A Generic Flight Interferometer for Hyperspectral Atmospheric Sounding from GEO Orbit

A new generation of sensors with hyperspectral capabilities is being considered for future Geostationary Earth Orbiting weather satellite. The World Meteorological Organization now officially considers hyperspectral sounding as a vital part of future geostationary platforms to be deployed beyond 2015. This choice is dictated by the scientific interest for more vertical resolution in the sounder data product which suggests that multi-bandpass filter approaches be replaced by those providing true spectral capabilities. Interferometer based sounders were recently selected in Europe and Japan to fulfill this requirement. They offer the possibility to efficiently combine large format 2D imaging and high spectral resolution into a single instrument. The Generic Flight Interferometer presented in this paper incorporates ABB´s latest flight heritage from three recent missions using FTSs. It aims at showing the community that this key sounder module can meet science requirements with low development risk and offer the high reliability required on operational programs. Dedicated risk mitigation activities results conducted on a demonstration interferometer coupled with an imaging detector are discussed.