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Design & Development of Hyperspectral Imaging Payload for Space

Applications

1. Objective

The main objective of this project is developing Hyperspectral Payload through

capacity building. Hyperspectral Technology has both military and civilian
applications which are very important for national defense and economic
growth.

2. Scope

Hyperspectral imaging, like other spectral imaging, collects and processes

information from across the electromagnetic spectrum. The goal
of hyperspectral imaging is to obtain the spectrum for each pixel in the image
of a scene, with the purpose of finding objects, identifying materials,
Camouflage detection and Minerals exploration.
3. Rationale

Recently SUPARCO has successfully completed Project of Airborne

Hyperspectral imagers and have gained know-how related to technology,
applications and processing of Hyperspectral data.
This project has provided know-how in field of acquisition of Hyperspectral
data of VNIR and SWIR imagers, mapping of navigation data for geo-
referencing and ortho-rectification of Hyperspectral imagery, processing
several bands of VNIR and SWIR imagers and mosaic/joining of VNIR and
SWIR for full spectrum analysis.
After completion of “Airborne Hyperspectral Imaging Payload” project
SUPARCO will have capabilities for design and development of indigenous HS
payloads/ satellite, which will be used for numerous civilian as well as military
use.
4. Technical Description
Background
The telescope of Hyperspectral and EO payload are similar but Focal Plane
Assembly is totally different in both. Since SUPARCO is already proceeding
with the capacity building through Joint Design and Development (JDD) of EO
payload, therefore only Focal Plane Assembly (FPA) of Hyperspectral payload
needs to be indigenized. In this connection, SUPARCO has made capacity
building plan of Focal Plane Assembly as part of Hyperspectral satellite
contract. With completion of HS satellite contract, SUPARCO will be able to
indigenize future Space borne HS Payloads.
Introduction
In Hyperspectral Payload, reflected light from the target is broken into is
spectral content by the element, and the array of detectors measures the
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respective values of the intensity of the incident light. In order to obtain a
complete row of the target, it is necessary to use a mirror that scan across
the target while the spectrograph evaluates the spectral content of each
individual cell in the row. The limitation of this setup is the contingency that
another element is responsible for the second dimension of motion over the
target. An alternative method of capturing the data is to replace the linear
array with a two dimensional CMOS or CCD imager. Figure 1 shows a
simplified diagram of such a system. One row of the target is passed through
a slit in the front end optical system and into the dispersion element. The
output of the element is a two dimensional representation of the spectrum of
each cell of the row, which the sensor detects. One axis of the sensor
represents the spectral content, while the other represents the spatial.

Figure 1 Two Dimensional Sensor Method

New advancements in technology have made development of Hyperspectral

Camera relatively simple. This is done by adopting spectrum-dividing
technology, in which end of the image sensor is equipped with a filter and
there is no need for prism and other optical components.

Figure 2 Spectrum dividing principle of the Hyperspectral camera

Considering the low cost, less mass & less power of imaging payload,
integrated VNIR and SWIR camera scheme is proposed. The integrated
camera body has the advantages of light mass, low cost and low power
consumption. The VNIR and SWIR integrated Hyperspectral camera will adopt
spectrum-dividing technology, and the front end of the image sensor is

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equipped with a filter.

Following are the broad parameters:

Sr # Parameters Values
VNIR 400-1000nm
1. Spectral Range
SWIR 1000-2500nm
VNIR 60
2. Spectral Bands
SWIR 140
VNIR 5m
3. GSD @ 500 KM
SWIR 10m
VNIR 40Km
4. Swath @ 500 KM
SWIR 40Km
VNIR 10nm
5. Spectral Resolution
SWIR 10nm
VNIR > 150
6. SNR
SWIR > 100
VNIR 0.2
7. MTF
SWIR 0.2
Spatial & Spectral VNIR 10% of Pixel
8.
Mis-Registration SWIR 10% of Pixel

Table 1 Broad Parameters of Proposed Hyperspectral Camera

5. Deliverables

 Finalization of suitable specifications for Hyperspectral payload for

satellite applications
 Finalization of design philosophy/ scheme for Hyperspectral imager
 Design and Development of Engineering Model (EM) of FPA
 Design and Development of Qualification Model (QM) of FPA
 Qualification testing of Hyperspectral FPA
 Development and AIT of Hyperspectral Imaging Payload

6. Timeline

7. Financial Outlay. The estimated cost of the project is 15 M USD. The

year-wise breakdown is as under:-

Year Estimated cost (PKR M)

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LC (PKR) FE (PKR)
2021-2022
2022-2023
2023-2024

8. Cost Benefit Analysis

Considering the low cost, less mass & less power of imaging payload,
integrated VNIR and SWIR camera scheme is proposed. The integrated
camera body has the advantages of light mass, low cost and low power
consumption. The VNIR and SWIR integrated Hyperspectral camera will adopt
spectrum-dividing technology, and the front end of the image sensor is
equipped with a filter.

9. Linkage with NSP

10. Priority.

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