Space-based full chain multi-spectral imaging features accurate prediction and analysis for aircraft plume under sea/cloud background

Building a wide-area, high-efficiency, and accurate detection technology for air targets has become a new challenge for the construction of space situational awareness. Firstly, based on the space-based optical detection requirements for aircraft plume, the method of integrated modeling for sea/cloud background radiation characteristics based on coupling of remote sensing data and physical model is proposed, which can effectively deduce the background radiation field distribution under any environmental conditions. Specifically, combined with meteorological satellite sensor data, such as cloud top temperature, cloud type and cloud top height, three-dimensional atmospheric transmittance and atmospheric path thermal radiation texture are generated for different cloud heights and cloud phase conditions. Then, a coupled sea/cloud bidirectional reflectance model matched to the sampling of space-based detectors is established. Further, the accurate prediction model for multi-spectral imaging features of aircraft plume is built by considering the space-based full imaging chains including the complex coupling of aircraft plume, sea/cloud background, environmental atmosphere, optical system, and imaging detector. Finally, combined with the diffraction effect of the optical system, the multi-spectral imaging features of the aircraft plume are simulated under various spectral bands, flying heights, sea/cloud backgrounds, and detection angles, and the detection performances are analyzed and discussed by using the signal-to-clutter ratio (SCR). Research results show that the detection capability in the narrow band of 2.65–2.90µm and 4.25–4.50µm is better than the wide band of 3–5µm. When the aircraft flying height is greater than 5km, the aircraft plume can be detected in both narrow bands. It is more reliable to use the multispectral joint-band to detect aircraft plume in different backgrounds.