Abstract
The Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) on-board the second Joint Polar Satellite System (JPSS) completed its sensor level testing in February 2018. The JPSS-2 (J2) mission is scheduled to launch in 2022 and will be very similar to its two predecessor missions, the Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership (SNPP) mission, launched on 28 October 2011 and JPSS-1 (renamed NOAA-20) launched on 18 November 2017. VIIRS instrument has 22 spectral bands covering the spectrum between 0.4 and 12.6 μm: 14 reflective solar bands (RSB), 7 thermal emissive bands (TEB) and one day-night band (DNB). It is a cross-track scanning radiometer capable of providing global measurements through observations at two spatial resolutions, 375 m and 750 m at nadir for the imaging bands and moderate bands, respectively. This paper will provide an overview of J2 VIIRS characterization methodologies and calibration performance during the pre-launch testing phases performed by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) VIIRS Characterization Support Team (VCST) to evaluate the at-launch baseline radiometric performance and generate the parameters needed to populate the sensor data record (SDR) Look-Up-Tables (LUTs). Our analysis results confirmed the good performance of J2 VIIRS, in general as good as previous VIIRS instruments and all non-compliances are expected to have low impact on data quality. Key sensor performance metrics include the signal to noise ratio (SNR), radiance dynamic range, reflective and emissive bands calibration performance, polarization sensitivity, spectral performance, response versus scan-angle (RVS) and scattered light response. A set of performance metrics generated during the pre-launch testing program will be compared to both the SNPP and JPSS-1 VIIRS sensors.
Highlights
The Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) instrument onboard the second Joint Polar Satellite System (JPSS-2 or J2) was built by Raytheon Space and Airborne Systems (SAS) (El Segundo, California) and has completed its sensor level testing to assess its radiometric, spectral and spatial performance. This VIIRS instrument is the third flight unit of its series and its design is very similar to the previous missions, the Suomi-National Polar-Orbiting Partnership (SNPP) and JPSS-1 which were launched on 28 October 2011 and 18 November 2017, respectively
Because of the huge amount of test data collected during J2 VIIRS testing, we have limited our analysis by focusing on a few key performance metrics, including the radiometric calibration (RSB and thermal emissive bands (TEB)), dynamic range, signal to noise ratio (SNR), noise equivalent temperature difference (NEdT), polarization sensitivity, Relative Spectral Response (RSR), response versus scan-angle (RVS), Near-Field Response (NFR) and scattered light
Comprehensive radiometric performance was presented in this paper based on the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) VIIRS Characterization Support Team (VCST) data analysis effort, with support from sensor vendor and other government teams
Summary
The Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) instrument onboard the second Joint Polar Satellite System (JPSS-2 or J2) was built by Raytheon Space and Airborne Systems (SAS) (El Segundo, California) and has completed its sensor level testing to assess its radiometric, spectral and spatial performance. This VIIRS instrument is the third flight unit of its series and its design is very similar to the previous missions, the Suomi-National Polar-Orbiting Partnership (SNPP) and JPSS-1 which were launched on 28 October 2011 and 18 November 2017, respectively. A summary and conclusion of J2 VIIRS pre-launch radiometric and spectral performance as well as future performance enhancements will be presented in the last section, Section 4
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