MSDS: An Experimental 24-Channel Multispectral Scanner System

One of the more promising remote-sensing instruments that will be used in earth-resources survey programs is the multispectral scanner. It will collect both spectral and spatial information on the terrain scanned in a spatially registered manner. This paper describes one such scanner, which is being developed for a NASA C-130 earth-resources survey aircraft. It will be capable of simultaneously viewing 24 wavelength bands in the range between 0.34 and 13 m; it will have a spatial resolution of 2 mrad and an active scan of 80°. The spectral bands are formed by detector arrays in the focal plane of two grating spectrometers. All bands are radiometrically calibrated using field-filling sources that are viewed during the inactive part of the scan cycle. The scanner has been installed and test flown during the latter part of 1970, and will be delivered to NASA in the summer of 1971.