Title: REMIR: The Reduced Envelope Multispectral Infrared Radiometer airborne demonstrator for Sustained Land Imaging
Presenting Author: Michael S. Veto
Organization: BAE Systems, Inc.
Co-Author(s): David Osterman, Dennis Nicks, Tom Kampe, Jennifer Carroll, Nathan Showalter, Chanda Walker, Bob Warden, Diana Weinstein, Kevin Willett

Abstract:
REMIR is an airborne instrument that demonstrates a reduced Size, Weight, and Power (SWaP) design to meet Landsat visible through thermal infrared requirements. REMIR leverages NASA and BAE Systems Space and Mission Systems (BAE SMS, formerly Ball Aerospace) investments. BAE SMS provides a novel scanning approach, innovative calibration subsystems, and new detectors, that enable significant reductions in SWaP. The REMIR design extends the visible-near infrared (VNIR) through shortwave infrared (SWIR) spectral range capability, previously demonstrated in SLI-T 2015, into the LWIR in order to demonstrate a full spectrum solution that meets the Landsat 2019 Reference Mission Architecture LWIR requirements. Thus, REMIR demonstrates a reduced SWaP, step-stare approach to achieve Sustainable Land Imaging thermal (2019) and VNIR-SWIR (2015) requirements REMIR is the fusion of two previous ESTO-funded projects: REMI and CIRiS. The Reduced Envelope Multispectral Imager (REMI, NASA-SLI-T 2015) is the foundation for REMIR. REMI’s Wide Angle Scan Mirror (WASM) achieves bidirectional (boustrophedon) step-stare scanning and image stabilization with a single mechanism to meet performance requirements. REMIR couples REMI with a modified Compact Infrared Radiometer in Space (CIRiS), which has successfully demonstrated on-orbit testing of a carbon nanotube calibration system and longwave infrared (LWIR) microbolometer Focal Plane Array (NASA InVEST 2015). Furthermore, REMIR incorporates recent developments in commercial microbolometer FPA technology to increase swath and decrease revisit time. All hardware for REMIR has been procured and major subsystems are currently being assembled, with full-system integration to begin in Spring 2024. Testing is scheduled to begin in summer of 2024 with airborne demonstration flights in late 2024, which will simulate aspects of on-orbit operations for Landsat Beyond.