Practical On-Orbit Geometric Recalibration of GF-1 WFV Images Based on RPC Model

The Gaofen-1 (GF-1) wide-field-view (WFV) sensor provides valuable Earth observation (EO) data, but its limited geometric accuracy hinders applications requiring precise geolocation. This study presents a novel and practical on-orbit geometric recalibration method specifically designed for satellite images lacking a rigorous sensor model. Our approach uses a rowwise rational polynomial coefficient (RPC) refinement model and leverages well-distributed ground control points (GCPs) within single rows of calibration images to estimate and correct charge-coupled device (CCD) distortions using thin plate spline (TPS) interpolation. Validation results demonstrate a significant improvement in geometric accuracy, achieving a circular error 90% (CE90) of approximately 0.4 pixels for GF-1 WFV, highlighting the method’s effectiveness and broad applicability in remote sensing.