A Generic Model for Relative Adjustment Between Optical Sensors Using Rigorous Orbit Mechanics

The classical calibration or space resection is the fundamental task in photogrammetry. The lack of sufficient knowledge of interior and exterior orientation parameters lead to unreliable results in the photogrammetric process. One of the earliest in approaches using in photogrammetry was the plumb line calibration method. This method is suitable to recover the radial and decentering lens distortion coefficients, while the remaining interior(focal length and principal point coordinates) and exterior orientation parameters have to be determined by a complimentary method. As the lens distortion remains very less it not considered as the interior orientation parameters, in the present rigorous sensor model. There are several other available methods based on the photogrammetric collinearity equations, which consider the determination of exterior orientation parameters, with no mention to the simultaneous determination of inner orientation parameters. Normal space resection methods solve the problem using control points, whose coordinates are known both in image and object reference systems. The non-linearity of the model and the problems, in point location in digital images and identifying the maximum GPS measured control points are the main drawbacks of the classical approaches. This paper addresses mathematical model based on the fundamental assumption of collineariy of three points of two Along-Track Stereo imagery sensors and independent object point. Assuming this condition it is possible to extract the exterior orientation (EO) parameters for a long strip and single image together, without and with using the control points. Moreover, after extracting the EO parameters the accuracy for satellite data products are compared in with using single and with no control points.