Laser altimetry measurements from aircraft and spacecraft

Author

Bufton, Jack L.

Author_Institution

NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD, USA

Volume

77

Issue

3

fYear

1989

fDate

3/1/1989 12:00:00 AM

Firstpage

463

Lastpage

477

Abstract

The techniques involved in the design and application of laser altimeter instruments are reviewed, including a description of the instrument subsystems required for the range and waveform measurements. Laser pulse transmitters based on the relatively novel technology of diode-pumped solid-state lasers are considered. Various factors affecting laser altimeter instrument performance are discussed. These include the receiver signal-to-noise ratio, atmospheric propagation, and altimeter platform effects. Some examples of laser altimeter data are presented to illustrate the variety of possible instrument applications.

Keywords

altimeters; geodesy; geophysical techniques; measurement by laser beam; optical radar; topography (Earth); aircraft; altimeter platform effects; atmospheric propagation; diode-pumped solid-state lasers; examples; factors affecting performance; geodesy; instrument subsystems; land surface topography; laser altimeter data; laser altimeter instruments; laser altimetry measurements; range measurement; receiver signal-to-noise ratio; spacecraft; techniques; waveform measurements; Aircraft; Atmospheric measurements; Instruments; Laser applications; Laser radar; Optical design; Optical pulses; Solid lasers; Space vehicles; Transmitters;

fLanguage

English

Journal_Title

Proceedings of the IEEE

Publisher

ieee

ISSN

0018-9219

Type

jour

DOI

10.1109/5.24131

Filename

24131