A satellite constellation to observe the spectral radiance shell of earth

The concept of a shell surrounding the earth on which we know the radiance at all wavelengths, at all times, at all points, and in all directions is defined as the spectral radiance shell of Earth. Measurements of the spectral radiance shell are made by satellites, but the measurements are sparse. Constellations of satellites are employed in the fields of navigation and telecommunication, but they have not yet been used to study the spectral radiance shell for environmental applications. In this paper, the properties of current satellite constellations are explored, then a spectral radiance shell constellation making hourly measurements everywhere on Earth is discussed.