On-Orbit Calibration Approach Based on Partial Calibration-Field Coverage for the GF-1/WFV Camera

Abstract

The Gaofen-1 (GF1) optical remote sensing satellite is the first in China's series of high-resolution civilian satellites and is equipped with four wide-field-of-view cameras. The cameras work together to obtain an image 800 km wide, with a resolution of 16 m, allowing GF1 to complete a global scan in four days. To achieve high-accuracy calibration of the wide-field-of-view cameras on GF1, the calibration field should have high resolution and broad coverage based on the traditional calibration method. In this study, a GF self-calibration scheme was developed. It uses partial reference calibration data covering the selected primary charge-coupled device to achieve high-accuracy calibration of the whole image. Based on the absolute constraint of the ground control points and the relative constraint of the tie points of stereoscopic images, we present two geometric calibration models based on paired stereoscopic images and three stereoscopic images for wide-field-of-view cameras on GF1, along with corresponding stepwise internal-parameter estimation methods. Our experimental results indicate that the internal relative accuracy can be guaranteed after calibration. This article provides a new approach that enables large-field-of-view optical satellites to achieve high-accuracy calibration based on partial calibration-field coverage.