An Overview of JPSS-1 VIIRS Pre-Launch Testing and Performanc

Abstract:

The Visible-Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) is a key instrument for the Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership (S-NPP) satellite launched in 2011 and future Joint Polar Satellite System (JPSS) satellites. The JPSS-1 (J1) spacecraft is scheduled to launch in January 2017. VIIRS instrument was designed to provide measurements of the globe twice daily. It is a cross-track scanning radiometer using a rotating telescope with spatial resolutions of 375 and 750 m at nadir for its imaging and moderate bands, respectively. It has 22 spectral bands covering wavelengths from 0.412 to 12.01 µm, including 14 reflective solar bands (RSB), 7 thermal emissive bands (TEB), and 1 day-night band (DNB). VIIRS observations are used to generate 22 environmental data products (EDRs), enabling a wide range of applications. This paper describes J1 VIIRS pre-launch testing program, instrument calibration and characterization strategies, and its projected performance based on independent analyses made by the NASA VIIRS Characterization Support Team (VCST). It also discusses the effort made the joint government team to produce sensor at-launch baseline performance parameters and the metrics needed to populate the Look-Up-Tables (LUTs) needed for the sensor data records (SDR) production. Sensor performance to be illustrated in this paper include signal-to-noise ratios (SNRs), dynamic range, spatial and spectral performance, response versus scan-angle (RVS), and polarization sensitivity.