Conceptual design and specification of a microsatellite forest fire detection system

The burning of our forests and other forms of biomass are increasingly harming the local, regional and global environment. As evidenced by studies of the earth\u27s atmosphere, biomass burning is a significant global source of greenhouse gases and particulate matter that impact the chemistry of the troposphere and stratosphere. Current remote sensing methods used for monitoring forest fires and other forms of biomass burning rely on sensors primarily designed for measurement of temperatures near 300 degrees Kelvin or the average surface temperatures of the earth’s surface. Fires radiate intensely against a low-temperature background, therefore it is possible to detect fires occupying only a fraction of a pixel. However, sensors used in present remote sensing satellites saturate at temperatures well below the peak temperatures of fires, or have revisit times unsuitable for monitoring the diurnal activity of fires. The purpose of this study is to review past and present space-based sensors used to monitor fire on a global scale and propose a design intended specifically for fire detection and geo-location. Early detection of forest fires can save lives, prevent losses of property and help reduce the impact on our environment

INFRARED REMOTE SENSING OF VOLATILE COMPONENTS ON THE EARTH AND MOON

Ph.D

Planetary Geological Science and Aerospace Systems Engineering Applications of Thermal Infrared Remote Sensing for Earth, Mars, and the Outer Bodies

abstract: Many planetary science missions study thermophysical properties of surfaces using infrared spectrometers and infrared cameras. Thermal inertia is a frequently derived thermophysical property that quantifies the ability for heat to exchange through planetary surfaces. To conceptualize thermal inertia, the diffusion equation analogies are extended using a general effusivity term: the square root of a product of conductivity and capacity terms. A hypothetical thermal inductance was investigated for diurnal planetary heating. The hyperbolic heat diffusion equation was solved to derive an augmented thermal inertia. The hypothetical thermal inductance was modeled with negligible effect on Mars. Extending spectral performance of infrared cameras was desired for colder bodies in the outer solar system where peak infrared emission is at longer wavelengths. The far-infrared response of an infrared microbolometer array with a retrofitted diamond window was determined using an OSIRIS-REx—OTES interferometer. An instrument response function of the diamond interferometer-microbolometer system shows extended peak performance from 15 µm out to 20 µm and 40% performance to at least 30 µm. The results are folded into E-THEMIS for the NASA flagship mission: Europa Clipper. Infrared camera systems are desired for the expanding smallsat community that can inherit risk and relax performance requirements. The Thermal-camera for Exploration, Science, and Imaging Spacecraft (THESIS) was developed for the Prox-1 microsat mission. THESIS, incorporating 2001 Mars Odyssey—THEMIS experience, consists of an infrared camera, a visible camera, and an instrument computer. THESIS was planned to provide images for demonstrating autonomous proximity operations between two spacecraft, verifying deployment of the Planetary Society’s LightSail-B, and conducting remote sensing of Earth. Prox-1—THESIS was selected as the finalist for the competed University Nanosatellite Program-7 and was awarded a launch on the maiden commercial SpaceX Falcon Heavy. THESIS captures 8-12 µm IR images with 100 mm optics and RGB color images with 25 mm optics. The instrument computer was capable of instrument commanding, automatic data processing, image storage, and telemetry recording. The completed THESIS has a mass of 2.04 kg, a combined volume of 3U, and uses 7W of power. THESIS was designed, fabricated, integrated, and tested in ASU’s 100K clean lab.Dissertation/ThesisDoctoral Dissertation Geological Sciences 201

Terahertz Imaging for Space Applications

The Sensor Research Laboratory (SRL) at the Naval Postgraduate School (NPS) is conducting research on terahertz (THz) imaging for space applications. The approach is two-fold: a commercial-off-the-shelf long-wave infrared (LWIR) camera using uncooled microbolometer technology has been modified with THz optics; and THz-to-IR band converter focal plane arrays have been developed to work as an attachment to the IR cameras. The small form factor of these technologies has enabled the Space System Academic Group at NPS to develop a CubeSat payload based on the THz imaging camera (TIC). The objective of this technology demonstrator is to examine the potential imaging capability in the THz range in the space environment, as THz radiation can penetrate many common gases, non-polar liquids, and non-metallic solids. In preparation for an upcoming launch opportunity in 2022, confidence testing has been performed on an engineering development unit of the TIC, and a concept of operations has been developed to capture low-resolution images in both the IR and THz ranges. There is unexplored potential for THz imaging, and this mission is a first step towards enabling additional imaging capabilities for applications such as submillimeter astronomy, space situational awareness, rendezvous and proximity operations, and possibly satellite inspection

Calibration of microbolometer infrared cameras for measuring volcanic ash mass loading

Thesis (M.S.) University of Alaska Fairbanks, 2014.Small spacecraft with thermal infrared (TIR) imaging capabilities are needed to detect dangerous levels of volcanic ash that can severely damage jet aircraft engines and must be avoided. Grounding aircraft after a volcanic eruption may cost the airlines millions of dollars per day, while accurate knowledge of volcanic ash density might allow for safely routing aircraft around dangerous levels of volcanic ash. There are currently limited numbers of satellites with TIR imaging capabilities so the elapsed time between revisits can be large, and these instruments can only resolve total mass loading along the line-of-sight. Multiple small satellites could allow for decreased revisit times as well as multiple viewing angles to reveal the three-dimensional structure of the ash cloud through stereoscopic techniques. This paper presents the design and laboratory evaluation of a TIR imaging system that is designed to fit within the resource constraints of a multi-unit CubeSat to detect volcanic ash mass loading. The laboratory prototype of this TIR imaging system uses a commercial off-theshelf (COTS) camera with an uncooled microbolometer sensor, two narrowband filters, a black body source and a custom filter wheel. The infrared imaging system detects the difference in attenuation of volcanic ash at 11 μm and 12 μm by measuring the brightness temperature at each band. The brightness temperature difference method is used to measure the column mass loading. Multi-aspect images and stereoscopic techniques are needed to estimate the mass density from the mass loading, which is the measured mass per unit area. Laboratory measurements are used to characterize the noise level and thermal stability of the sensor. A calibration technique is developed to compensate for sensor temperature drift. The detection threshold of volcanic ash density of this TIR imaging system is found to be from 0.35 mg/m3 to 26 mg/m3 for ash clouds that have thickness of 1 km, while ash cloud densities greater than 2.0 mg/m3 are considered dangerous to aircraft. This analysis demonstrates that a TIR imaging system for determining whether the volcanic ash density is dangerous for aircraft is feasible for multi-unit Cubesat platforms

Meeting The DoD’s Tactical Weather Needs Using CubeSats

This thesis investigates a CubeSat design that uses Commercial-Off-The-Shelf (COTS) components to capture, store, process, and downlink collected terrestrial weather data at resolutions near stat-of-the-art. The weather phenomena to be detected and transmitted in a timely manner are cloud formations, wind profiles, ocean currents, sea state, lightning, temperature profiles, and precipitation. It is hypothesized and shown that the proposed design will provide an improvement on the current U.S. tactical weather collection satellites because of the anticipated increased reliability and lowered cost to build and maintain the proposed CubeSat constellation. The methodology employed a multi-phase approach through the collective research of a team of Air Force Institute of Technology (AFIT) master’s students to develop an initial satellite and constellation scheme, with my contributions as the payload lead. This thesis documents the initial satellite design and, through my risk reduction effort to refine the payload, proposes a final payload configuration to meet tactical weather requirements. The final payload includes three types of sensors and is used in 198 identical CubeSats of a LEO Walker constellation. This research has the potential to increase the reliability of weather data collection for the military, while at a low cost

Design of a Space Borne Autonomous Infrared Tracking System

Complete characterization of the space environment in support of the United States goal of space Situational Awareness is not currently achievable. When confronted with recent increases in the deployment and miniaturization of microsatellites by numerous nations, the questions of foreign space capabilities are magnified. This study sought to determine the feasibility of and experimentally demonstrate a microsatellite capability to autonomously loiter about and track a target satellite. Various methods of passive remote sensing were investigated to determine the best means of detecting and tracking a target in space. Microbolometer-based infrared sensors were identified as the best alternative. A representative system was constructed for demonstration in AFIT s SIMSAT laboratory. Software modeling results identified open-loop instability, and therefore the requirement for closed-loop control. A simple PD control algorithm served as the basis for control, and a pseudo-feed-forward term was added to improve results. The feed-forward term was derived from orbital dynamics as the rate at which the chase satellite traverses around an ellipse formed in the target s frame of reference. Reduction in pointing errors of up to 67% were found in simulations. Successful non-optimal tracking results were obtained in the laboratory with a hardware-in-the-loop model for both step and moving inputs

A Year in Space for the CubeSat Multispectral Observing System: CUMULOS

CUMULOS is a three-camera system flying as a secondary payload on the Integrated Solar Array and Reflectarray Antenna (ISARA) mission with the goals of researching the use of uncooled commercial infrared cameras for Earth remote sensing and demonstrating unique nighttime remote sensing capabilities. Three separate cameras comprise the CUMULOS payload: 1) a visible (VIS) Si CMOS camera, 2) a shortwave infrared (SWIR) InGaAs camera, and 3) a longwave infrared (LWIR) vanadium oxide microbolometer. This paper reviews on-orbit operations during the past year, in-space calibration observations and techniques, and Earth remote sensing highlights from the first year of space operations. CUMULOS operations commenced on 8 June 2018 following the successful completion of the primary ISARA mission. Some of the unique contributions from the CUMULOS payloads include: 1) demonstrating the use of bright stars for on-orbit radiometric calibration of CubeSat payloads, 2) acquisition of science-quality nighttime lights data at 130-m resolution, and 3) operating the first simple Earth observing infrared payloads successfully flown on a CubeSat. Sample remote sensing results include images of: cities at night, ship lights (including fishing vessels), oil industry gas flares, serious wildfires, volcanic activity, and daytime and nighttime clouds. The CUMULOS VIS camera has measured calibrated nightlights imagery of major cities such as Los Angeles, Singapore, Shanghai, Tokyo, Kuwait City, Abu Dhabi, Jeddah, Istanbul, and London at more than 5x the resolution of VIIRS. The utility of these data for measuring light pollution, and mapping urban growth and infrastructure development at higher resolution than VIIRS is being studied, with an emphasis placed on Los Angeles. The Carr , Camp and Woolsey fires from the 2018 California fire season were imaged with all three cameras and results highlight the excellent wildfire imaging performance that can be achieved by small sensors. The SWIR camera has exhibited extreme sensitivity to flare and fire hotspots, and was even capable of detecting airglow-illuminated nighttime cloud structures by taking advantage of the strong OH emissions within its 0.9-1.7 micron bandpass. The LWIR microbolometer has proven successful at providing cloud context imagery for our nightlights mapping experiments, can detect very large fires and the brightest flare hotspots, and can also image terrain temperature variation and urban heat islands at 300-m resolution. CUMULOS capabilities show the potential of CubeSats and small sensors to perform several VIIRS-like nighttime mission areas in which wide area coverage can be traded for greater resolution over a smaller field of view. The sensor has been used in collaboration with VIIRS researchers to explore these mission areas and side-by-side results will be presented illustrating the capabilities as well as the limitations of small aperture LEO CubeSat systems

BeaverCube: Coastal Imaging with VIS/LWIR CubeSats

BeaverCube is a student-built 3U CubeSat that has two main objectives: one science objective and one technology objective. The science goal of BeaverCube is to demonstrate that it is possible to develop and apply platforms that can leverage statistical relationships between temperature and co-varying bio-optical properties, such as light absorption by colored dissolved organic matter. The technology goal of BeaverCube is to demonstrate electrospray propulsion for CubeSats, enabling more coordinated and targeted science missions among multiple spacecraft. The science objective for BeaverCube involves measuring temperature and color, which are key oceanographic properties, through a low-cost platform. Temperature and salinity are used to determine the density of watermasses. This is then used to physically classify them. Thermohaline circulation is a part of large-scale ocean circulation that is driven by global density gradients created by surface heat and freshwater fluxes. Thermohaline circulation plays an important role in supplying heat to the polar regions; it influences the rate of sea ice formation near the poles, which in turn affects other aspects of the climate system, such as the albedo, and thus solar heating, at high latitudes. Small- and meso-scale ocean features such as fronts and eddies canal so be identified and tracked solely using sea surface temperature properties. BeaverCube will track warm core rings on the Northeastern section of the US coast, one of the regions in the world that is heating the fastest due to climate change. Wide geospatial coverage with near-simultaneous measurements of thermal and bio-optical ocean properties by a CubeSat has the potential to address many important oceanographic questions for both basic science and Naval applications. The majority of space-borne optical oceanographic parameters observed from CubeSats rely on atmospheric corrections to provide useful data. BeaverCube will both obtain data and help determine to what extent supplemental data will still be required for atmospheric corrections. BeaverCube will make sea surface and cloud top temperature measurements using three cameras: one visible and two FLIR Boson LWIR cameras. In-situ measurements will be coordinated with an array of ocean buoys to support calibration and validation. The student team successfully tested the LWIR camera on a high-altitude balloon launch in November 2019 to an altitude of 110,000 feet, demonstrating the imaging functionality in a near-space environment. The technology goal for BeaverCube is to demonstrate the operation of the Tiled Ionic Liquid Electrospray (TILE2) propulsion technology from Accion Systems, Inc. for orbital maneuvering. BeaverCube will be deployed in Low Earth Orbit from the International Space Station. The plan is to change the altitude of BeaverCube by 480 meters using 50 micro-Newtons of thrust, detected by an onboard GPS receiver. With a goal of launching in late 2020 or early 2021, BeaverCube passed Critical Design Review in Spring 2020, with subsystems designed and procured, including components from AAC Clyde Space (power), ISIS (ADCS), Near Space Launch (BlackBox with GlobalStar simplex radio and NovAtel GPS), and others (OpenLST radio and Raspberry Pi based C&DH board). Assembly and integration prior to environmental testing are planned for late summer 2020