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Author
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Topic: Apollo 15: Ground-controlled television camera
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Dwight
Member Posts: 577
From: Germany
Registered: Dec 2003
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posted 07-11-2010 08:39 AM
   
Could anyone here who may know please tell me if during the network mission coverage of Apollo 15 they had a segment where the Ground Controlled Television Camera was given a description? I know, for example the previous missions would have a brief mention of the TV cameras used but I have not seen anything relating to the remote camera for the "J" missions. |
ilbasso
Member Posts: 1522
From: Greensboro, NC USA
Registered: Feb 2006
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posted 07-12-2010 12:28 PM
I'm sure there's something, but I couldn't tell you where. I remember watching the Apollo 15 mission and EVAs on NBC and they frequently discussed the remote camera. |
Rick Mulheirn
Member Posts: 4208
From: England
Registered: Feb 2001
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posted 07-12-2010 12:44 PM
Wasn't the LRV tv camera part of the LCRU or Lunar Communication Relay Unit? You are right, I am sure there was a name for the camera but something tells me I may be wrong. |
Robert Pearlman
Editor Posts: 43576
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999
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posted 07-12-2010 12:57 PM
If I understand the brief description provided by the Lunar and Planetary Institute, the Apollo 15 Lunar Surface TV Camera was not specific to the ground-controlled television assembly: The RCA television camera (LM4) used on the lunar surface could be operated from three different positions -- mounted on the LM modularized equipment storage assembly (MESA), mounted on a tripod and connected to the LM by a cable, and installed on the LRV with signal transmission through the lunar communication relay unit. While on the LRV, the camera was mounted on the ground-controlled television assembly. The camera could be aimed and controlled by the astronauts or remotely controlled by personnel in the mission control center. Color was achieved by using a rotating disc driven by a 600-rpm motor. Lunar color scenes were scanned, field sequentially, and down-linked serially to the Manned Space Flight Network. Video was received and recorded from lunar distance at any of the three Deep Space Stations. |
Dwight
Member Posts: 577
From: Germany
Registered: Dec 2003
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posted 07-12-2010 04:26 PM
If I may expand on that explanation Robert. Firstly, the designation LM4 was not the name given to the camera by RCA nor by NASA. The "LM4" refers to the stowage location on the NASA stowage list. This has been misinterpreted as being the name of the camera over the years.All existing RCA and NASA documentation refer to the entire camera unit as the GCTA (Ground Controlled Television Assembly). The camera portion itself had 3 modes of televising: MESA, tripod and LRV. (It could actually be handheld as promo RCA pictures depict). Only in its LRV configuration it was able to be controlled by Houston. The LCRU was the Lunar Communications Relay Unit which handled the LRV comms including the commands for the camera and the TV signal itself. |
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