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Master'sAerospace, UAM, Drones & Space Applications open

Master’s in SAR/Optical/Hyperspectral Payloads Engineering

Online master's programme of 1,900 hours in SAR, optical and hyperspectral payload engineering: 12 modules covering remote sensing fundamentals, optical, infrared and hyperspectral instruments, SAR fundamentals and payload design, SAR and optical image processing, on-board processing, calibration and validation, and applications, with an assigned technical tutor.

Duration1900 h
ModeOnline
LanguageEnglish
Start datesSet by the faculty
AwardSEIUM Institute diploma
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Learning outcomes

What you will be able to do

01

Understand the fundamentals of space remote sensing.

02

Design optical and infrared instruments.

03

Analyse hyperspectral spectrometers.

04

Design SAR payloads.

05

Process SAR, optical and hyperspectral images.

06

Plan instrument calibration and validation.

07

Develop Earth observation applications and services.

Profile

Who it's for

  • Payload engineers who want to cover optical, hyperspectral and SAR instruments in one programme.
  • Optical instrument engineers designing telescopes and focal planes.
  • SAR radar engineers working on payload design or processing.
  • Remote sensing specialists who want to understand the instrument behind the data.
  • Image processing engineers working with Sentinel and commercial data.
  • Calibration and validation engineers responsible for product quality.
  • Engineering or science graduates aiming to enter the space sector.
Standards & tools

What you'll work with

  • ECSS-E-ST-10C (system engineering general requirements)
  • ECSS-E-ST-10-03C (testing)
  • CCSDS 123.0-B-2 (low-complexity lossless and near-lossless multispectral and hyperspectral image compression)
  • CCSDS 121.0-B-3 (lossless data compression)
  • ISO 19115-2 (geographic information metadata for imagery and gridded data)
  • ISO 19159-1 (calibration and validation of remote sensing imagery sensors)
  • CEOS Analysis Ready Data for Land (ARD specifications for land products)
  • Regulation (EU) 2021/696 (Union Space Programme)
  • ESA SNAP
  • ENVI
  • Zemax OpticStudio
  • MATLAB
  • Google Earth Engine
Syllabus

12 modules · 1900 h

  1. 1.1Electromagnetic spectrum and atmospheric windows
  2. 1.2Interaction of radiation with surfaces
  3. 1.3Spatial, spectral, radiometric and temporal resolution
  4. 1.4Passive versus active sensors
  5. 1.5Pushbroom and whiskbroom acquisition geometry
  6. 1.6Earth observation orbits
  7. 1.7The Copernicus programme and Sentinel missions
  8. 1.8Product processing levels
  9. 1.9Commercial observation market
  10. 1.10Case study: user requirements for agricultural monitoring
  1. 2.1Cassegrain and Korsch reflecting telescopes
  2. 2.2Optical quality and the modulation transfer function
  3. 2.3Instrument signal-to-noise ratio
  4. 2.4CCD and CMOS TDI detectors
  5. 2.5Focal planes and filters
  6. 2.6Thermal and structural stability
  7. 2.7On-board radiometric calibration
  8. 2.8Design of optical payloads for small satellites
  9. 2.9Very high resolution and its diffraction limit
  10. 2.10Lab: MTF and SNR calculation for a camera
  1. 3.1VNIR, SWIR, MWIR and TIR bands
  2. 3.2HgCdTe and InGaAs detectors
  3. 3.3Cryocoolers for detectors
  4. 3.4MSI-type multispectral instruments
  5. 3.5Brightness temperature and emissivity
  6. 3.6Calibration with black bodies
  7. 3.7Thermal wildfire monitoring applications
  8. 3.8Atmospheric sounding instruments
  9. 3.9Noise and NETD
  10. 3.10Practical exercise: radiometric budget of a thermal channel
  1. 4.1Grating and prism spectrometers
  2. 4.2Offner and Dyson spectrometers
  3. 4.3Fourier transform spectral imaging
  4. 4.4EnMAP, PRISMA and CHIME missions
  5. 4.5Spectral resolution and SNR
  6. 4.6Spectral calibration and smile
  7. 4.7Data volume and compression
  8. 4.8Applications in mining and vegetation
  9. 4.9Hyperspectral imaging on small satellites
  10. 4.10Lab: analysis of a PRISMA hyperspectral cube
  1. 5.1The radar equation
  2. 5.2Range resolution and pulse compression
  3. 5.3Synthetic aperture and azimuth resolution
  4. 5.4X, C, L and P bands
  5. 5.5Stripmap, ScanSAR and spotlight modes
  6. 5.6Ambiguities and PRF
  7. 5.7Speckle and radar statistics
  8. 5.8Slant geometry: layover and shadow
  9. 5.9SAR polarimetry and decompositions
  10. 5.10Practical exercise: parameter design for an X-band SAR
  1. 6.1Active aperture antennas and reflectors
  2. 6.2Solid-state transmit-receive modules
  3. 6.3Chirp generation and digitisation
  4. 6.4Power and thermal budget
  5. 6.5SAR on microsatellites
  6. 6.6Commercial SAR constellations
  7. 6.7Internal and external calibration
  8. 6.8System NESZ sensitivity
  9. 6.9Data volume and downlink
  10. 6.10Case study: sizing a SAR for a microsatellite
  1. 7.1Range-Doppler focusing algorithm
  2. 7.2Chirp scaling and omega-k algorithms
  3. 7.3Focusing and autofocus
  4. 7.4Radiometric calibration of SAR images
  5. 7.5Geometric correction and orthorectification
  6. 7.6InSAR interferometry and digital models
  7. 7.7Differential interferometry and deformation
  8. 7.8Coherence and change detection
  9. 7.9ESA's SNAP tool
  10. 7.10Lab: interferogram with Sentinel-1 data
  1. 8.1Atmospheric correction of optical images
  2. 8.2Orthorectification and RPC models
  3. 8.3Pansharpening band fusion
  4. 8.4Calculation of spectral indices
  5. 8.5Linear spectral unmixing
  6. 8.6Supervised land cover classification
  7. 8.7Deep learning on satellite imagery
  8. 8.8Multitemporal change detection
  9. 8.9Cloud processing
  10. 8.10Practical exercise: land cover classification with Sentinel-2
  1. 9.1On-board processing architecture
  2. 9.2CCSDS 121 and 123 compression
  3. 9.3On-board mass memory
  4. 9.4On-board artificial intelligence
  5. 9.5Cloud-free scene selection
  6. 9.6X- and Ka-band downlinks
  7. 9.7Optical data links
  8. 9.8Product latency
  9. 9.9Ground processing chains
  10. 9.10Workshop: data budget for a hyperspectral mission
  1. 10.1Pre-launch laboratory calibration
  2. 10.2In-flight calibration
  3. 10.3Vicarious calibration sites
  4. 10.4Corner reflectors for SAR
  5. 10.5Product validation
  6. 10.6Inter-calibration between sensors
  7. 10.7CEOS calibration standards
  8. 10.8Metrological traceability of measurements
  9. 10.9Degradation monitoring
  10. 10.10Case study: cal/val plan for an optical instrument
  1. 11.1Agriculture and food security
  2. 11.2Emergency management
  3. 11.3Ground deformation monitoring
  4. 11.4Maritime surveillance and ship detection
  5. 11.5Climate change and the cryosphere
  6. 11.6Urban planning and urban growth
  7. 11.7Water resource management
  8. 11.8Insurance and finance
  9. 11.9Operational Copernicus services
  10. 11.10Practical exercise: subsidence monitoring service
  1. 12.1User and mission requirements
  2. 12.2Selection of sensor type
  3. 12.3Payload design
  4. 12.4Instrument radiometric budgets
  5. 12.5Platform and orbit
  6. 12.6Processing chain
  7. 12.7Calibration and validation plan
  8. 12.8Demonstrator application with real data
  9. 12.9Master's Thesis: written report
  10. 12.10Master's Thesis: defence before a panel
Methodology, software & labs

How you'll learn

100% online training on the SEIUM campus, with downloadable material, recorded classes and an assigned technical tutor. There are no fixed timetables: you progress at your own pace within each intake, so it fits around your job.

Each module combines theory, guided reading of the original standard and applied exercises. The working software is ESA SNAP, ENVI, Zemax OpticStudio, MATLAB and Google Earth Engine, in free, academic or evaluation versions. Testing is studied through real procedures for Sentinel-1 SAR data processing, hyperspectral cube analysis and instrument radiometric budgets. Assessment is continuous by module, plus the final Master's Thesis.

Standards covered: ECSS-E-ST-10C, ECSS-E-ST-10-03C, CCSDS 123.0-B-2, CCSDS 121.0-B-3, ISO 19115-2, ISO 19159-1, CEOS Analysis Ready Data for Land, Regulation (EU) 2021/696.

Assigned technical tutor:every module ends with a deliverable that your tutor marks individually.
Standards-based learning:guided reading of ECSS-E-ST-10C, ECSS-E-ST-10-03C and CCSDS 123.0-B-2 applied to real cases, not as a theoretical annex.
Industry software:ESA SNAP, ENVI, Zemax OpticStudio, MATLAB and Google Earth Engine, in free, academic or evaluation versions.
Master's Thesis with defence:A complete Earth observation payload mission design, from user requirements and instrument budgets to processing chain, cal/val and a demonstrator with real data, defended before a panel.
Flexible format:100% online, no fixed timetables, compatible with full-time work.
Capstone project

Build it end to end

Your final project follows the real engineering workflow, step by step, reviewed by your tutor.

User and mission requirements
Define the user and mission requirements and select the sensor type.
Payload design
Design the payload and calculate its radiometric budgets.
Platform and processing chain
Define the platform, orbit and data processing chain.
Cal/val and demonstrator
Draft the calibration and validation plan and build a demonstrator with real data.
Master's Thesis
Present the integrated payload mission design, defended before a panel.
Career opportunities

Where this takes you

Payload engineerOptical instrument engineerSAR radar engineerRemote sensing specialistImage processing engineerCalibration and validation engineer
Admissions & scholarships

Requirements

  • A university degree in engineering, science or architecture, or equivalent demonstrable professional experience.
  • An internet connection and a computer capable of running the programme software.
  • English sufficient to read technical standards.

Ready to start?

Send your application today. Our admissions team replies within 72 hours with your study plan and funding options.

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FAQ

Frequently asked questions

The programme totals 1,900 hours over 12–14 months. You set your own pace within each intake, and your tutor helps you plan the workload around your job.

You work with ESA SNAP, ENVI, Zemax OpticStudio, MATLAB and Google Earth Engine, using free, academic or evaluation versions. Your tutor indicates the free alternative wherever one exists.

A SEIUM Institute diploma, awarded on passing the continuous assessment and the Master's Thesis. It is SEIUM's own qualification, not an official state degree; its recognition depends on the programme completed and the regulations of each country.

Yes. Modules passed in a course or postgraduate diploma in the same area are recognised in the higher programme. Ask about the recognition policy when you enrol.

A university degree in engineering, science or architecture (or equivalent professional experience), a computer able to run the programme software, and English sufficient to read technical standards.

Start dates are set by SEIUM's faculty for each intake. Our admissions team will confirm the next available date when you apply.

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