Knowledge Bank

As we move toward the Twenty-first Century, we are witnessing a new era in remote sensing, with a new constellation of Earth observation satellite systems, including those on orbit and other to be launched. Among them, there is a set of new generation remote sensing satellites that are being designed to image objects on the Earth's surface with a resolution of one meter. It is believed that such high resolution satellite imaging systems will lead to a paradigm change in mapping science, considering the high resolution, wide spectral range, and stereo mapping capabilities. This will be the first time that users around the world will be able to use satellite imagery to map objects on the ground at a submeter level, comparing to 10-m resolution of SPOT, and 5-m resolution of IRS-1 C imagery. Inspired by the new technology, this thesis presents the results of an assessment of the horizontal accuracy of the new generation of high-resolution satellite imagery for mapping purposes. Based on numerical simulations, using technical specifications of IKONOS-1 reported by Space Imaging, Inc., three images were generated from a DEM to simulate a three-line sensor configuration with pointing angles of +26°, 0°, and -26°, respectively. Bundle adjustment method is applied to calculate ground coordinates and orientation parameters of image lines using image coordinates and various configurations of ground control points (GCP). The experimental results are very encouraging. It is demonstrated that with two or more GCPs, the one-meter satellite imagery will have a potential to generate mapping products with a map scale of 1:4,000, which is sufficient for many GIS applications.