Development of the Compact Infrared Camera (CIRC) for Earth Observation

Abstract

The Compact Infrared Camera (CIRC) is a technology demonstration payload of the Small Demonstration-Satellite type-2 (SDS-2). The CIRC is an infrared camera equipped with an uncooled infrared array detector (microbolometer). The main mission of the CIRC is to demonstrate the technology of wildfire detection using a microbolometer. The CIRC is a small, lightweight, and low-cost thermal infrared imager for space applications. We employ athermal optics and shutter-less image correction to reduce the size, weight, and cost of the CIRC. In this paper, we show the details of the design of the CIRC.