The Lunar Orbiter Photographic System

The photographic system which produced the photographs of the lunar surface is a complex one. Inherent in its design is provision for dual lens photography, film processing, conversion of the film images into video signals for relay through the spacecraft transmitter and reconstitution of the photographic image on earth after receipt of signals by the orbital tracking stations. The prime objective of the Lunar Orbiter Mission is to secure topographic data of the lunar surface to enable selection and confirmation of suitable Apollo landing sites. In addition to the stringent performance objectives, the equipment design was strongly influenced by a number of constraints: e.g., size, weight, power consumption, pressure environment, the ambient thermal environment and the limitation on system control and instrumentation. Fundamental to the photographic system design was the selection of a suitable film processing chemistry and lenses. These are all reviewed in detail. The performance photographic requirements for the ground equipment are also briefly discussed.

Print ISSN

0361-4573

Published

1967-08

Content type

Information

DOI

10.5594/J09113