Digital Aerial Photogrammetry with the High Resolution Stereo Camera (HRSC)

Abstract

The High Resolution Stereo Camera (HRSC) is a multi-line optoelectronic camera and was originally developed for the exploration of Mars by the international space mission Mars96. After the failure of the launch in November 1996 a slightly modified camera became part of a new photogrammetric system for Earth observation which has been tested in a series of very successful aircraft campaigns. This new photogrammetric system comprises the camera built by the German Aerospace Center (DLR), an integrated GPS/INS system from Applanix Corporation for the determination of orientation parameters, an a comprehensive siftware package for photogrammetric evaluation of the data developed in cooperation between the technical University of Berlin and DLR. The studies demonstrate that the HRSC operates on a very high technological standard. In combination with GPS/INS technology and the photogrammetric software processing system, the camera represents the world's first fully automated digital multispectral and high resolution image acquisition and 3D processing system. Thus, aerial photogrammetry is also in the transition to the Digital Age.