FireBIRD- High Dynamic Range Thermal Infrared Satellite Systems for hot and cold temperature environments

Kurzfassung

FireBIRD is a satellite constellation of the German Aerospace Center (DLR) consisting of two small satellites, TET-1 (Technology Experiment Carrier) and BIROS (Berlin InfraRed Optical System), which were initially designed for high temperature anomaly detection and characterization of wildfires (Wooster, 2003). The main payload of both satellites consists of VIS (RGB) and Infrared (IR) camera systems with one band in the mid-wave (MWIR) and one band in the longwave-infrared (LWIR) spectral range. Both satellites are flying sun-synchronously in a low-earth orbit at approximately 500 km altitude. With a ground sampling distance (GSD) of ~170 m the spatial resolution of the TIR channels is rather high compared to MODIS or Sentinel-3. Additionally, the high agility and +/- 30° across-track pointing capability of the satellites allow image acquisition on several consecutive days and guarantee a repetition rate of 5 days. The BIROS IR sensor system has been optimized enabling the system also to acquire images for areas with comparable low surface temperatures as well. Background land-surface temperature can be measured accurately. Mettig (2017) has shown the ability of FireBIRD for sea surface temperature (SST) monitoring. Recent activities, also with the Alfred-Wegener Institute (AWI) in Potsdam, include the multi-temporal acquisition of data over different test sites, located in Russian and Alaskan polar regions, including the Lena and Pechora delta and Lake Toolik to evaluate the ability of the system to measure temperatures and geomorphologic changes in permafrost regions. The relatively high spatial resolution combined with a potentially high repetition rate offer a chance to fill the gap of multi-temporal high spatial resolution input data for monitoring of permafrost processes and climate modelling. Acquired imagery is processed and archived by DLR and is publicly available.