absolute radiometric calibration method compatible with multiple imaging conditions. Firstly, we use a large amount of laboratory radiometric calibration data to explore the mathematical relationship between imaging conditions (row transfer time, integration level and gain), radiance, and DN, and successfully build an imaging condition compatibility model. Secondly, we combine the imaging condition compatibility model with cross calibration to achieve a general on-orbit absolute radiometric calibration method. We use cross calibration to obtain the reference radiance and corresponding DN of the target satellites, which calculates the general coefficient by using row transfer time, integration level, and gain, and use the general coefficient to calibrate all imaging conditions. Finally, we use multiple imaging tasks of the JL1GF03D11 satellites to verify the effectiveness of the proposed method. The experiments show that the average relative difference was reduced to 2.79% and the RMSE was reduced to 1.51, compared with the laboratory radiometric calibration method. In addition, we also verify the generality of the proposed method by using 10 satellites of the Jilin-1 GF03D series. The experiment shows that the goodness of fit of the general coefficient is all greater than 95%, and the average relative difference between the reference radiance and the calibrated radiance of the proposed method is 2.46%, with an RMSE of 1.67. To sum up, by using the proposed method, all imaging conditions of optical remote sensing satellite sensor can be calibrated in one imaging task, which greatly improves the timeliness and accuracy of on-orbit absolute radiometric calibration. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Optical Remote Sensing Payloads, from Design to Flight Test)
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23 pages, 22355 KiB  
Article
Development of an Adaptive Fuzzy Integral-Derivative Line-of-Sight Method for Bathymetric LiDAR Onboard Unmanned Surface Vessel
by Guoqing Zhou, Jinhuang Wu, Ke Gao, Naihui Song, Guoshuai Jia, Xiang Zhou, Jiasheng Xu and Xia Wang
Remote Sens. 2024, 16(14), 2657; https://doi.org/10.3390/rs16142657 - 20 Jul 2024
Viewed by 1010
Abstract
Previous control methods developed by our research team cannot satisfy the high accuracy requirements of unmanned surface vessel (USV) path-tracking during bathymetric mapping because of the excessive overshoot and slow convergence speed. For this reason, this study developed an adaptive fuzzy integral-derivative line-of-sight [...] Read more.
Previous control methods developed by our research team cannot satisfy the high accuracy requirements of unmanned surface vessel (USV) path-tracking during bathymetric mapping because of the excessive overshoot and slow convergence speed. For this reason, this study developed an adaptive fuzzy integral-derivative line-of-sight (AFIDLOS) method for USV path-tracking control. Integral and derivative terms were added to counteract the effect of the sideslip angle with which the USV could be quickly guided to converge to the planned path for bathymetric mapping. To obtain high accuracy of the look-ahead distance, a fuzzy control method was proposed. The proposed method was verified using simulations and outdoor experiments. The results demonstrate that the AFIDLOS method can reduce the overshoot by 79.85%, shorten the settling time by 55.32% in simulation experiments, reduce the average cross-track error by 10.91% and can ensure a 30% overlap of neighboring strips of bathymetric LiDAR outdoor mapping when compared with the traditional guidance law. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Optical Remote Sensing Payloads, from Design to Flight Test)
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Planned Papers

The below list represents only planned manuscripts. Some of these manuscripts have not been received by the Editorial Office yet. Papers submitted to MDPI journals are subject to peer-review.

Title: Synchronous Atmospheric Correction of Wide-swath and Wide-field Remote Sensing Image from HJ-2A/B Satellite
Authors: Honglian Huang*, Xiao Liu, Yuxuan Wang, Xiaobin Sun, Zhenhai Liu, Rufang Ti, Xuefeng Lei, Jun Lin, Lanlan Fan
Affiliation: (Anhui Institute of Optics and Fine Mechanics, Hefei Institutes of Physical Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Hefei 230031, China)
Abstract: Chinese HuanjingJianzai-2 (HJ-2) A/B satellites are equipped with charge-coupled device (CCD) camera, the hyperspectral imager (HSI), and the infrared spectroradiometer(IRS), and polarized scanning atmospheric corrector (PSAC). Among them, PSAC is mainly used for the monitoring of atmospheric parameters to provide data support for atmospheric correction of data from other sensors. CCD covers a 800 km swath, and has a total field of view of 62.6º. A pixel-by-pixel atmospheric correction method is proposed for wide-swath, large-field-of-view remote sensing images, considering the effects of the Bidirectional Reflectance Distribution Function (BRDF)。This method employs synchronous atmospheric parameters obtained from PSAC and constructs an atmospheric correction lookup table along with a semi-empirical BRDF kernel-driven model. It sequentially performs atmospheric radiative correction, adjacency effect correction, and BRDF correction, resulting in the production of surface reflectance(SR) products. This method was used to perform atmospheric correction on remote sensing images of various surface types captured by CCD, and effectiveness analysis was conducted. 1) Compared to the pre-correction images, the contrast and clarity of the corrected images were significantly improved. 2) Star-ground synchronization verification experiments were conducted in Dunhuang field and Hefei, China, using a FieldSpec hand-held spectroradiometer to measure ground-truth spectra of desert, vegetation, and water. When compared to ground-truth spectral data, SR from corrected CCD imagery showed a reliable match (Relative error less than 15%). 3) For terrain types that cannot be verified by ground experiments, the SR from corrected CCD imagery was compared with the surface reflectance product of Sentinel-2 satellite, and the relative error was better than 20%. Atmospheric correction based on synchronous atmospheric parameters can improve the quality and the quantification accuracy of remote sensing images, which is meaningful for remote sensing applications.

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