Video data compression for telescience

Abstract

This paper recommends techniques to use for data compression of video data used to point a telescope and from a camera observing a robot, for transmission from the proposed U.S. Space Station to Earth. The mathematical basis of data compression is presented, followed by a general review of data compression techniques. A technique that has wide-spread use in data compression of videoconferencing images is recommended for the robot observation data. Bit rates of 60 to 400 kbits/sec can be achieved. Several techniques are modelled to find a best technique for the telescope data. Actual starfield images are used for the evaluation. The best technique is chosen on the basis of which model provides the most compression while preserving the important information in the images. Compression from 8 bits per pel to 0.015 bits per pel is achieved.