Abstract

Instrumentation has been developed for obtaining triangulation photographs of luminous clouds in the upper atmosphere. These clouds are created by the release of chemicals such as sodium and cesium from rockets. The instrumentation has been used on approximately eighty rocket firings. Descriptions and operating characteristics are given of the equipment. Observations have been made from the Air Force ranges at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida, and Holloman Air Force Base, New Mexico, and from the NASA test facility at Wallops Island, Virginia. A modified version of the K-24 aerial camera with 7 in. (17.8 cm) f/2.5 optics was used and mounted on 60-in. (152-cm) searchlight carriages and Mk 51 gun directors. Camera control system, data chamber, fiducial light system, shutter and filter system, field installation, and alignment procedures are described.

© 1964 Optical Society of America

Optics of the Upper Atmosphere

D. M. Hunten
Appl. Opt. 3(2) 167-174 (1964)

Aspects of Photographic Systems Engineering

S. A. Hempenius
Appl. Opt. 3(1) 45-53 (1964)

Field Photometer with Nine-Element Filter Wheel

Z. Frentress, L. C. Young, and H. D. Edwards
Appl. Opt. 3(2) 303-308 (1964)

Spectroscopy Applied to Hypersonic Atmospheric Penetration

W. G. Planet
Appl. Opt. 3(2) 309-314 (1964)

The Scattering of Infrared Radiation from Clouds

Ernest Bauer
Appl. Opt. 3(2) 197-202 (1964)