STAGGERED LINE ARRAYS IN PUSHBROOM CAMERAS: THEORY AND APPLICATION

Abstract

Using pushbroom sensors onboard aircrafts or satellites one needs - especially for photogrammetric applications - broad image swaths and high geometrical resolution together. To accomplish both demands staggered line arrays can be used. A staggered line array consists of two identical CCD lines with one shifted half a pixel with respect to the other. Today such sensors are available in the VIS/NIR spectral region with 2 x 12000 pixels (staggered CCD line arrays) and in the mid and thermal infrared with 2 x 512 pixels (staggered MCT line arrays). These sensors will be applied in spaceborne remote sensing missions (small satellite BIRD and International Space Station project FOCUS, both for hot spot detection and evaluation), in experimental airborne systems (with the Infrared Airborne Camera HSRS of the Institute of Space Sensor Technology and Planetary Exploration) and, most important, in the first commercial Airborne Digital Camera (ADC, new name: ADS40) of LH Systems. The paper presents the theory, some results of the simulation, examples with real imaging systems in the laboratory and on aircrafts.