Bob Fiete, Ph.D.Chief Technologist

Dan Newman, Ph.D.Program Manager, Sensor Products

ITT Space Systems Sensor Technologies

April 21, 2023 2Space Systems Division Overview

Intelligence,Surveillance,

& Reconnaissance (ISR)

ISR systems provide intelligence and

defense customers with the ability to

collect information that enhances

information superiority and

contributes to our national security.

Image Information Solutions (IIS)

IIS software, services, and

integrated solutions help

customers manage,

visualize, exploit, analyze, and disseminate

images and data for quicker, more effective decision

making.

GPS Navigation (NAV)

NAV payload, receiver, and

control solutions offer superior accuracy and

functionality across the entire GPS

network enabling precise, round-the-clock, worldwide, 3D position and

precise time-keeping for

defense and civil applications.

Commercial & Space Science (CSS)

• Satellite/airborne high-resolution commercial

imaging systems to view/monitor earth. • Space Science

technologies and systems to help scientists

explore the universe.• Climate & environmental

monitoring sensors, systems, subsystems and

software to capture, process,

visualize and analyze earth images, climate

change and other environmental data.

Space Control & Missile Defense

(SCMD)

Space, air andground based systems

and subsystems to support our nation’s

space control, antimissile defense and operationally responsive space

programs and initiatives.

ITT Space Systems Division (SSD)Principal Businesses And Their Solutions

April 21, 2023 3

Division HeadquartersRochester, NY

Fort Wayne, IN

Clifton, NJ

Vienna, VA

Space Systems’ Business Locations

Boulder, CO

ITT Vision: Integrating Advanced Sensor Technologies to Get Critical Information to Users on Demand

Collect

Disseminate

NavigationMeteorological ISR Commercial

Exploitation & Visualization

Night Vision

Service Oriented Architecture (SOA)Service Oriented Architecture (SOA)

ITT Space Systems Technology in Daily Life

• GPS

• Weather images

• High-resolution space imaging

GOES Satellites

2005 – Hurricane Katrina from GOES-12

(resolution 1 km)

1991 – The Perfect Storm from GOES-7

(resolution 1 km)

Image courtesy NASA

QuickBird

2002 – QuickBird image of the Statue of Liberty taken from ~280 miles awayRochester, NY to the Statue of Liberty is ~250 miles

GSD = 2 feetGSD = 2 feet

Image courtesy DigitalGlobe

ITT Innovative Technologies

Navigation Systems

Passive Systems

Active Systems

Ground Processing

• Ground Decision Support• Processing Workflow• Information Dissemination

• LIDAR / LADAR Payloads

• Advanced EO Sensor• Adaptive Lightweight Telescope• Novel EO Payload• Spectral Systems• IR Systems

Integrated Solutions

• End to End Multi-Camera Direct Dissemination Persistent Surveillance System

• GPS Payloads• GPS Control Segment• GPS User Segment

ITT Instruments & Sensor Technologies

• How does Sensor performance drive ITT Mission Performance ?

• Example Missions Sensor Technology• Commercial Remote Sensing VIS Scanning CCD • Day/Night Persistent Surveillance VIS & MWIR area sensors• Soldier Night Vision IR and VIS Intensified

arrays• Weather forecasting IR Linear & area arrays• Natural Gas leak detection MWIR Photodiode

(LIDAR)

ITT’s Remote Sensing Focal Plane Assembly

April 21, 2023

Sensor Technology: Visible CCD Scanning Array w/ 64 TDI

Double ITO process (Kodak) - front side illuminated

20,000 lines/s scan rate

< 35 e- read noise

Panchromatic & Multispectral Color

NextView Focal Plane Unit

Limiting Mission Noise Performance

1) Background Irradiance (*) ~ 90e-

2) Detector Read noise ~ 35 e-

(*) Most stressing case

ITT’s NextView Commercial Remote Sensing • Image Quality – built to meet

Commercial Imager needs

• 0.5 m resolution@ 680 km

• 15.2 Km swath

• Panchromatic capacity good to 20,000 lps, 6 aggregation modes, 5 TDI modes, 12 data rates

• Four band multispectral sensor for pan sharpened imagery

GeoEye-1 Imagery of Moffett FieldOctober 12, 2008

ITT Broad Area Persistent Surveillance

Forensic Analysis• Enables analysis of movers• Time stamped imagery

provides real-time and historical view of enemy and patterns

Situational Awareness• Provides the high ground

view of operations for command & control

• Interactive image serving to multiple users

Real Time Analysis• Real time go to location and

time and play backwards and forward to quickly identify targets and suspects

Real Time Cueing • Automatic cueing of events –

suspected vehicles, boundary detection, change detection

PS: Multiple cameras w/ overlapped field of View

Sensor System Persistent Surveillance Sensors:

VIS: 16 MP Interline CCD

MWIR: 1 MP InSb or HgCdTe

Frame rate 2-4 fps

Limiting System Performance Drivers

Sensor format: More pixels per sensor

Well Depth > 200k e- / pixel

Glint smear CCD limitation

Background photon noise

Sensor read noise

Persistent Surveillance achieves a wide field of view coverage with multiple sensors / cameras

Night Vision Sensors

• LWIR Microbolometer arrays

• MWIR & SWIR framing arrays

• Multi-channel plate w/ VIS CCD

System Performance Drivers:

- Image motion smear/lag high frame rate (> 30Hz)

- Size, weight & power

- Dynamic range

- Sensor read noise

Nightvision Fusion Product Examples

Visible Thermal IR

Traditional Color Fusion Thermal Sources HighlightedGray Scale Fusion

ITT Weather Satellite Sensors

FPA in LCC Mounted in Test Dewar

LWIR MCT arrays for GOES-ABI

• 11 - 13 micron band

• ~ 400 pixel array size

CrIS (Cross-track Infrared Sounder)

SWIR, MWIR and LWIR (3-15 um)

• MCT detectors

• Single large area detectors

ABI (Advanced Baseline Imager)

• 16 band visible to LWIR sensors

• Long linear arrays

• Near photon shot noise limit in many channels,

Performance Drivers

•Background Limited Scene noise

•Detector noise

- Read noise & Thermal dark noise

04/21/23 20   04/21/23 20

Ratio of “on-line” and “off-line” absorption is converted to ppm-m using an equation based on Beer’s Law, which relates the absorption of light to the properties of the material through which the light is passing. 

Natural Gas Leak Detection w/ Differential Absorption Lidar (DIAL)

3047.0 3047.53046.5

15

0

30

45

The “on-line” wavelength is on or close to peak of a chemical’s absorption feature

Abso

rptio

n

Wave Number (cm-1)

Leak Location

The “off-line” wavelength at low absorption feature

04/21/23 21

DigitalVideo

Camera

DIALSensor High

ResolutionMappingCamera

ANGEL Services Aircraft and Sensor System

Use or disclosure of this information is subject to the restrictions on the Title Page of this document.  

Differential Absorption LIDAR Detector:

Detector Type: High Speed HgCdTe Photodiode • Detector area 1mm2

•.Bandwidth >100 MHz• Responsivity 1 A/W @ 3.4 • Noise Density 0.9 pA/(Hz)1/2

• Detectivity (D*) 1.2 x 1011 cm(Hz)1/2 / W

Manufacturer: Boston Electronics / Vigo

Top Three Mission Critical Noise sources: 1) Laser alignment accuracy 2) Preamplifier Noise3) Detector noise (D*) at room temperature

PVI-2TE-3, detector used in ANGEL Receiver

04/21/23 23Use or disclosure of this information is 

subject to the restrictions on the Title Page of this document.   

ANGEL Services is Fully Operational and Serving Major Pipeline Operators• Over 8,000 miles of DIAL leak surveys & corridor mapping• Leak detection services have been completed for:

• TransCanada PipeLine• Northern Natural Gas• CenterPoint • ONEOK• Terasen Gas• Pacific Gas & Electric• And others!

Summary

ITT’s customer missions drive sensor needs/requirements

• Each mission has different flow-down requirements for the sensor• Critical Sensor requirements drivers are typically:

Read noise Array size & pixel format Frame rate Dynamic Range MTF Quantum Efficiency Spectral Sensitivity & bands