Selecting the best Earth Observation (EO) optical payload for a satellite can be a defining choice for a research mission or commercial service.
But with more models on the market than ever before, combined with innovation and supply chain changes in satellite buses, form factors, and sub-systems, making the right choice of EO camera can be difficult.
The video below is a recording of a satsearch webinar entitled a guide to selecting Earth Observation cameras for satellite missions.
In the webinar you can hear first-hand from experts in optical payload manufacturing, testing, integration, and operation.
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Contents
Presenters
The presenters in this webinar event were all paying members of the satsearch membership program.
The individual slide decks for the presentations are freely available on each company’s supplier hub linked to below, alongside each speaker’s details:
- Thys Cronje, Chief Commercial Officer of Simera Sense
- Tomasz Poźniak, Chief Development Officer at SatRevolution
- Torcuato Luis Battaglia, VP of Business Expansion at SATLANTIS
- Luke Davis, Development Engineer at Berlin Space Technologies (BST)
- Stephen Bailey, Chief Engineer of Redwire Space (slide deck coming soon)
Products
The following systems are all manufactured by the satsearch members who presented in the webinar and were each referenced in the talks, or are related to the products discussed:
Simera Sense's TriScape100 is a red-green-blue (RGB) colour snapshot imager for Earth Observation (EO) applications. It is based on a 12.6-megapixel CMOS imaging sensor with integrated RGB Bayer filter in the visible spectral range, and provides snapshot imaging with a frame rate of up to 150 full resolution frames per second (FPS).
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Simera Sense's HyperScape100 is a hyperspectral push-broom imager primarily designed for Earth Observation (EO) applications, as a payload for CubeSats. It is based on a CMOS image sensor and custom continuously variable optical filter in the visible and near-infrared (VNIR) spectral range.
Simera Sense's MultiScape100 CIS is a multispectral push-broom imager for Earth Observation (EO) applications. It is based on a CMOS imaging sensor and a 7-band multispectral filter in the visible and near-infrared (VNIR) spectral range. It provides continuous line-scan imaging in up to 7 spectral bands, each with digital time delay integration (dTDI).
Simera Sense's MultiScape200 CIS is a multispectral push-broom imager for Earth Observation (EO) applications. It is based on a CMOS imaging sensor and a 7-band multispectral filter in the visible and near-infrared (VNIR) spectral range. It provides continuous line-scan imaging in up to 7 spectral bands, each with digital time delay integration (dTDI).
Simera Sense's TriScape200 is a red-green-blue (RGB) colour imager, as a primary payload for smallsats. It is based on a 65-megapixel CMOS imaging sensor with integrated RGB Bayer filter in the visible spectral range, and provides snapshot imaging with a frame rate of up to 30 full resolution frames per second (FPS) at 10-bit pixel depth.
The SATLANTIS iSIM-90 VNIR SWIR is an optical payload designed to provide a high performance to mass ratio in 12U/16U CubeSats. It covers the Visible & Near InfraRed (VNIR) spectral range, offering both panchromatic and multispectral capabilities according to the user's needs, and includes the optical front-end as well as state-of-the-art CMOS matrix detectors and an electronics subsystem for payload management and control.
The SATLANTIS iSIM-170 VNIR SWIR is a sub-meter resolution optical payload designed for microsatellites. It covers the Visible & Near InfraRed (VNIR) spectral range, offering both panchromatic and multispectral capabilities according to the user's needs, and includes the optical front-end as well as state-of-the-art CMOS matrix detectors and an electronics subsystem for payload management and control.
The Redwire Argus Vision System is a camera system for spaceflight situational awareness, navigation, inspection, and visual applications. This space camera system is a modular, software-defined, imaging system that supports streaming and stored 4K UHD Video @ 30 fps, and includes up to 3 interchangeable 13 MP MIPI camera heads and a variety of lens configurations.
A high resolution flight camera designed for low earth orbit (LEO) applications including docking, navigation, inspection, and situational awareness. The system features GigE Vision® image streaming over 1 Gb/s Ethernet, has a mass of 180g (without optics), and a typical power consumption of 5VDC @ 400mA (full resolution, 10 fps).
The HRVI-6HD 2nd Generation is the latest version of BST's heritage line camera systems. It consists of three sub-units, the DCP (Dual Camera Payload) and two PLSU (Payload Support Unit), one attached to each of the DCP’s two optical heads. The HRVI-6HD 2nd Gen offers 4.6m GSD resolution imagery with a 70km swath. The hyperspectral version provides flexibility to adjust the GSD/SNR/spectral resolution to the mission's needs.