A PROCEDURE FOR THE RAPID DETERMINATION OF THE SPLASH POINT OF A RE-ENTRY BODY FROM A PHOTOGRAPH OF ITS TRACK IN SPACE. PART II.

Abstract

This paper discusses the problem of establishing a rapid procedure for determining the splash point of a re-entry body from data derived from a photograph of its track in space. Several procedures were outlined to obtain the latitude, longitude, bearing, and range from a given observation point by combining the data derived from the photograph with a latitude-longitude earth track chart and with an altitude versus range from splash chart of the missile for a specific trajectory. These general procedures were applied to a Thor-Able ICBM fired on March 21, 1959 from Cape Canaveral towards the Ascension Islands, traversing a distance of about 5000 miles. The nose cone of this re-entry test was not recovered at the time. (Author)

Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jun 01, 1959
Accession Number
AD0367663

Entities

People

  • Herbert K. Brown

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Altitude
  • Ascension Island
  • Grids
  • Islands
  • Latitude
  • Longitude
  • Nose Cones
  • Noses
  • Observation
  • Photographs
  • Photography
  • Trajectories

Readers

  • Missile Defense Systems.
  • Space Exploration and Orbital Mechanics.
  • Systems Analysis and Design

Technology Areas

  • Space
  • Space - Orbital Debris