Development of Integrated and Intelligent Geodetic and Photogrammetry Satellites with Corresponding Key Technologies

Aerospace surveying and mapping has become the main method of global earth observation.It can be divided into the geodetic observation satellites and the topographic surveying satellites according to the disciplines.In this paper,the geodetic satellites and photographic satellites are introduced respectively.Then,the existing problems in Chinese earth observation satellites are analyzed,and the comprehensive satellite with integrated payloads,the intensive microsatellite constellation and the intelligent observation satellite are proposed as three different development ideas for the future earth observation satellites.The possibility of the three ideas is discussed in detail,as well as the related key technologies.

THE COMPILATION OF A DTM AND A NEW SATELLITE IMAGE MAP FOR KING GEORGE ISLAND,ANTARCTICA

An improved topographic database for King George Island,one of the most frequently visited regions in Antarctica,is presented.A first step consisted in combining data from differential GPS surveys gained during the austral summers 1997～1998 and 1999～2000,with the current coastline from a SPOT satellite image mosaic,topographic information from existing maps and from the Antarctic Digital Database.From this data sets,a digital terrain model (DTM) was generated using Arc/Info GIS.In a second step,a satellite image map at the scale 1∶100 000 was assembled from contour lines derived from the DTM and the satellite mosaic.A lack of accurate topographic information in the eastern part of the island was identified.Additional topographic surveying or SAR interferometry should be used to improve the data quality in that area.The GIS integrated database will be indispensable for glaciological and climatological studies and administrative and scientific purposes.In future,the application of GIS techniques will be mandatory for environmental impact studies and environmental monitoring as well as for management plans on King George Island.

Using GEDI lidar data and airborne laser scanning to assess height growth dynamics in fast-growing species:a showcase in Spain

Background:The NASA’s Global Ecosystem Dynamics Investigation(GEDI)satellite mission aims at scanning forest ecosystems on a multi-temporal short-rotation basis.The GEDI data can validate and update statistics from nationwide airborne laser scanning(ALS).We present a case in the Northwest of Spain using GEDI statistics and nationwide ALS surveys to estimate forest dynamics in three fast-growing forest ecosystems comprising 211,346 ha.The objectives were:i)to analyze the potential of GEDI to detect disturbances,ii)to investigate uncertainty source regarding non-positive height increments from the 2015–2017 ALS data to the 2019 GEDI laser shots and iii)to estimate height growth using polygons from the Forest Map of Spain(FMS).A set of 258 National Forest Inventory plots were used to validate the observed height dynamics.Results:The spatio-temporal assessment from ALS surveying to GEDI scanning allowed the large-scale detection of harvests.The mean annual height growths were 0.79(SD=0.63),0.60(SD=0.42)and 0.94(SD=0.75)m for Pinus pinaster,Pinus radiata and Eucalyptus spp.,respectively.The median annual values from the ALS-GEDI positive increments were close to NFI-based growth values computed for Pinus pinaster and Pinus radiata,respectively.The effect of edge border,spatial co-registration of GEDI shots and the influence of forest cover in the observed dynamics were important factors to considering when processing ALS data and GEDI shots.Discussion:The use of GEDI laser data provides valuable insights for forest industry operations especially when accounting for fast changes.However,errors derived from positioning,ground finder and canopy structure can introduce uncertainty to understand the detected growth patterns as documented in this study.The analysis of forest growth using ALS and GEDI would benefit from the generalization of common rules and data processing schemes as the GEDI mission is increasingly being utilized in the forest remote sensing community.

Overview of the key technologies for high-resolution satellite mapping

As the important infrastructures for land mapping and resource monitoring,highresolution remote sensing satellites(HRSS)are urgently demanded for the development of China.In this article,the key technologies of the main HRSS are summarized,and these technologies include sensor design,attitude and orbit determination,geometric calibration,imaging model construction,and block adjustment,etc.,which involve the mapping accuracy of HRSS.Finally,the system design of the ZY-3 Satellite(China’s first civil stereoscopic surveying and mapping satellite,to be launched in 2012)is introduced,which mainly include satellite technical specifications and strategies design based on these key technologies research.