Summary of the operational land imager focal plane array for the Landsat Data Continuity Mission

The Landsat missions are the longest continuous record of changes in the Earth's surface as seen from space. The next follow-on activity is the Landsat Data Continuity Mission (LDCM). The LDCM objective is to extend the ability to detect and quantitatively characterize changes on the global land surface at a scale where natural and man-made causes of change can be detected and differentiated. The Operational Land Imager (OLI) is one of two instruments on the LDCM spacecraft. OLI will produce science data for the reflective bands, which include 6 visible and near-infrared (VNIR) and 3 short-wave infrared (SWIR) bands. The OLI instrument utilizes a pushbroom design with 15.5 degree field of view. As a result, the OLI Focal Plane Array (FPA) cross track dimension is large, and the FPA is a critical technology for the success of the mission. The FPA contains 14 critically aligned Focal Plane Modules (FPM) and consists of 6916 imaging pixels in each of the 8 multi-spectral bands, and 13,832 imaging pixels in the panchromatic band. Prior to integration into the FPA, the FPMs were characterized for radiometric, spectral, and spatial performance. The Flight FPA has been built and its performance has also been characterized. In this paper, the critical attributes of the FPMs and FPA are highlighted. Detailed description of the FPM and FPA test sets are provided. The performance results that demonstrate compliance to the science mission requirements are presented.