OPTICAL CALIBRATION OF THE U. S. NAVAL SPACE SURVEILLANCE SYSTEM

Abstract

A project was initiated in the spring of 1960 to calibrate the Space Surveillance System by means of ballistic cameras. The principle behind this calibration is a comparison between the positions of the Echo balloon as determined by radiofrequency reflections of the Space Surveillance System and as determined by photographs against a star background. The preliminary results show that all stations have zero errors of less than 0.1 degree at the zenith. A second error having a standard deviation of about 0.05 degree is due in part to the limited precision of measurement used. The report describes the work done prior to the second phase of calibration, that phase leading to a much higher precision.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Mar 01, 1962
Accession Number
AD0273630

Entities

People

  • L.o. Hayden

Organizations

  • United States Naval Research Laboratory

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Space

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Accuracy
  • Angle Of Arrival
  • Cameras
  • Data Processing
  • Data Reduction
  • Detection
  • Detectors
  • Electromagnetic Radiation
  • Instrumentation
  • Measurement
  • Mississippi
  • New Mexico
  • Photographs
  • Photography
  • Precision
  • Radio Frequency
  • Space Surveillance

Fields of Study

  • Physics

Readers

  • Aerospace Engineering.
  • Astronomy and Astrophysics.
  • Electromagnetic Wave Scattering and Antenna Radiation Engineering

Technology Areas

  • Space
  • Space - Space Objects