Paper
18 May 2012 Thermographic imaging of the space shuttle during re-entry using a near-infrared sensor
Joseph N. Zalameda, Thomas J. Horvath, Robbie V. Kerns, Eric R. Burke, Jeff C. Taylor, Tom Spisz, David M. Gibson, Edward J. Shea, C. David Mercer, Richard J. Schwartz, Steve Tack, Brett C. Bush, Ronald F. Dantowitz, Marek J. Kozubal
Author Affiliations +
Abstract
High resolution calibrated near infrared (NIR) imagery of the Space Shuttle Orbiter was obtained during hypervelocity atmospheric re-entry of the STS-119, STS-125, STS-128, STS-131, STS-132, STS-133, and STS-134 missions. This data has provided information on the distribution of surface temperature and the state of the airflow over the windward surface of the Orbiter during descent. The thermal imagery complemented data collected with onboard surface thermocouple instrumentation. The spatially resolved global thermal measurements made during the Orbiter's hypersonic re-entry will provide critical flight data for reducing the uncertainty associated with present day ground-to-flight extrapolation techniques and current state-of-the-art empirical boundary-layer transition or turbulent heating prediction methods. Laminar and turbulent flight data is critical for the validation of physics-based, semi-empirical boundary-layer transition prediction methods as well as stimulating the validation of laminar numerical chemistry models and the development of turbulence models supporting NASA's next-generation spacecraft. In this paper we provide details of the NIR imaging system used on both air and land-based imaging assets. The paper will discuss calibrations performed on the NIR imaging systems that permitted conversion of captured radiant intensity (counts) to temperature values. Image processing techniques are presented to analyze the NIR data for vignetting distortion, best resolution, and image sharpness.
© (2012) COPYRIGHT Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE). Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Joseph N. Zalameda, Thomas J. Horvath, Robbie V. Kerns, Eric R. Burke, Jeff C. Taylor, Tom Spisz, David M. Gibson, Edward J. Shea, C. David Mercer, Richard J. Schwartz, Steve Tack, Brett C. Bush, Ronald F. Dantowitz, and Marek J. Kozubal "Thermographic imaging of the space shuttle during re-entry using a near-infrared sensor", Proc. SPIE 8354, Thermosense: Thermal Infrared Applications XXXIV, 83540F (18 May 2012); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.918127
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Cited by 5 scholarly publications.
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KEYWORDS
Near infrared

Image analysis

Imaging systems

Calibration

Image resolution

Thermography

Vignetting

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