Pre-processing considerations of IRS-P6 LISS-4 imagery

Wide image swath with a high geometric resolution is required for photogrammetric applications. Both demands can be satisfied using staggered line arrays. Different bands of IRS-P6 LISS-4 sensor use staggered arrays for imaging. This paper describes a method for computing the offset for geometric alignment of odd and even lines of the staggered array of IRS-P6 LISS-4 imagery. The odd and even pixel rows are separated by 35 μm (equal to 5 pixels) in the focal plane in the along-track direction. Slightly different viewing angles of both lines of a staggered array can result in a variable sampling pattern on the ground because of the attitude fluctuations, satellite movement, terrain topography, PSM steering and small variations in the angular placement of the CCD lines (from the pre-launch values) in the focal plane. Non-accounting of this variable sampling value during the video data alignment will introduce deterioration of image quality and geometric discontinuity of features. The stagger parameters can be computed by the reconstruction of the viewing geometry with a calibrated camera geometry model and a public domain DEM. The impact of the line separation in the focal plane during imaging for different viewing configurations and terrain heights are studied and reported in this paper. Computed values from the model are in good agreement with what is observed in the raw image for different view angles. The results verify the model and are representative of the stability of the platform.