Photogrammetric and Thematic Data Processing for Spaceborne Stereo and Multispectral Scanners

DLR is engaged in stereo line scanner cameras since 1981, when DLR's Institute of Optoelectronics proposed to participate with such a camera system (MEOSS: monocular optoelectronic stereo scanner) in an Indian satellite mission <6,7>. Parallel to the manufacturing of the hardware work on data analysis started with simulation of triple stereoscopic imagery, establishing image matching software and testing the photogrammetric adjustment process via simulation <1,3,4>. Since 1986 an airborne model of the camera was available which helped much to make the software packages applicable to real data. This was the first time that a digital elevation model could be derived from such imagery.