BOULDER, Colo., Sept. 14, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Ball Aerospace was
selected by NASA to move forward with three studies to develop and
demonstrate innovative Sustainable Land Imaging (SLI) technologies
for potential use on future missions of the Landsat program, a
series of Earth-observing satellite missions jointly managed by
NASA and the U.S. Geological Survey that is entering its fifth
decade of existence.
The studies leverage previous SLI Technologies, including the
Ball-built Operational Land Imager 2, which will fly on the Landsat
9 mission launching in 2021.
"We are honored and excited that Ball was chosen by NASA for
three studies to explore next-generation technologies for the
Landsat Program," said Dr. Makenzie
Lystrup, vice president and general manager, Civil Space,
Ball Aerospace. "These studies reflect the importance of continued
advancement and the development of creative solutions. We are
pushing the boundaries of what's possible when it comes to
innovating robust, precisely-calibrated sensors in increasingly
compact packages."
The selection came on the heels of the final airborne science
flights of two other Sustainable Land Imaging (SLI) technology
demonstrations – the Reduced Envelope Multispectral Imager -
Airborne (REMI-AB) and the Compact Hyperspectral Prism Spectrometer
- Airborne (CHPS-AB). Both were designed to demonstrate improved
Landsat mission performance in compact instrument packages.
The three studies include:
- Landsat Calibration Satellite (LCS) – This study
builds on the CHPS instrument and aims to provide the
cross-calibration and validation capability required to knit
together a future Land Imaging Constellation. LCS-B focuses on the
key technical challenges to providing an on-orbit reference
instrument – specifically, differences in spatial and spectral
performance between disparate platforms, such as Sentinel-2,
Planet, and Landsat-8.
- TransCal – This is an innovative calibration
approach using Polymer Dispersed Liquid Crystal material to
continue the precise on-orbit calibration method used extensively
in the Landsat program, while significantly reducing the size and
complexity of the calibration subsystem. This study aims to reduce
resources needed (e.g., cost, size, volume and mass) for
next-generation SLI instruments, while meeting or exceeding the
current Land Imaging capabilities.
- Reduced Envelope Multispectral Infrared Radiometer
(REMIR) – This study will design and build a single, full
spectral range (visible through thermal infrared) instrument suite
that represents the next step in meeting the thermal infrared band
requirements for future Landsat missions. The proposed technology
leverages the previous success of the REMI instrument, as well as
NASA and Ball investments in new detectors, innovative calibration
subsystems (e.g. the NASA Compact Infrared Radiometer in Space
CubeSat mission, built by Ball and currently in orbit) and a
scanning approach that enables significant reductions in size,
weight
- , and power compared to the existing
Landsat architecture.
Ball Aerospace has more than six decades of experience providing
leading-edge systems and instruments to help predict the weather,
map air quality and monitor the Earth's environment. Ball has
played a key role in the continuity of the current Landsat program
having built the OLI instrument flying on the Landsat 8 satellite
and the OLI-2 instrument for Landsat 9. As a partner on the
NASA SLI-Technology program, Ball has developed and demonstrated
innovative instruments that provide for a flexible and sustainable
next-generation Landsat architecture.
Powered by endlessly curious people with an unwavering mission
focus, Ball Aerospace pioneers discoveries that enable our
customers to perform beyond expectation and protect what matters
most. We create innovative space solutions, enable more accurate
weather forecasts, drive insightful observations of our planet,
deliver actionable data and intelligence, and ensure those who
defend our freedom go forward bravely and return home safely. Go
Beyond with Ball.® For more information, visit
www.ball.com/aerospace or connect with us on Facebook or
Twitter.
About Ball Corporation
Ball Corporation (NYSE: BLL)
supplies innovative, sustainable aluminum packaging solutions for
beverage, personal care and household products customers, as well
as aerospace and other technologies and services primarily for the
U.S. government. Ball Corporation and its subsidiaries employ more
than 18,300 people worldwide and reported 2019 net sales of
$11.5 billion. For more information,
visit www.ball.com, or connect with us on Facebook or Twitter.
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