FOCUS - an intelligent infrared sensor system on the ISS

SIGLEAvailable from TIB Hannover: DtF QN1(93,7) / FIZ - Fachinformationszzentrum Karlsruhe / TIB - Technische InformationsbibliothekBundesministerium fuer Bildung, Wissenschaft, Forschung und Technologie, Bonn (Germany)DEGerman

AUTONOMOUS SPACEBORNE FIRE DETECTION

Current space-borne sensor systems can be used to generate products of fire susceptibility using time-series of vegetation state, the occurrence and rough location of active fires using middle and thermal infrared sensors and smoke and area burned using visible, near and middle infrared sensors. The existing and planned operational space-borne sensors are not developed for hot event recognition and show serious limitations if geophysical parameters has to be obtained, (partly channel saturation, spatial resolution > 1 km). Over the last five years there have been a remarkable number of initiatives in Europe and in the United States to develop dedicated satellite systems for fire detection and monitoring. Starting from the Fire Recognition System (FIRES) Phase A Study German Aerospace Center (DLR) and OHB-System proposed a new approach to the design of autonomous satellite remote sensing systems. The simultaneous co-registration of a combination of Infrared (IR) and visible (VIS) channels is the key for a reliable autonomous on-board detection of High Temperature Events (HTE) on Earth surface, such as vegetation fires and volcano eruptions. A Bi-spectral IR Detection (BIRD) small satellite mission is now running in a progressed instrument and spacecraft development phase at DLR, which is now supported by OHB-Systems. It will be piggy back launched in 2000 or 2001. The BIRD data will play a key role for FOCUS and for the preparation of the first generation of dedicated operational High Temperature Environmental Disaster Recognition Systems. DLR proposed in 1997 to use the International Space Station (ISS) in its early utilisation phase as a platform and test-bed for an Intelligent Infrared Sensor prototype FOCUS of a future Environmental Disaster Recognition Satellite System. FOCUS, which is now pre-selected by ESA to be flown as an early external payload prototype on the International Space Station, has to demonstrate the reliable and near real-time on-board autonomous hot spot detection. A FOCUS feasibility study for ESA has been conducted by OHB-system, Carl Zeiss and DLR since October 1998

Advanced Fire Observation System (FOS) by Intelligent Infrared Sensors

Current and planned operational space-borne Earth observation systems provide spatially, radiometrically or temporally crude data for the detection and monitoring of high temperature phenomena on the surface of our planet. High Temperature Events (HTE) are forest and savannah fires. fires of open coal mines, volcanic activities and others. A simultaneous co-registration of a combination of infrared (IR) and visible (VIS) channels is the key for a reliable autonomous on-board detection of High Temperature Events (HTE) on Earth surface. Furthermore there are ecology-oriented objectives mainly related to the sophisticated data fusion of spectrometric & imaging remote inspection and parameter extraction of selected HTEs, and to the assessment of ecological consequences of HTEs, such as aerosol and gas emission. For local studies of selected hot spots, high resolution and the possibility to steer the sensor towards the potential high temperature event for close inspection are necessary. The Fore Field Sensor (FFS) will perfonn the wideangle hot spot detection and mapping. For the detected and selected hot spots, the Main Sensor (MS) will be targeted and deliver detailed spatial high resolution observation. FOCUS was selected from ESA as one of five European Groupings to be flown as an externally mounted payload during the early utilisation phase of the International Space Station (ISS). The FOCUS mission is the test-bed for technology and autonomy demonstration. The FOCUS Multi Sensor consists of two sensor systems: The multi-spectral Fore Field Sensor (FFS: VIS, MIR, TIR) and the Main Sensor (MS). The MS is composed of an imaging system (MS-IM: VIS, NIR. MIR, TIR) and a Fourier Spectrometer (MS-FS: 3-15~m). As a follow on to FOCUS, the Fire Observation System (FOS) is foreseen, as a small dedicated satellite, caring the FOCUS qualified sensors system