Orbital Remote Sensing & Optical Resolution Physics Engine

ORBITAL ALTITUDE: 500 KM | PITCH: 0.0° NDIR

550nm (RGB) | 0.50m Primary Aperture

Drag mouse/finger to orbit orbital platform • Scroll to zoom optical cone

Mission Presets

Optical Payload Specs

Orbital Altitude (H) 500 km

Primary Aperture (D) 0.50 m

Focal Length (f) 2.50 m

Detector Pixel Pitch (p) 4.50 µm

Spectral Band Filter (λ) 550 nm

Resolution Diagnostics

Ground Sample (GSD) 0.90 m Pixel Limited

Diffraction Limit 0.81 m Rayleigh Spot Radius

Airy Disk (Sensor) 3.35 µm r_airy = 1.22λf/D

Swath Width 14.7 km 16k Detector Strip

PSF Ground Target Simulation Point Spread Function Blur

Ideal Ground Scene

Simulated Sensor Render

Modulation Transfer Function (MTF)

GSD (m/px): 0.90

Diffraction Limit (m): 0.81

Airy Disk Radius (µm): 3.35

Swath Width (km): 14.7

Diffraction Limited State: false

Sampling and diffraction in the saved orbital camera

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Read the explanation

The optical tool starts at five hundred kilometers altitude, four point five micrometer pixels and two point five meter focal length. Ground sample distance is pixel pitch times altitude divided by focal length. Converting units gives point nine meters per pixel. Its strip contains sixteen thousand three hundred eighty-four detector pixels, so the modeled swath is fourteen point seven four six kilometers. Sampling distance describes the projected pixel grid; it does not guarantee that every object of that size is resolved. The source also projects the Rayleigh Airy radius onto the ground using one point two two times wavelength times altitude divided by aperture. At five hundred fifty nanometers and point five meter aperture, the result is point six seven one meters. On the detector the radius is three point three five five micrometers, smaller than the four point five micrometer pixel pitch. Halving aperture to point two five meters doubles both radii: one point three four two meters on the ground and six point seven one micrometers on the detector. Doubling focal length to five meters halves ground sample distance from point nine to point four five meters. Yet the projected diffraction radius stays point six seven one meters, because its ground formula has no focal length. The detector Airy radius doubles to six point seven one micrometers. The source compares that radius directly with pixel pitch to label diffraction limitation. This is the saved criterion, not a full imaging quality certificate. Atmospheric effects, jitter and processing are outside these simple optical formulas.