Smear Effect on High-Resolution Remote Sensing Satellite Image Quality

The image quality of high-resolution remote sensing satellites (HRRSS) is influenced by several issues including optical, detector, satellite attitude and vibration aspects. Although offering noise reduction and increased sensitivity, time delay and integration (TDI) charge coupled devices (CCDs) utilized in HRRSS are prone to introduce large amounts of pixel smear due to these aspects. If HRRSS are not analyzed carefully during the design phase, the amount of pixel smear may be significant and, hence, will reduce the modulation transfer function (MTF); causing image quality degradation. In this paper, the combined influence of the above-mentioned issues on MTF is investigated by using Matlab simulation. An image motion velocity model is employed in this study. Furthermore, the analysis is performed for cross-track and along-track imaging; examining different satellite attitude angles, TDI steps, low and high-frequency sinusoidal vibration frequencies and amplitudes. Through the presented results, there is a trade-off between the image quality and mutual HRRSS factors particularly low-frequency vibration parameters, TDI-CCD steps, and satellite attitude.