MSN 1039 PHOTOGRAPHIC EVALUATION INTERIM REPORT (PEIR)

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: NGA Records (Formerly NIMA)
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP78B03817A000400020027-0
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: T
• Document Page Count: 6
• Document Creation Date: December 28, 2016
• Document Release Date: March 9, 2006
• Sequence Number: 27
• Publication Date: March 17, 1967
• Content Type: CABLE

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1 T 0 P S E C R E T 162336Z CITE
1 PRIORITY
1 CORONA
0
SUBJ: MSN 1039 PHOTOGRAPHIC EVALUATION INTERIM REPORT (PEIR)
3. PERFORMANCE SUMMARY
THE OVERALL IMAGE QUALITY OF MSN 1039-1 AND -2 IS SUPERIOR TO
NGA review(s) completed.
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THAT OF THE LAST TWO MISSIONS. THE AFT-LOOKING IMAGE IS SLIGHTLY
SUPERIOR TO THAT OF THE FORWARD-LOOKING IMAGERY. ANALYSIS OF THE
ATMOSPHERIC CONDITIONS SHOWED A LOW PERCENTAGE OF CLEAR TERRAIN
AREAS.
4. ANOMALIES
A. THE DIGIT TWO OF THE CAMERA NUMBERS 206 AND 207 WERE
UNREADABLE.
CAUSE: ON ALL 200 SERIES J-1 INSTRUMENTS THE SERIAL NUMBER
LAMP HOUSING APERTURE WHICH IS INTREGAL WITH THE DATA BLOCK HOUSING
DOES NOT PROVIDE SUFFICIENT ILLUMINATION FOR THE LARGER 200 SERIES
NUMBER MASK, CAUSING A PARTIAL CUT-OFF OF THE SERIAL NUMBER IN THE
VICINITY OF THE DIGIT TWO.
ACTION: NONE REQUIRED. THE POSSIBILITY OF CONFUSION BECAUSE
OF THE PARTIALLY MISSING SERIAL NUMBER BETWEEN 200 SERIES INSTRUMENTS,
AND 100 SERIES IS REMOTE.
B. THE BINARY SERIAL INDEX LAMP WAS BLOOMED ON BOTH INSTRUMENTS
FOR 1039-1 AND ON THE SLAVE INSTRUMENT FOR 1039-2.
CAUSE: THE SERIAL INDEX BIT IMAGE DENSITY IS PRODUCED BY
THE SAME LAMP WHICH PROVIDES THE ILLUMINATION FOR THE SERIAL
NUMBER. THE INDEX IMAGE IS PRODUCED BY A SMALL HOLE IN THE NUMBER
MASK ADJACENT TO THE SERIAL NUMBER. THIS METHOD OF IMAGING IS
CONSIDERABLY MORE SUSCEPTIBLE TO GROSS IMAGE BLOOMING, WITH VARIA-
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TIONS IN LAMP BRIGHTNESS. THE INTENSITY OF THE SERIAL NUMBER/SERIAL
INDEX LAMP IS BASED ON A COMPROMISE BETWEEN SERIAL NUMBER READA-
BILITY AND MINIMUM SERIAL INDEX BLOOMING.
ACTION: NONE REQUIRED.
C. THE 200 PPS TIMING PULSES WERE MISSING ON THE FIRST 2 TO
5 INCHES OF THE FIRST FRAME OF A FEW PASSES ON THE SLAVE CAMERA
FOR 1039-1 AND 1039-2.
CAUSE: BOTH CAMERAS EXPERIENCED 200PPS TIME TRACE ANOMALIES
DURING A/P ALTITUDE TESTING. THESE TRACE ANOMALIES STARTED AT
APPARENTLY RANDOM TIMES DURING SCAN, INDEPENDENTLY BETWEEN CAM-
ERAS, UP TO 8.5 FRAMES MAXIMUM. THIS ANOMALY WAS CORRECTED DURING
TESTING BY INSTALLATION OF NEW 20OPPS SCAN HEAD LAMPS. THIS
ANOMALY WAS NOT PRESENT DURING PRE-FLIGHT READINESS TESTING.
ACTION: AS A RESULT OF A STUDY ITEK-BOSTON MADE CONCERNING
THIS PROBLEM, EXTENSIVE ELECTRICAL CHANGES WERE RECOMMENDED AND
WILL BE INCORPORATED ON FLIGHT SYSTEMS J-49 AND J-50.
D. VEILING OF THE STARBOARD LOOKING HORIZON CAMERAS ON BOTH IN-
STRUMENTS WAS NOTED BEGINNING ON PASS D05 AND CONTINUING THROUGHOUT
1039-1..
CAUSE: THE CAUSE IS UNKNOWN. ANALYSIS OF ORIGINAL NEGATIVES
AND DUPE POSITIVES INDICATED THAT THE MAGNITUDE OF THE VEILING
CONDITION IN THE FWD-LOOKING INSTRUMENT WAS CONSIDERABLY LESS
THAN IN THE AFT-LOOKING INSTRUMENT. THE VEILING CONDITION GRAD-
UALLY BECAME DETECTABLE ON PASS D05 AND CONTINUED THROUGH TO THE
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END OF 1039-1, CLEARING ABRUPTLY FOLLOWING THE FIRST MISSION
RECOVERY. MISSIONS 1034 AND 1038 WERE ALSO AFFECTED BY SIMILAR
VEILING, WHILE THE INTERVENING THREE MISSIONS APPEARED UNAFFECTED.
THE HORIZON BOOTS, ON ALL SIX OF THESE PAYLOADS HAD BEEN PAINTED.
ACTION: UNDER CONTINUING INVESTIGATION (MONITOR: A/P
E. A VERY SLIGHT BASE RUB IS APPARENT THROUGHOUT THE FORWARD
CAMERA RECORD. IT APPEARS AS A VERY SUBTLE MINUS DENSITY LINE
PARALLEL TO THE MAJOR AXIS OF THE FILM ABOUT 3/4 OF AN INCH FROM
CAMERA NUMBER EDGE.
CAUSE : THIS PROBLEM APPEARED DURING PRE-FLIGHT READINESS
AS A MINOR BASE ABRASION. THIS ABRASION WAS CAUSED BY THE SUPPLY
CASSETTE CONSTANT TENSION ASSEMBLY AT THE FINAL MECHANICAL APERTURE.
ACTION: NONE REQUIRED.
5. COMMENTS
A. AN ANALYSIS OF THE INDEX PHOTOGRAPHY FROM MISSION 1039-1
AND -2 YIELDED THE FOLLOWING
1039-1
TOTAL INDEX FRAMES
CLEAR AND TERRAIN
CLEAR AND SNOW
1039-2
TOTAL INDEX FRAMES
CLEAR AND TERRAIN
INFORMATION:
66 OR 14.5 PERCENT
61 OR 13.4 PERCENT
64 OR 14 PERCENT
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CLEAR AND SNOW 52 OR 11.4 PERCENT
B. MISSION 1039 EXPERIENCED A HIGH THERMAL ENVIRONMENT AND
RELATIVELY HEAVY CLOUD COVER AND APPARENT HAZE CONDITIONS, SIMILAR
TO THOSE EXPERIENCED IN MISSION 1038. NORMALLY, THESE FACTORS ARE
CONSIDERED CONTRIBUTORY TO DEGRADING IMAGE QUALITY. HOWEVER, IN
SPITE OF THE ABOVE, MISSION 1039 PRODUCED PHOTOGRAPHIC QUALITY
NORMALLY EXPECTED FROM THIS SYSTEM.
C. THE DUPLICATION REPORT REQUESTED BY THE PET (REF PEIR MSN
1038 PARA B AND C). COMMITTEE WAS REVIEWED AND FOUND IN GENERAL TO
BE IN AGREEMENT WITH THEIR ANALYSIS.
6. CHARACTERISTIC ANOMALIES
THERE ARE CERTAIN CHARACTERISTIC ANOMALIES WHICH ARE CONSID-
ERED INHERENT TO THE 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 OR DEGRADATION IS PRESENTED BELOW.
A. RAIL SCRATCHES ARE CONTINUOUS ALONG BOTH FILM EDGES
THROUGHOUT THE MISSION. THEIR SEVERITY IS CONSIDERED NORMAL AND
CAMPARABLE TO PAST SYSTEMS.
B. DENDRITIC STATIC DISCHARGE - LESS THAN NORMAL.
C. SCRATCHES WITHIN THE FORMATS OF BOTH PAN CAMERAS
CAUSED BY THE SCAN HEAD ROLLERS ARE LESS THAN NORMAL.
D. THE FOG PATTERNS EXHIBITED ON BOTH PAN CAMERAS IS
CONSIDERED MINOR AND LESS THAN NORMAL.
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E. RAGGED FORMAT EDGE EXHIBITED ON THE AFT-LOOKING INSTRU-
MENT FOR THE ENTIRE MISSION IS GREATER THAN NORMAL.
T 0 P S E C R E T
END OF MESSAGE
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