Investigation of Sensor Models for Precise Geolocation of GOES-9 Images

A numerical formula that presents relationship between a point of a satellite image and its ground position is called a sensor model. For precise geolocation of satellite images, we need an error-free sensor model. However, the sensor model based on GOES ephemeris data has some error, in particular after Image Motion Compensation (IMC) mechanism has been turned off. To solve this problem, we investigate three sensor models: Collinearity model, Direct Linear Transform (DLT) model and Orbit-based model. We apply matching between GOES images and global coastline database and use successful results as control points. With control points we improve the initial image geolocation accuracy using the three models. We compare results from three sensor models that are applied to GOES-9 images. As a result, a suitable sensor model for precise geolocation of GOES-9 images is proposed.