MISSION 1030 PHOTOGRAPHIC EVALUATION INTERIM REPORT (PEIR)

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: NGA Records (Formerly NIMA)
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP78B04558A001200040128-4
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: T
• Document Page Count: 6
• Document Creation Date: December 28, 2016
• Document Release Date: June 25, 2008
• Sequence Number: 128
• Publication Date: April 2, 1966
• Content Type: CABLE

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SUBJ: MISSION 1030 PHOTOGRAPHIC EVALUATION INTERIM REPORT (PEIR)
1. NUMERICAL SUMMARY
MSN NO AND DATES:
1030-1, 9-14 MARCH 1966
1030-2, 14-19 MARCH 1966
LAUNCH DATE AND TIME:
9 MARCH 1966/2202Z
VEHICLE NUMBER:
1622
CAMERA SYSTEM:
J-29
PAN CAMERA NOS:
FWD LOOKING (MASTER) 182
AFT LOOKING (SLAVE) 183
S/I CAMERA NOS:
MSN 1030-1:
D94/100/107
MSN 1030-2:
D82/195/102
RECOVERY REVS:
D81 AND D159
2. CAMERA SETTINGS
FWD LOOKING 0.275 INCH SLIT, WRATTEN 25 FILTER
AFT LOOKING 0.175 INCH SLIT, WRATTEN 21 FILTER
3. PERFORMANCE SUMMARY
A SMALL PORTION OF THE PAN PHOTOGRAPHY FROM THIS MISSION IS
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CONSIDERED TO BE AS GOOD AS ANY OBSERVED IN RECENT MISSIONS. HOW-
EVER, MOST OF THE MATERIAL WAS OF DISTINCTLY POORER QUALITY THAN
ANY RECENT CORONA MISSION. THE REDUCTION IN OVERALL QUALITY IS
ATTRIBUTED TO SEVERE ATMOSPHERIC CONDITIONS AND HIGH ORIGINAL
NEGATIVE DENSITY. THESE CONDITIONS ARE DISCUSSED FURTHER IN PARA
5, COMMENTS.
ONLY ONE RESOLUTION TARGET DISPLAY WAS IMAGED. THIS HIGH
CONTRAST TARGET, COVERED UNDER POOR WEATHER CONDITIONS, INDICATED
ALONG TRACK (IMC) AND CROSS TRACK (SCAN) RESOLUTION VALUES OF ABOUT
FOR BOTH CAMERAS. THE QUALITY OF MATERIAL FROM THE TWO PAN
CAMERAS APPEARED ON THE AVERAGE TO BE COMPARABLE.
4. ANOMALIES
ANOMALIES INCLUDING THOSE REPORTED IN THE REBIND 42 MESSAGES
REF A, B, AND C) WERE REVIEWED.
A. POOR IMAGERY FROM STARBOARD HORIZON CAMERAS
CAUSE: THE STARBOARD H. 0.'S PRODUCED POOR BUT USABLE
IMAGERY VERY EARLY IN THE MISSION. AS THE FLIGHT PROGRESSED THE
STARBOARD H.O.'S CONTINUED TO DEGRADE TO A USELESS CONDITION.
THEY BEGAN TO CLEAR ON PASS D98, AND AFTER D132 APPEARANCE WAS
NORMAL. IT IS NOTED THAT ON MISSIONS WHERE THE VEHICLE WAS NOT
YAWED AROUND, NO DEGRADING EFFECTS WERE OBSERVED ON THE H.O.'S
OR STELLAR CAMERA MATERIAL.
ACTION: NONE INDICATED ON THE BASIS OF PRESENT DATA.
B. MISSING END-OF-PASS MARK ON MASTER INSTRUMENT.
CAUSE: REVIEW OF THE PRE-FLIGHT MATERIAL INDICATED THAT
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THE EOP MARK WAS PRESENT PRIOR TO LIFT OFF. THE MARKER LAMP WAS
LOST DURING ASSENT, PROBABLY DUE TO VIBRATION SINCE IT WAS NOT
PRESENT ON ANY FLIGHT PHOTOGRAPHY.
ACTION: NONE INDICATED.
C. AN EMULSION SCRATCH REPEATING AT 6 1/4 INCH INTERVALS
WAS EVIDENT THROUGHOUT THE INDEX RECORD OF 1030-1. THE SCRATCH
WAS LOCATED 5/8" FROM THE CAMERA NUMBER EDGE.
CAUSE: THIS IS A PROCESSOR DEFECT AND THE CAUSE OF THE
PROBLEM HAS BEEN CORRECTED.
ACTION: NO FURTHER ACTION REQUIRED.
D. RAKE LINES IN THE LATTER PART OF 1030-1 AFT CAMERA MATERIAL.
CAUSE: THIS DEFECT COULD ORIGINATE IN MANUFACTURE,
OPERATION, OR PROCESSING.
ACTION: UNDER INVESTIGATION.
E. CHARACTERISTIC ANOMALIES
THERE ARE CERTAIN CHARACTERISTIC ANOMALIES THAT ARE CON-
SIDERED 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 OF DEGRADATION IS PRESENTED
BELOW.
(1) SCRATCHES IN THE FORMATS OF BOTH PAN CAMERAS WERE
NORMAL.
(2) RAIL SCRATCHES FROM BOTH PAN CAMERAS WERE NORMAL.
(3) RAGGED FORMAT EDGES FROM SCRAPED EMULSION WERE
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GREATER THAN NORMAL.
(4) STATIC DISCHARGE ALONG THE EDGES OF BOTH PAN CAMERA
FILMS WAS LESS THAN NORMAL.
(5) LIGHT LEAKS AFFECTING BOTH PAN CAMERA FILMS WERE
LESS THAN USUAL.
(6) PLUS DENSITY ELECTROSTATIC STREAKS ON BOTH STELLAR
FILMS WERE NORMAL.
(7) MULTI-DIRECTIONAL, PLUS DENSITY STREAKS APPEARED
INTERMITTENTLY THROUGH FRAME 78 OF THE 1030-1 STELLAR MATERIAL.
THIS CONDITION IS NORMAL.
5. COMMENTS
A. BOTH THE PET AND THE PI'S FEEL THAT THIS MISSION WAS
BADLY AFFECTED BY ATMOSPHERICS. IN MANY TARGET AREAS THERE WAS
A SEVERE HAZE LAYER THAT DRASTICALLY REDUCED CONTRAST AND IMAGE
QUALITY. AN ANALYSIS OF THE INDEX MATERIAL BEARS THIS OUT. IN
THIS ANALYSIS THE NUMBER OF CLEAR FRAMES WERE NOTED. THOSE WITH
A HIGH PERCENTAGE OF CLOUDS OR OBVIOUS HAZE WERE NOT FURTHER ANAL-
YZED. THOSE THAT WERE CLEAR WERE BROKEN DOWN INTO SNOW AND ICE,
AND TERRAIN CATEGORIES. THE DATA PRESENTED BELOW CLEARLY ILLUS-
TRATES THE LOW PERCENTAGE OF CLEAR INDEX FRAMES OBSERVED, AND THE
EVEN LOWER PERCENTAGE OF CLEAR TERRAIN FRAMES OBSERVED.
1030-1 (TOTAL INDEX FRAMES - 422)
TOTAL CLEAR FRAMES (10 PERCENT OR
LESS CLOUD COVER) 65 OR 15 PERCENT
CLEAR (WITH SNOW AND ICE) 58 OR 13 PERCENT
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Wn.
CLEAR TERRAIN
1030-2 (TOTAL INDEX FRAMES - 444)
TOTAL CLEAR FRAMES (10 PERCENT OR
LESS CLOUD COVER)
CLEAR WITH SNOW AND ICE
7 OR 2 PERCENT
75 OR 17 PERCENT
23 OR 6 PERCENT
CLEAR TERRAIN 52 OR 11 PERCENT
FROM THIS ANALYSIS IT IS OBVIOUS THAT A VERY SMALL PERCENTAGE OF
THE TARGETS WERE IN CLEAR AREAS.
B. ON MISSION 1030, THE MEASURED D-MIN VALUES WERE HIGHER
THAN ON PREVIOUS CORONA MISSIONS, EVEN WITH A LOWER PERCENTAGE
OF FULL PROCESSING. THE TEAM IS CONCERNED, BUT UNCERTAIN, AS TO
THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THIS FACT. IT IS NOT EASY TO DEFINE WHAT IS
AN OPTIMUM EXPOSURE, BECAUSE OF THE LACK OF CORRELATION BETWEEN
MEASURED DENSITY VALUES AND MISSION PERFORMANCE. THE CORRELATION
BETWEEN MEASURED DENSITY VALUES AND MISSION PERFORMANCE IS NOT
A STRAIGHT FORWARD MATTER. VARIABLES SUCH AS ATMOSPHERICS, SLIT
WIDTH, SOLAR ALTITUDE, LAUNCH TIME, ETC., CAN AFFECT BOTH DENSITY
AND PERFORMANCE IN DIFFERENT WAYS. THE PET FEELS THAT UNTIL FURTHER
RESEARCH REVEALS MORE SPECIFIC INFORMATION RELATING TO OPTIMUM
EXPOSURE LEVELS, THIS QUESTION WILL REMAIN ESSENTIALLY UNANSWER-
ABLE
.
C. BECAUSE OF THE LACK OF CORRELATION BETWEEN MTF RESOLUTION
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DATA AND MISSION PERFORMANCE, THE TEAM RECOMMENDS THAT
UNDER- 2 5X1
TAKE A STUDY TO EVALUATE THE CORRELATION BETWEEN MTF RESOLUTION
VALUES AND THE FACTORS RELATING TO THESE MEASUREMENTS.
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D. THE PET RECOMMENDS THAT PROJECT MANAGEMENT CONSIDER THE
USE OF A WRATTEN 23 FILTER IN PLACE OF THE WRATTEN 25 ON THE FWD
LOOKING CAMERA. SUFFICENT QUANTITY OF FILTER MATERIAL AND FILTER
FACTOR INFORMATION HAVE BEEN SUPPLIED TO AP.
T 0 P S E C R E T
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