AEISS

AEISS carries two documented name expansions: Advanced Earth Imaging Sensor System^[1] and Advanced Electronic Image Scanning System.^[2] It is the primary imaging payload of KOMPSAT-3 (Korea Multi-Purpose Satellite-3 / Arirang-3), launched on 2012-05-17 from Tanegashima Space Center.^[1] This entry covers KOMPSAT-3 only; KOMPSAT-3A carries the separate AEISS-A instrument.

The instrument is a pushbroom imager delivering 0.7 m GSD in the panchromatic band (450-900 nm) and 2.8 m GSD across four multispectral bands: Blue (MS1, 450-520 nm), Green (MS2, 520-600 nm), Red (MS3, 630-690 nm), and Near-infrared (MS4, 760-900 nm).^[1] Swath width is 15 km.^[1] Imagery is acquired at 14-bit radiometric depth.^[1] AEISS was developed with technical cooperation from EADS Astrium GmbH (Friedrichshafen).^[1]

Pointing agility extends to 45 deg roll and 30 deg pitch, enabling off-nadir collection and same-pass stereo acquisition for digital elevation model generation.^[1] Primary application domains include cartographic mapping, land cover classification, vegetation monitoring, disaster monitoring and damage assessment, and stereo-derived elevation products.^[1][2] The satellite was operational as of December 2025.^[3]