DESIS ISS deployment

DESIS (DLR Earth Sensing Imaging Spectrometer) is a push-broom hyperspectral imaging instrument developed by DLR and hosted on the ISS MUSES (Multiple User System for Earth Sensing) platform operated by Teledyne Brown Engineering [^dlr-instrument][^eoportal-iss-muses][^ceos-eohandbook]. The instrument was transported to the ISS on 29 June 2018 and achieved initial operating capability in November 2018 [^tbe-desis-faq]. Operations ended in December 2023, leaving a five-year archive of hyperspectral imagery.

DESIS occupied a non-sun-synchronous ISS orbit at approximately 400 km altitude and 51.6 degree inclination, providing non-tasked data collection across latitudes up to 51.6 degrees. Revisit cadence depended on ISS groundtrack: eoPortal records an average cadence of 3-5 days for populated areas [^eoportal-iss-muses]; Teledyne Brown Engineering documentation gives 10-12 days at latitudes of 15-30 degrees under a 25-degree zenith angle constraint [^tbe-desis-faq]. Both figures reflect different geometric framings of the same orbit. The five-year data archive is accessible through DLR and USGS distribution.