Platforms - General overview of airborne Remote Sensing: photography, imaging; advantages and applications. Satellite Remote Sensing: classification by orbit, applications, advantages and disadvantages, type of observation, orbital dynamics. Types of satellites: Overview of Earth observation satellites; Overview of optical infrared (IR) remote sensing sun-synchronous satellites; overview of polar platforms and meteorological satellites. High-resolution satellites; radar satellites; other missions: hyperspectral, future satellite systems. 

• Sensors - Fundamentals of imaging technology: imaging/non-imaging, active/ passive, advantages, and disadvantages. Concept of resolution: spatial, spectral, radiometric, and temporal. Aerial photography systems: photographic, historical, camera systems, film types, multispectral photography, Airborne Laser Terrain Mapper (ALTM). Scanners/imagers: frame camera systems, scanning systems, push-broom scanners, spectrometers, charge coupled device (CCD), thermal imagers. Microwave sensors: Principles of side-looking airborne radar (SLAR), synthetic aperture radar (SAR) and its characteristics. Non-imaging sensors/systems: infrared radiometer, microwave radiometer, scatterometer, and altimeter. Other sensors: hyperspectral and laser imaging. 

• Ground systems - Data reception and pre-processing systems and their configurations. Principles of data reception systems, data transmission and receive chains; recording; archival; pre-processing: radiometric and geometric corrections; types of satellite data products; value-added products. Ground data collection and truthing; errors in image data and their correction.