Calibration of and Attitude Error Estimation for a Spaceborne Scatterometer using Measurements Over Land

<p>The NASA Scatterometer (NSCAT) was launched August 20, 1996 aboard the National Space Development Agency of Japan's Advanced Earth Observing Spacecraft (ADEOS). NSCAT's primary mission was to measure radar backscatter over the world's oceans. These measurements are used to generate estimates of ocean wind speed and direction. Scatterometers must be calibrated before their measurements are scientifically useful. However, the calibration of NSCAT must be done in orbit. A new methodology for selecting land regions for use in extended target spaceborne scatterometer calibration is first developed. Next, a summary of the calibration technique used in this thesis is presented. While the foundation of this technique was previously developed theoretically, the work in this thesis is its first application for calibration/validation of an on-line spaceborne radar system. The technique is extended to estimate simultaneously NSCAT's calibration and the host spacecraft's attitude error. The attitude references reported by the attitude control system on-board ADEOS are deemed erroneous. Results of this expanded technique, applied under varying assumptions, are presented for consideration. A summary and suggestions for future research conclude this work.</p>

Name thesis:degree_name

MS

Grantor dc:publisher

Brigham Young University - Provo

Author dc:creator

• Wilson, Clarence J., III

• radar backscatter
• scatterometer
• scatterometry
• ADEOS
• NSCAT
• NASA Scatterometer
• radar calibration
• attitude estimation
• Electrical and Computer Engineering

Language dc:language

English

Repository record dc:identifier

https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/etd/77

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:scholarsarchive.byu.edu:etd-1076