International Archives of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing, Vol. 32, Part 3W14, La Jolla, CA, 9-11 Nov. 1999
5. CONCLUSIONS
SLA has served as a pathfinder experiment motivating the
development of geolocation methodologies and waveform
processing algorithms for spaceborne laser altimetry. In
particular, the SLA flights motivated the use of the ocean
reference surface for determination of laser altimeter timing,
range, and pointing biases. The first collection of globally
distributed laser altimeter waveforms has also contributed
significantly to the development of signal processing techniques
for derivation of surface elevations. The capabilities developed
for SLA form the basis of expanded techniques that will be
used operationally as part of the upcoming VCL and ICESat
laser altimeter missions. The comprehensive data set produced
for the SLA-02 mission also provides the science community
interested in characterization of Earth topography and land
cover properties an opportunity to gain experience with laser
altimeter waveform data in preparation for the upcoming
missions. Data and in-depth documentation is accessible
though the SLA-02 Data Products Webpage, at
http://denali.gsfc.nasa.gov:8001/.
6. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The SLA team consisted of a large number of individuals who
made this pathfinder experiment possible, lead by Jim Garvin
and Jack Bufton. Bryan Blair and David Rabine provided
invaluable expertise on the flight acquisition data system and
structures. Flight of the SLA instrument was made possible by
the infrastructure and personnel of the Shuttle Small Payloads
Hitchhiker Program. Funding and hardware for SLA was
provided by the NASA Earth Science Enterprise, the Goddard
Director’s Discretionary Fund, and the ICESat and Mars
Observer Laser Altimeter projects.
7. REFERENCES
Bevington, P.R. and D.K. Robinson, 1992. Data Reduction and
Error Analysis for the Physical Sciences. Mc Graw Hill, Inc.,
2" Edition, pp. 141-167.
Bufton, J.L., J.B. Blair, J. Cavanaugh, J.B. Garvin, D. J.
Harding, D. Hopf, K. Kirks, S. Rabine, and N. Walsh, 1995.
Shuttle Laser Altimeter (SLA): a pathfinder for space-based
laser altimetry and lidar, Proc. Shuttle Small Payloads
Symposium, NASA CR-3310, pp. 83-91.
Bufton, J.L., D.H. Harding, and J.B. Garvin, 1999. Shuttle
Laser Altimeter: Mission Results and Pathfinder
Accomplishments, Proc. Shuttle Small Payloads Symposium,
in press.
Garvin, J., J. Blair, J. Bufton, and D. Harding, 1996. The
Shuttle Laser Altimeter (SLA-0O1) Experiment: Topographic
Remote Sensing of Planet Earth. EOS Trans., AGU, Vol. 77
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Garvin, J., J. Bufton, J. Blair, D. Harding, S. Luthcke, J.
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Luthcke, S.B., J.A. Marshall, S.C. Rowton, K.E. Rachlin, C.M.
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Schrama, E.J.O. and R.D. Ray, 1994. A Preliminary Tidal
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Rowlands, D.D., S.B. Luthcke, J.A. Marshall, C.M. Cox, R.G.
Williamson, and S.C.Rowton, 1997. Space Shuttle Precision
Orbit Determination in Support of SLA-1 Using TDRSS and
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Yi, Yuchan, 1995. Determination of Gridded Mean Sea
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