Gregory Badura, Georgia Tech Research Institute; Christopher Valenta, Georgia Tech Research Institute; Brian Gunter, Georgia Institute of Technology; Luke Renegar, Georgia Institute of Technology; Devin Wu, Georgia Institute of Technology
Keywords: Telescope and Sensor Design, Optimization, Infrared
Abstract:
Successful tracking and detection of resident space objects (RSOs) in an urban environment such as Atlanta, GA requires optimizing spectral filters for the effects of wavelength dependent atmospheric scattering, material reflectance, and emitted city light pollution. In this study, we perform a multi-spectral optimization for the Georgia Tech Space Object Research Telescope across the visible through infrared spectrum that accounts for atmospheric turbulence, atmospheric transmission, and background sky radiance. The first contribution of this work is the development of a wavelength-dependent performance metric for the detection of RSOs under different atmospheric conditions. The second contribution is the derivation of a simplified model for light pollution that is based on existing astronomy models. This simplified model accounts for double scattering of light and can be used for adding a light pollution component to sky background results that are generated by complex atmospheric simulation tools. The final contribution is the derivation of novel spectral filters that are tuned to the sub-optimal atmospheric seeing conditions of Atlanta, GA and the RSO materials that are considered in this study. While this study is developed for the geographic region of Atlanta, GA and uses simplified reflectance models for RSOs, it can easily be expanded upon and generalized in future studies.
Date of Conference: September 17-20, 2019
Track: Optical Systems & Instrumentation