The GSFC Code 618 Radiometric Calibration Laboratory (RCL) maintains instruments and National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) traceable calibrated sources and detectors to calibrate, characterize, and monitor the radiometric, spatial, and spectral performance of satellite-, aircraft-, balloon- and ground-based remote sensing instrumentation.

The RCL serves Earth and space remote sensing projects not only at GSFC but also at universities, industries, and in the field. The suite of RCL instruments and sources span the wavelength range from the UltraViolet (UV) through the ShortWave InfraRed (SWIR) (i.e. 234 nm to 3300 nm). RCL instruments, sources, and expertise are made available to US Government agencies, industries, the international remote sensing community, and academic institutions.

RCL laboratories are clean (Class 10000), permitting the calibration of satellite, aircraft, ground, and laboratory instruments and sources with a minimized risk of particulate contamination.