A large format camera for Shuttle

NASA is building a high-performance cartographic camera with a 30.5-cm focal length and a 23 by 46-cm format. Initially the camera will be carried in the cargo bay of early Shuttle flights. From a nominal altitude of 300 km, each frame will cover 225 by 450 km with a ground resolution of 14 to 25 m, depending upon the choice of film. With the long dimension of the frame in the direction of flight, base-height ratios of up to 1.2 can be obtained, permitting compilation of topographic contours at 20- to 30-m intervals. If photography from the sortie missions proves to be as useful as expected, the camera may be mounted in a free-flying spacecraft which can be placed in near-polar orbit and remain operational for many months, with film being recovered and returned to earth by the Shuttle.