Lunar Orbiter camera payload
Camera
Lunar Orbiter camera payload
ca. 1967
1981.0795.0001
DescriptionFly model assembled from original parts by Genesse Tool and Die, Rochester, New York
TextIn the early 1960s, NASA began to develop the Lunar Orbiter program to photographically map both sides of the moon, which would help selecting sites for the lunar landings of the Apollo space program. The agency solicited design proposals from aerospace firms, ultimately awarding the contract to Boeing to build the mission vehicle. Eastman Kodak Company and RCA were major subcontractors.
Kodak created a photographic subsystem that included 6.5mm film for image capture, two lenses, onboard film processing unit using the Kodak Bimat process to eliminate the use of "wet" chemicals, and a scanner and video system. Once the photographs were taken, the film was processed and scanned, and the negative images were transmitted as analog video to receiving stations on Earth. The images were then written back to film and shipped to Kodak in Rochester for final reconstruction. In total, Kodak built eight subsystems, five of which made one-way trips aboard Orbiter spacecraft in 1966 and 1967.
Todd Gustavson
Curator, Technology Collection
October 2021
Kodak created a photographic subsystem that included 6.5mm film for image capture, two lenses, onboard film processing unit using the Kodak Bimat process to eliminate the use of "wet" chemicals, and a scanner and video system. Once the photographs were taken, the film was processed and scanned, and the negative images were transmitted as analog video to receiving stations on Earth. The images were then written back to film and shipped to Kodak in Rochester for final reconstruction. In total, Kodak built eight subsystems, five of which made one-way trips aboard Orbiter spacecraft in 1966 and 1967.
Todd Gustavson
Curator, Technology Collection
October 2021
