Orbital maneuver requirements for high resolution topographic mapping

Abstract

High resolution mapping systems follow the trend to smaller ground sample distances (GSD) making use of the best technology available at the given time. From the 80 m GSD of ERTS in 1972, the GSD now approached 1 m and even less for civil applications. The paper tries to give a MTF based metrics and analytical method to assess the implications of decreasing the GSD and what features the spacecraft needs to provide. In this context the paper deals with such important parameters for topographic mapping like spatial resolution, radiometry, platform agility, pointing accuracy and stability. It is shown that the imagers as well as the spacecraft bus need to follow certain rules to allow high resolution imaging.