Building Earth Observation Cameras - Paperback

by George Joseph (Author)

A System Engineer's Guide to Building an Earth Observation Camera

Building Earth Observation Cameras

discusses the science and technology of building an electro-optical imaging system for a space platform from concept to space qualification and in-orbit evaluation. The book provides a broad overview of various Earth imaging systems with specific examples illustrating the design and development issues that impacted the Indian Remote Sensing Satellite (IRS) cameras, and is based on the actual experience of the author, who was intimately involved with the development of cameras for the IRS program.

It equips imaging system project managers, scholars, and researchers with the ability to look deeper into the systems that they are developing, and arms application scientists who use satellite imagery with a greater understanding of the technical aspects and terminology used in defining the performance of the image system. The text traces the historical development of imaging systems, reviews the evolution of Earth observation systems from a global perspective, and examines future trends.

This interdisciplinary work:

• Presents technical issues associated with the design, fabrication, and characterization of the camera
• Provides a narrow focus and end-to-end solutions to all components involved in a successful camera-on-Earth observation system
• Covers various stages including image formation, optics, opto-mechanics, material choice, design tradeoffs, fabrication, evaluation, and finally qualifying the system for space use

Building Earth Observation Cameras

provides the tools needed to enable readers to better understand the concepts and challenges involved in building space-based Earth observation systems.

Author Biography

Dr. George Joseph started his career in 1962 at the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR), Mumbai, where he was involved in the study of cosmic rays. For his pioneering work on the detection of the emission of neutrons from the sun, he was awarded a PhD in 1971. In 1973, he joined the Space Applications Centre (SAC), one of the major centers of the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO), primarily for developing Earth observation systems. Under his leadership, a variety of Earth observation cameras were developed for the Indian Remote Sensing Satellite (IRS) and the Indian National Satellite (INSAT).