Lynred to build swir sensor for Copernicus satellite

Infrared imaging firm Lynred has been selected to develop a linear shortwave infrared array for the European Space Agency's Copernicus Land Surface Temperature Monitoring (LSTM) mission.

The LSTM mission's objective is to improve drought prediction in agriculture and other farmland degradation issues. The imager will measure surface temperatures of land experiencing water scarcity and climate variability.

The swir detector will capture infrared light at three different wavelengths: 0.945µm, 1.375µm and 1.61µm. The design is a linear array with four different lines – the line at 0.945µm being duplicated according to mission needs – of 1,200 pixels each in the across-track satellite velocity direction and 12 pixels in the long-track scanning direction (scanning methods are used to acquire a multispectral image).

The 12 pixels will enable the implementation of time-delay integration operation – a signal-to-noise ratio improvement method employed to enhance image quality – directly on the detector chip.

Lynred will deliver the first flight model by the end of 2023. The company has previously contracted with Airbus Defence and Space, the prime contractor in the Copernicus LSTM mission, on other space missions, including Sentinel 2, Sentinel 5, Microcarb and METImage.

Recently, Lynred invested €2.8m in an R&D programme to develop small pixel pitch near infrared detectors.