In-flight radiometric calibration of high spatial resolution satellite optical sensor using small targets

Radiometric calibration is one of the key technologies for quantification of satellite remote sensing information. A calibration method for high resolution optical remote sensor is presented based on small targets. At the same time, the reflectance test on site is changed to accurate measurement in laboratory. It substitutes the field actual determination to the assumption of aerosol scatter. The atmospheric transmittance and at-sensor radiance can be calculated by simplified radiometric transfer code. And the approach could isolate the DN signal created by small targets from response produced by background radiance through system’s point spread function eastimation, which reduces the requirement of background and improves the absolute radiometric calibration accuracy.