Upwelling Radiance at 976 nm Measured from Space Using the OPALS CCD Camera on the ISS

摘要

The Optical Payload for Lasercomm Science (OPALS) Flight System on-board the International Space Station uses a charge coupled device (CCD) camera to detect a beacon laser from Earth. Relative measurements of the background contributed by upwelling radiance under diverse illumination conditions and varying surface terrain is presented. In some cases clouds in the field-of-view allowed a comparison of terrestrial and cloud-top upwelling radiance. In this paper we will report these measurements and examine the extent of agreement with atmospheric model predictions.