MISSION 1036 PHOTOGRAPHIC EVALUATION INTERIM REPORT

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: NGA Records (Formerly NIMA)
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP78B04558A001400030034-7
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: T
• Document Page Count: 7
• Document Creation Date: December 28, 2016
• Document Release Date: June 25, 2008
• Sequence Number: 34
• Publication Date: September 10, 1966
• Content Type: CABLE

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T O P SE C R E T 100117Z CITE 420
PRIORITY
CORONA/PET
SEP 10 01 5 ( Z
I9G JVI~ SEP
MISSION 1036 PHOTOGRAPHIC EVALUATION INTERIM REPORT (PEIR)
REF: A. 5 043
B. 5093
C. 5088
1. NUMERICAL SUMMARY
MSN NO AND DATES:
LAUNCH DATE AND TIME:
VEHICLE NUMBER:
CAMERA SYSTEM :
PAN CAMERA NOS:
MSN 1036-1 S/I NO:
MSN 1036-2 S/I NO:
RECOVERY REVS :
2. CAMERA SETTINGS
FORWARD-LOOKING:
AFT-LOOKING:
3. PERFORMANCE SUMMARY
1036-1 9-16 AUGUST 1966
1036-2 16-22 AUGUST 1966
9 AUGUST 1966/2046Z
1631
J-32
FORWARD-LOOKING (MASTER) 1T.0
AFT-LOOKING (SLAVE) 1-1
D99/110/111
D 89/ 108/ 106
MSN 1036-1 D-115
MSN 1036-2 D-212
0.200 INCH SLIT,
WRATTEN 23A FILTER
0.150 INCH SLIT,
WRATTEN 21 FILTER
A. THE IMAGE QUALITY OF MISSIONS 1036-1 AND 1036-2 IS
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CONSISTENTLY GOOD AND IS BETTER THAN MISSION 1034, AND
COMPARABLE TO MISSION 1033.
B. VISUAL COMPARISON OF MIP FRAMES FOR MISSION 1036-1 AND
1036-2 INDICATE THAT AFT CAMERA PHOTOGRAPHY IS SHARPER THAN
FORWARD CAMERA PHOTOGRAPHY. THE COMPARISON IS BASED UPON T E
EVALUATION OF ON AND DP FILMS. AFT CAMERA IMAGERY IS CONSIDERED
BETTER PRIMARILY BECAUSE OF THE REDUCED EFFECT OF HAZE LIGHT IN
THE AFT CAMERA PHOTOGRAPHY. IT IS ALSO NOTED THAT THE AFT
CAMERA USED A NARROWER SLIT.
C. THE OVERALL IMAGE QUALITY OF MISSION 1036-2 WAS JUDGED
TO BE SLIGHTLY BETTER THAN MISSION 1036-1. THIS IS ATTRIBUTED
TO THE LOWER HAZE LEVEL IN MISSION 1036-2 AS EVIDENCED BY VIEWING
THE INDEX CAMERA PHOTOGRAPHY (SEE SEC 5).
D. NO CORN TARGETS WERE DISPLAYED. ONE FIXED TARGET OF
UNKNOWN CONTRAST AND CONDITION WAS RECORDED AT PAHRUMP,
NEVADA. THE AVERAGE RESOLUTION FROM THIS TARGET WAS JUDGED TO
BE 8.5 FEET ON THE AFT-LOOKING CAMERA PHOTOGRAPHY, AND 12.5
FEET ON THE FWD-LOOKING CAMERA PHOTOGRAPHY. RESOLVING POWER
EVALUATION IN THE SCAN AND IMC DIRECTION WAS NOT POSSIBLE DUE
TO THE ANGULAR ORIENTATION OF. THE TARGET.
4. ANOMALIES
ANOMALIES INCLUDING THOSE REPORTED IN THE "31" MESSAGES
(REF A AND B) WERE REVIEWED.
A. LOSS OF START OF PASS MARK ON MASTER CAMERA AFTER
PASS D3--*
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CAUSE: THE START OF PASS LAMP DID NOT OPERATE SUB-
SEQUENT TO PASS D39 DUE TO APPARENT LAMP FAILURE. (NOTE:
SYSTEMS J37, J39, J40 AND MISSION 1033 EXPERIENCED RECENT
SOP LAMP FAILURES. REF: PEIR ACTION ITEM 073/1033).
ACTION: RECOMMEND EVALUATION OF SOP LAMP DRIVE VOLTAGE
AND LAMP OPERATING CHARACTERISTICS. (MONITOR-
B. ON BOTH 1036-1 AND 1036-2 MISSIONS THE BASE PLUS FOG
DENSITY VALUE OF THE STELLAR RECORDS WERE APPROXIMATELY 0.30
DENSITY UNITS HIGHER THAN ANTICIPATED. PROCESS CONTROL CHECKS
AND R-2 SAMPLES FROM THE MISSION FILM DID NOT EXHIBIT THIS
DENSITY INCREASE. RADIATION MONITORS INDICATE THAT RADIATION
IS NOT A SIGNIFICANT FACTOR. A PROCESS CONTROL CHANGE WILL
BE MADE TO COMPENSATE FOR THE DENSITY INCREASE.
CAUSE: EXACT CAUSE IS NOT KNOWN.
ACTION: INVESTIGATIVE WORK TO ESTABLISH PROBABLE
CAUSES FOR THIS ANOMALY ARE IN PROGRESS. (MONITORi
C. IMAGED INDEX RESEAU EDGE - SIMILAR TO ACTION ITEM
059/1029 BUT OF GREATER DENSITY AND OCCURRENCE.
CAUSE: INSUFFICIENT MASKING OF INDEX CAMERA RESEAU
PLATE RESULTED IN EXPOSURE OF SMALL SEGMENTS OF RESEAU
EDGE IN CORNERS OF ADJACENT FRAMES THROUGHOUT. THE MISSION.
DENSITY IS OCCASIONALLY GREAT ENOUGH TO DEGRADE UNDERLYING
IMAGERY.
ACTION: EXAMINE CURRENT PROCEDURES AT BOSTON AND
25X1
25X1
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INVESTIGATE POSSIBLE CORRECTIVE MEASURES. (MONITORH
D. A MINOR REGION OF SOFT IMAGERY ON THE AFT RECORD,
LOCATED AT THE CAMERA NUMBER EDGE SUPPLY END OF THE FORMAT FIRST
NOTED ON PASS 203D THROUGH THE END OF THE MISSION. APPROXIMATELY
ONE SQUARE INCH OF THE FORMAT WAS AFFECTED.
CAUSE: EXACT CAUSE IS UNKNOWN. THE CONDITION IS
POSSIBLY DUE TO IRREGULARITY IN TRACKING TENSION.
ACTION: THE TEAM BELIEVES THAT BECAUSE OF THE MINOR
SIGNIFICANCE OF THIS ANOMALY, AND THAT THE REGION AND
MAGNITUDE OF THIS SOFT SPOT IS QUITE SIMILAR TO PAST SYSTEM
SOFT SPOT HISTORY NO ACTION SHOULD BE INITIATED.
E. INTERMITTENT [MINOR SCRATCH-LIKE MINUS DENSITY MARKING
LOCATED ON AFT CAMERA MATERIAL 1.22" FROM CAMERA NUMBER EDGE.
CAUSE: CAUSE IS UNKNOWN
ACTION: NONE
F. CHARACTERISTIC ANOMALIES: THERE ARE CERTAIN CHARAC-
TERISTIC ANOMALIES THAT ARE CONSIDERED INHERENT TO T E
OPERATION OF THE CORONA SYSTEM. WHILE THESE ITEMS WARRANT
ATTENTION TO PREVENT FURTHER DEGRADATION IT IS NOT FELT THAT
SPECIFIC ACTION ITEMS SHOULD BE ASSIGNED. A SUMMARY OF THESE
ITEMS AND THE DEGREE OF DEGRADATION IS PRESENTED BELOW.
(1) DENDRITIC STATIC DISCHARGE ALONG THE EDGES OF
BOTH PAN CAMERA FILMS ARE LESS THAN NORMAL.
(2) NO DENDRITIC STATIC DISCHARGE WAS NOTED ON
EITHER STELLAR/INDEX RECORDS.
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(3) RAIL SCRATCHES FROM BOTH PAN CAMERAS WAS MORE
SEVERE THAN NORMAL.
(4) RAGGED FORMAT EDGES WERE OBSERVED ON BOTH PAN
CAMERAS, AND WERE COMPARABLE IN FREQUENCY OF OCCURRENCE
AND MAGNITUDE TO PAST SYSTEMS.
(5) SCRATCHES WITHIN THE FORMAT OF BOTH PAN CAMERA
SYSTEMS CAUSED BY THE SCAN HEAD ROLLERS ARE CONSIDERED NORMAL.
(6) THE CONTINUOUS PLUS DENSITY MARKING OCCURRING
NEAR THE ENDS OF BOTH STELLAR RECORDS IS APPARENTLY A RESULT
OF STATIC DISCHARGE AND HAS BEEN OBSERVED ON NUMEROUS PAST
SYSTEMS DURING TESTING AND FLIGHT. AS THIS ANOMALY IS
WELL OUT OF THE STELLAR FORMAT AREA, AND APPARENTLY CAUSES
NO MATERIAL DEGRADATION OR SCRATCHING, IT IS RECOMMENDED
THAT THIS ITEM BE CLOSED.
(7) LIGHT LEAKS WERE LESS THAN NORMAL ON BOTH 1036-1
AND 1036-2 MISSIONS. MODIFICATIONS TO MAIN CAMERA LIGHT
SEALS HAVE BEEN MADE, EFFECTIVE WITH SYSTEM J-36 AND UP.
IT IS RECOMMENDED THAT NO FURTHER ACTION BE TAKEN ON CAMERA
LIGHT LEAKS PENDING FLIGHT EXPERIENCE WITH THESE SYSTEMS.
(8) IMAGES OF "JETTISONED FUEL PARTICLES" ARE
CONSIDERABLY LESS THAN NORMAL.
5. COMMENTS
A. THE PET INDEX CAMERA PHOTOGRAPHY ANALYSIS IS AS
FOLLOWS:
1036-1 - 415 INDEX FRAMES
1
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19 PERCENT OR 75 FRAMES WITH LESS THAN 10 PERCENT CLOUDS,
TERRAIN.
1036-2 - 432 INDEX FRAMES
22 PERCENT OR 95 FRAMES WITH LESS THAN 10 PERCENT CLOUDS,
TERRAIN.
IN REVIEWING THE INDEX PHOTOGRAPHY IT WAS OBVIOUS THAT THERE
WAS A HIGH PERCENTAGE OF PHOTOGRAPHY AFFECTED BY HAZE AND
THIN, LOW LEVEL CLOUDS.
B. THE FWD-LOOKING PHOTOGRAPHY OF MISSION 1036-1 AND THE
AFT-LOOKING PHOTOGRAPHY OF MISSION 1036-2 WERE PROCESSED ON T E
YARDLEIGH FRAME-BY FRAME VISCOUS PROCESSOR. THE REST OF THE
MISSION WAS PROCESSED AS NORMAL ON THE TRENTON PROCESSOR. THE
ONLY CONCLUSION THAT IS CURRENTLY POSSIBLE IS THAT THERE IS NO
OBVIOUS DEGRADATION OR IM'?IPROVEIENT IN IMAGE QUALITY DUE TO
YARDLEIGH PROCESSING. AS FAR AS WE CAN SEE THE TUC PROCESSORS
PRODUCE COMPARABLE IMAGE QUALITY. PRESENTLY, HOWEVER, THE PET
CANNOT MAKE A FIRM RECOMMENDATION AS TO WHICH PROCESSOR
SHOULD BE USED IN THE FUTURE ON CORONA PHOTOGRAPHY. THERE
ARE OBVIOUS SYSTE[41 ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES TO YARDLEEIGH
PROCESSING. FURTHER, ALL THE DATA REQUIRED TO MAKE AN
INTELLIGENT RECOMMENDATION IS NOT YET AVAILABLE. THE PET IS
GOING TO PURSUE A DETAILED ANALYSIS OF THE YARDLEIGH AND
TRENTON PROCESSED PHOTOGRAPHY FROM THIS MISSION. IN THIS
ANALYSIS, IT IS REQUESTED THAT- INSTRUCTF__7TO PERFORM
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A D-MIN, D-MAX ANALYSIS ON EACH FRAME FROM MISSION 1036. THIS
INFORMATION SHOULD BE RECORDED BY PASS AND FRAME NUMBER AND
TRANSMITTED TO FOR FURTHER HANDLING.
C. THE RAIL SCRATCHING AND RAGGED FORMAT EDGES SHOULD BE
IMPROVED ON ALL SYSTEMS AFTER J-36 DUE TO IMPROVED RAIL
D. IMAGERY FROM ALL FOUR HORIZON CAMERAS WAS SHARP AND
EQUAL TO THE BEST OBTAINED ON ANY PREVIOUS MISSION, AT NO TIME
DID HORIZON PHOTOGRAPHY APPEAR VEILED AS HAS BEEN THE CASE .N
MOST PREVIOUS MISSIONS. FOR THE FIRST TIME ALL REFLECTIVE
SURFACES IN FRONT OF THE FOUR HORIZON CAMERAS (INCLUDING THE
BOOT) WERE DULLED WITH FLAT BLACK PAINT. ON THE PREVIOUS FLIGHT
(MISSION 1034), VEIL FREE HORIZON PHOTOGRAPHY WAS ASSOCIATED
WITH THE ONE HORIZON CAMERA ON THE SUN SIDE THAT HAD REFLECTIVE
SURFACES IN FRONT OF THE LENS DULLED WITH BLACK PAINT. THE
OTHER SUN SIDE HORIZON CAMERA WITH NORMAL REFLECTIVE SURFACES
IN FRONT OF THE LENS PRODUCED SOME VEILED HORIZON IMAGERY.
TO DATE A GOOD CORRELATION EXISTS BETWEEN VEIL FREE HORIZON
IMAGERY ON THE SUN SIDE AND NON-REFLECTIVE SURFACES IN FRONT
OF THE HORIZON LENS. AS A RESULT OF THE ENCOURAGING RESULTS
ACHIEVED IN THIS MISSION, THE PET RECOMMENDS THAT ALL RE-
FLECTIVE SURFACES IN FRONT OF ALL HORIZON CAMERAS ON FUTURE
SYSTEMS BE RENDERED NON-REFLECTIVE.
T O P S E C R E T
POLISHING TECHNIQUES AT
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