Optical Design of a Radiometrically Calibrated Miniature Earth Observation Imager

Abstract

In this thesis a diffraction limited optical design for a radiometrically calibrated miniature multispectral Earth observation imager is proposed and its performance analysed. The goal of the imager is to capture quantitative data for remote sensing with a radiometric accuracy of 5% during a three year lifetime in Low Earth Orbit. The design is based on optical and radiometric requirements that were derived from a radiometric budget analysis and the requirements from the original proposal. The budget also set requirements for different optical components which were chosen as part of this work. A tolerance analysis was performed on the optical design taking into account the uncertainties from manufacturing and assembly. It was found that instrument design fulfills the original requirements and it will be used to build a prototype instrument for the European Space Agency.