In-flight blackbody calibration sources for the GLORIA interferometer paper published

The Gimballed Limb Observer for Radiance Imaging of the Atmosphere (GLORIA) is a German airborne imaging FTS (Fourier Transform Spectrometer) capable of operating on various airborne platforms for sensing dynamics and chemistry of the UTLS (Upper Troposphere and Lower Stratosphere) region.

The instrument is a joint development of the research centers KIT (Karlsruher Institut für Technologie) and the Forschungszentrum (Research Center) Jülich. The University of Wuppertal is also a partner in the project.

GLORIA uses a two-dimensional detector array for infrared limb-observations. The GLORIA in-flight calibration system consists of two identical large-area high-precision blackbodies, which are independently controlled at two different temperatures. Thermo-Electric Coolers are used to control the temperature of the blackbodies.

As reported in the paper (paywall), the system was  comprehensively characterised for its spatially and spectrally resolved radiation properties in terms of radiation temperature traceable to the international temperature scale (ITS-90) at the national metrology institute of Germany (PTB).

F. Olschewski, C. Rolf, P. Steffens, A. Kleinert, C. Piesch, A. Ebersoldt, C. Monte, B. Gutschwager, J. Hollandt, P. Preusse, F. Friedl-Vallon, Ralf Koppmann of PTB and BUW have their paper ‘In-flight blackbody calibration sources for the GLORIA interferometer’ published in Proc. SPIE 8511, Infrared Remote Sensing and Instrumentation XX.