The data acquired by these sensors is used to develop, test, and validate processing algorithms which can eventually be used for spaceborne sensors. For example, a cloud detection algorithm can be developed using data acquired by an airborne imager and tested over a variety of earth scenes while a similar spaceborne sensor is still under development. When the spaceborne sensor is launched, the processing algorithm can be applied to the data with confidence because it has already been proven with airborne data. Aircraft Platforms Airborne sensors fly on a variety of different platforms, each with its own unique advantages. These platforms typically are flown by a single pilot because of the challenges of life support at high altitude.
Unpiloted aircraft provide the opportunity for longer flights at medium to high altitudes.
Sensor types include imagers which collect tens of bands of spectral information at high spatial resolution, and sounders which collect thousands of bands of spectral information at low to moderate spatial resolution.