Reduced Envelope Multispectral Infrared Radiometer (REMIR)

The Reduced Envelope Multispectral Infrared Radiometer (REMIR) is the next step in meeting the five thermal infrared band requirements for beyond Landsat 10 by leveraging NASA and Ball investments in new detectors, innovative calibration subsystems, and a scanning approach that enables significant reductions in size, weight, and power (SWaP) compared to the existing Landsat architecture. Through the course of this Advanced Technology Demonstration (ATD), we will design and build a single, full spectral range (VIS-TIR) instrument suite for airborne verification of the Reference Mission Architecture (RMA) 2019's thermal infrared requirements. This approach will validate the use of an uncooled microbolometer focal plane array (FPA) with image motion control (IMC) and coadding of step-stare frames using Ball's Wide-Angle Steering Mirror (WASM) as a viable solution. Specifically, we will integrate a commercially available uncooled microbolometer FPA into the existing Reduced Envelope Multispectral Instrument (REMI) suite to offer a robust airborne demonstration platform and verify the ability of uncooled microbolometer FPA's, meeting the following RMA performance characteristics: Noise Equivalent Delta Temperature (NEDT), spatial resolution, edge response, and calibration requirements. REMIR's scan mechanism approach, successfully demonstrated on REMI for the VNIR-SWIR, enables this proposed uncooled microbolometer FPA solution. During operation, REMIR dynamically compensates for thermal background sensitivity, temperature gradient effects, and calibration uncertainty using the Compact Infrared Radiometer in Space (CIRiS) calibration system approach that employs two internal carbon nanotube blackbody calibration sources. The REMIR concept has an entrance TRL of 3 and uses low risk components with high TRL. The airborne REMI instrument, a NASA-Ball Sustained Land Imaging Technology 2015, has a TRL of 6; CIRiS, a NASA-Ball In-Space Validation of Earth Science Technologies (InVest) 2015, is currently in on-orbit commissioning, maturing to a TRL of 7. By leveraging test equipment and hardware in-house at Ball Aerospace, we can comfortably demonstrate the advantages of CIRiS for SLI-T and its incorporation into REMI, bringing the REMIR system to TRL 6, while maintaining the planned cost and schedule during this four -year build and test program. The REMIR architecture readily supports the addition of TIR band capability, in an architecture that maintains continuity of on-orbit Landsat requirements with a sustainable and reliable solution to meet the desired enhancements for Landsat 11. REMIR is sustainable in its simple uncooled microbolometer FPA approach, maintains continuity through consistency of people and facilities used on previous SLI programs, and is reliable through reusing previous high TRL NASA-Ball technologies and offering a low-cost and SWaP solution for reproducibility for constellation architectures. This SLI-T program strongly leverages a mentorship approach, pairing highly experienced Co-I's and Collaborators with younger PI and Co-I's. This approach allows younger key personnel to devote appropriate attention to the project, while benefitting from the instrument development and project management experience of more experienced personnel to ensure the future continuity of the Landsat program. Given the level of experience of the principals and a robust mentorship model, this SLI-T will be a low-risk, productive endeavor.

Accelerate mission development, reduce risks and costs for future Sustainable Land Imaging missions

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