Deployable Rocket Camera Recovery for Distortion-Free Spaceflight Imaging
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Solution Overview
Problem
Photography during spaceflight missions is challenging due to the limitations of land-based cameras and onboard cameras, which struggle with distortion, limited perspective, and inability to capture detailed images or videos of spacecraft and astronauts.
Innovation Solution
An autonomous deployable camera (ADC) system that captures images and videos during spaceflight, autonomously landing after the flight to recover data, with features like a parachute for descent control and tracking hardware for easy recovery, and can relay images through a launch vehicle or relay station.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If land-based cameras with large telephoto lenses are used to capture rocket launch images, then images can be captured from ground level, but the images are distorted due to atmospheric refraction and cannot capture detailed images of rocket performance in the upper atmosphere
Solution Approach 1:
The patent transitions from ground-based photography to in-flight photography by deploying a camera from the rocket itself. This dimensional change allows the camera to capture images from the rocket's trajectory perspective, eliminating atmospheric refraction distortion that affects ground-based telephoto imaging and enabling clear capture of rocket performance in the upper atmosphere.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an intermediary camera system that travels with the rocket through the atmosphere. This intermediary device captures images from within the atmospheric environment rather than from outside it, avoiding the refraction issues that plague ground-based attempts to photograph rocket launches.
2Adaptability or versatility
If cameras are placed onboard the rocket to capture images from various locations, then detailed images of rocket performance can be captured, but the images have limited use in analyzing events such as stage or module separation and cannot capture videos or images of spacecraft and astronauts from outside the spacecraft
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the camera system into multiple independent cameras positioned at different locations on the rocket (nose, mid-section, tail). Each camera captures images from its specific perspective, and together they provide comprehensive coverage including external views of stage separation events and spacecraft, combining the benefits of onboard positioning with external observation capability.
Solution Approach 2:
The camera system is designed to perform multiple functions: capturing detailed rocket performance data from onboard perspectives, recording external events like stage separation, and documenting spacecraft and astronaut views. This multi-functional design eliminates the limitation of single-perspective onboard cameras.
3Measurement precision
If an autonomous deployable camera is ejected from the rocket during flight, then high-quality imagery can be captured without atmospheric distortion, but the camera must be recovered safely from spaceflight conditions
Solution Approach 1:
The camera is equipped with recovery mechanisms (parachute, landing gear, or ballistic reentry shield) before ejection. These preliminary preparations ensure the camera can survive the harsh reentry environment and be recovered intact, addressing the reliability concern of camera recovery while maintaining the ability to capture high-quality images from the optimal in-flight perspective.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Enables high-quality imagery of spacecraft and astronauts in microgravity, providing commercially valuable footage without requiring immediate telemetering, and ensuring collision-free descent and easy recovery of the camera.
Implementation Method 1
The ADC may include a parachute to slow the descent of the ADC
Data Source
AI summary
Systems and methods for photography of a spacecraft during space flight are provided. An autonomous deployable camera (ADC) is configured to capture images and video of a portion of a rocket, such as a crew capsule, as it flies in space with the Earth's horizon in the background and astronauts within the crew capsule visible and recognizable through windows of the crew capsule. The ADC, being reusable, is configured to land on the ground independent of landings or flight trajectories of the crew capsule or other parts of a rocket. The ADC includes a parachute to slow the descent of the ADC and tracking hardware to allow the ADC to be relatively easily recovered on the ground. After recovery, images are downloadable from the ADC.