Abstract: An attitude control apparatus for a satellite includes: at least three electric motors, wherein the at least three electric motors are arranged in such a way that a torque may be generated with any orientation of an associated torque vector, and a controller, wherein the controller is configured to drive the at least three electric motors based on a torque controller. The torque controller is adapted to operate the at least three electric motors outside a rest state only when an acceleration torque and a braking torque are required to execute an agile attitude change maneuver. There is also described an associated method.

Abstract: An attitude control apparatus for a satellite includes: at least three electric motors, wherein the at least three electric motors are arranged in such a way that a torque may be generated with any orientation of an associated torque vector, and a controller, wherein the controller is configured to drive the at least three electric motors based on a torque controller. The torque controller is adapted to operate the at least three electric motors outside a rest state only when an acceleration torque and a braking torque are required to execute an agile attitude change maneuver. There is also described an associated method.

Abstract: A method for detecting a hot target on the Earth by a satellite is disclosed. The satellite includes a sensor for acquiring data in spectral channels in the IR spectrum, and a navigation system for detecting position and orientation data of the satellite. The method includes the steps of subjecting the acquired data to a system correction by radiometric and geometric calibration files stored on the satellite; detecting a hot target on board from the system-corrected data by multi-channel thresholding; geo-referencing the hot target by the position and orientation data of the satellite and the geometric calibration files; temporarily storing the geo-referenced hot target on the satellite; and transmitting the temporarily stored hot target by a transmitting unit to a receiving unit on the Earth.

Abstract: A method for detecting a hot target on the Earth by a satellite is disclosed. The satellite includes a sensor for acquiring data in spectral channels in the IR spectrum, and a navigation system for detecting position and orientation data of the satellite. The method includes the steps of subjecting the acquired data to a system correction by radiometric and geometric calibration files stored on the satellite; detecting a hot target on board from the system-corrected data by multi-channel thresholding; geo-referencing the hot target by the position and orientation data of the satellite and the geometric calibration files; temporarily storing the geo-referenced hot target on the satellite; and transmitting the temporarily stored hot target by a transmitting unit to a receiving unit on the Earth.

Abstract: A method for archiving a master image, including the steps of pre-detecting a resolution of a master image which is at least one of a geometric, a radiometric and a spectral resolution, adaptively matching a resolution of an optical device to the pre-detected master image resolution such that the optical device resolution conforms with minimum resolution for an appropriate scanning theorem, scanning point values of the master image with the resolution from the matching step by the optical device having a photosensitive component, digitizing the point values of the master image from the scanning step, compressing the digitized point values, and storing the compressed point values.

Abstract: A device for the geometric calibration of a CCD camera, which includes a coherent light source and a synthetic hologram arranged relative to the coherent light source so that the hologram generates a real three-dimensional test structure f(x,y,z) around a focal plane of the CCD camera using coherent light. A method for geometric calibration of a CCD camera using a coherent light source and a synthetic hologram which includes the steps of calculating the synthetic hologram to provide a well-defined ideal three-dimensional test structure f(x,y,z) taking into account idealized camera optics of the CCD camera to be calibrated, illuminating the hologram using the coherent light source so that a real three-dimensional test structure f(x,y,z) is generated around a focal plane of the CCD camera, and evaluating in parallel a plurality of sensor pixels by determining a respective section plane through the real test structure f(x,y,z) from individual image information of each of the plural sensor pixels.

Abstract: In a Fourier spectrometer arrangement for Fourier transforming an interferogram for determining the optic spectrum of a radiation, the readout of the interferogram is decoupled from particular phase positions of the reference signal through elimination of otherwise required synchronization with an external fixed clock pulse to thereby enable a lowering of the reference frequency and simultaneously to maintain or increase the scan frequency of the interferogram. The Fourier spectrometer arrangement includes an extrapolation filter which receives the incoming reference signal and employs adaptive state estimation processes in order to generate extrapolation values by which the future course of the reference signal can be projected. These extrapolation values can be calculated at times which are closer together than, e.g., zero crossings of the reference signal and may have an arbitrary phase position thereto.