Space Based Optical Sensor Calibration Approaches

The internal calibration source conceptually designed during Phase 1 will be fabricated and tested in this Phase 2 program. The proposed source offers significant advantages over existing approaches using in-flight blackbodies, including weight, power, and the ability to generate multiple irradiance levels over a short period of time. The source has been designed to couple with the GIFTS telescope as a representative example of future remote sensing telescopes. The source uses high emissivity ion-milled nichrome ribbons to generate an infrared beam which is introduced into the telescope via a flip mirror at the field stop. Test optics have been designed which simulate the GIFTS telescope in the laboratory. The demonstration source assembly will be tested for long-term repeatability, focal plane uniformity, absolute passband irradiance, and level-to-level transition times. Successful completion of the proposed program will provide in-flight calibration technology ready for flight qualification in remote sensing programs demanding significant performance improvements over existing approaches