A major system in NITESat is the imaging payload. It's correct design and proper operation are critical to the success of the NITESat mission. Consequently, we are building a prototype imaging system, called NITELITE. This prototype will provide an engineering demonstration of the NITESat imaging system. It will allow us to test as much of the functioning system as possible by mirroring the actual design of the NITESat architecture. We plan to run synchronized tests of the NITELITE imaging system from a high altitude balloon while obtaining ground-based observations of light pollution during the flights.
We are currently planning to use a Point Grey camera with a Goyo Lens for the imager. The camera controller and OBC will be emulated using two Raspberry PI computers.
