<title>Simulation of a fast framing staring sensor</title>

Abstract

A sensor system simulation has been developed which aids in the evaluation of a proposed fast framing staring cl sens @aZk! will perform in its operational environment. Beginning with a high resolution input image, a sequence of frames at the target sensor resolution are produced using the assumed platform motion and the contribution of various noise sources as input data. The resulting frame sequence can then be used to help define system requirements, to aid algorithm development, and to predict system performance. In order to assess the performance of a sensor system, the radiance measured by the system is modeled using a variety of scenarios. For performance prediction, the modeling effort is directed toward providing the ability to determine the minimum Noise Equivalent Target (NET) intensities for each band of the sensor system. The NET is calculated at the entrance pupil of the instrument in such a way that the results can be applied to a variety of point source targets and collection conditions. The intent is to facilitate further study within the user community as new mission areas and/or targets of interest develop that are not addressed explicitly during sensor conceptual design.