A PHOTOGRAPHIC STUDY OF APOLLO 9,

Abstract

An experiment was conducted at the Mount Haleakala Observatory to obtain high-quality photographs of the Apollo 9 spacecraft in low earth orbit. Photographs of the Command and Service Module (CSM) and separate photographs of the Lunar Module (LM) were successfully obtained during tracking of Apollo 9 on the mornings of March 12 and 13, 1969. These photographs demonstrate the performance of the high-resolution photographic (HRP) system associated with the 60-in. aperture telescope at this observatory. The acquisition and tracking problems that a fast target such as the Apollo 9 CSM presents, and the solutions to these problems will be of interest to others contemplating a similar effort. This report presents a description of this experiment and an analysis of the results. (Author)

Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Dec 01, 1969
Accession Number
AD0698493

Entities

People

  • Joseph Heath
  • Wayne Parsons

Organizations

  • University of Michigan

Tags

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Acquisition
  • Earth Orbits
  • High Resolution
  • Low Earth Orbits
  • Observatories
  • Orbits
  • Photographs
  • Service Modules
  • Spacecraft

Readers

  • Image Processing and Computer Vision.
  • Phased Array Antenna Design.
  • Space Exploration and Orbital Mechanics.

Technology Areas

  • Space
  • Space - Orbital Debris
  • Space - Space Objects