The Hyperspectral Imager for the Coastal Ocean (HICO): Sensor and data processing overview

The Hyperspectral Imager for the Coastal Ocean (HICO) is a new hyperspectral sensor that will be housed on the International Space Station (ISS). The low-cost, rapid-development sensor was built by the Naval Research Laboratory (NRL). NRL is also responsible for mission planning and operational data processing for this new sensor. HICO is sponsored and funded by the Office of Naval Research (ONR) within its Innovative Naval Prototype (INP) program. HICO is integrated and flown with support from and under the direction of the Department of Defense Space Test Program. HICO will be the first spaceborne hyperspectral sensor optimized for environmental characterization of both the coastal and open ocean. HICO samples the 350 to 1070 nanometer spectral range in 128 spectral channels and has a spatial ground sampling distance (GSD) of 100 meters. HICO is manifested for launch in September, 2009; once operational it will be used to routinely collect imagery of select coastal regions around the world. In the spirit of the INP program, HICO will be used as a prototype pathfinder sensor to establish sensor management and algorithm requirements for future generations of spaceborne hyperspectral sensors. The HICO project is designed as a one-year mission, with the goal of placing a similar sensor aboard a future free-flying satellite, following demonstration of the sensor capabilities on the ISS. Hyperspectral imaging provides unique capability for coastal monitoring and ocean characterization. Coastal products from HICO such as bathymetry, optical properties, biological properties, and bottom characterization can provide coastal managers and researchers new capabilities for ocean observation from space. HICO derived products requires complex processing procedures from calibration, atmospheric correction, and in water algorithms in order to exploit hyperspectral signatures. This presentation describes the HICO sensor and the operational processing required to convert raw HICO data to ocean bio-optical products.