Performance modeling of launch vehicle imaging telescopes

James E. Harvey; Andrey Krywonos; Joseph B. Houston Jr.

doi:10.1117/12.626031

18 August 2005 Performance modeling of launch vehicle imaging telescopes

James E. Harvey, Andrey Krywonos, Joseph B. Houston Jr.

Proceedings Volume 5867, Optical Modeling and Performance Predictions II; 58670G (2005) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.626031
Event: Optics and Photonics 2005, 2005, San Diego, California, United States

Abstract

The implementation plan for the "return-to-flight" of the space shuttle after the spectacular Columbia disaster upon re-entering the earth's atmosphere on February 1, 2003 included significant upgrades to the Ground Camera Ascent Imagery assets at Kennedy Space Center (KSC) and Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. The accident was due to damage incurred when a piece if insulating foam debris from the external fuel tank struck the left wing during take-off. The Ground Camera Ascent Imagery Project encompasses a wide variety of launch vehicle tracking telescopes and cameras at the Eastern Range. Most of these launch vehicle imaging telescopes are manually tracked and fitted with video and 35 mm film cameras, and many of them are fixed-focus (i.e., focused at the hyperfocal distance for the duration of the launch). In this paper we describe a systems engineering analysis approach for obtaining performance predictions of these aging launch vehicle imaging telescopes. Recommendations for a continuing maintenance and refurbishment program that closes the loop around the KSC photo-interpreter are included.

Citation Download Citation

James E. Harvey, Andrey Krywonos, and Joseph B. Houston Jr. "Performance modeling of launch vehicle imaging telescopes", Proc. SPIE 5867, Optical Modeling and Performance Predictions II, 58670G (18 August 2005); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.626031

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