Performance characterization of the Hyperion Imaging Spectrometer instrument

This paper presents the techniques and results of Hyperion laboratory characterization. Hyperion is a hyperspectral imager scheduled to fly on the Earth-Orbiter 1 (EO-1) spacecraft for the New Millennium project. The other payloads on the spacecraft are ALI (Advanced Land Imager) and AC (atmospheric corrector). The payloads were integrated into the spacecraft at Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC). An End-to-End imaging test was conducted at GSFC which demonstrated integrity of Hyperion performance after environmental tests. The performance characterization procedures described here include: crosstrack MTF, spectral and spatial co-alignment, spectral wavelength calibration, signal to noise, polarization, spectral response function and scene generation. The characterization was carried out with the TRW Imaging Spectrometer Characterization Facility which is based on a 250 watt QTH lamp, a monochromator, a collimator and a fine pointing mirror. A selection of narrow slits and a knife edge are illuminated at the exit slit of the monochromator for sub-pixel performance characterization parameters such as MTF. Special attention is devoted to the spectral calibration technique using rare earth doped Spectralon panels. This was the technique used at the End-to-End test to verify spectral performance of Hyperion after GSFC environmental tests. It is a particular useful technique when the optical test setup does not allow for the use of a monochromator.