UPWARD was the code name, within the National Reconnaissance Office's Byeman Control System, for assistance given to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) during the Apollo program.[1][2][3] The camera designed to survey the lunar surface was a modification of the GAMBIT design and utilized a 1.5-inch (38 mm) focal length camera for a terrain mapping apparatus. This camera system was present on both the CORONA and GAMBIT survey systems.[4]
The NRO and NASA had multiple meetings discussing the required technology for Lunar Mapping. Specifically, the NASA Apollo Applicant Working Group (dated on 6-9 December 1966) considered the following optical sensors:
- A camera from the uncrewed lunar orbiter
- 12-inch (300 mm) focal length panoramic camera
- The multi-spectral experiment reviewed earlier by the Department of Defense
- 6-inch (150 mm) focal length mapping camera
- Telescope using Questar lens (56-inch (1,400 mm) focal length) and with simplified tracking and focusing device
- An imaging radar
In a following meeting on 31 January 1967, NASA stated at the DoD-NASA Survey Applications Coordinating Committee that "there are no sensors other than LM&SS for flight on AAP-1 [the first Apollo Applications Program mission]."[4]
According to the NRO/NASA agreement, lunar photography could be sanitized by eliminating camera scale factors. The project had the unclassified name of Lunar Mapping and Survey System (LM&SS) in NASA channels.[1]
The success of both Lunar Orbiter and Surveyor negated the use of the LM&SS system. There are no recorded spaceflights with these systems. NASA terminated all activity associated with hardware and software procurement, development, and testing for LM&SS on August 2, 1967.[5]
See also
edit- Lunar Orbiter - used recycled technology from SAMOS (satellite)
- KH-11
- KH-10
References
edit- ^ a b "Memorandum by DNRO Flax to Dep SECDEF, 6 Jul 1967: National Recon Program (NRP) Issues and Pending Decisions". National Reconnaissance Office. 6 July 1967 – via Scribd.
- ^ Day, Dwayne A. (29 November 2010). "Black Apollo". The Space Review. Retrieved 9 May 2023.
- ^ Day, Dwayne A. (6 December 2010). "Apollo: secrets and whispers". The Space Review. Retrieved 9 May 2023.
- ^ a b "NASA Plans Regarding UPWARD". Retrieved 6 June 2022 – via Google Docs.
- ^
This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain. Brooks, Courtney G.; Ertel, Ivan D.; Newkirk, Roland W. "PART II: Apollo Application Program -January 1967 to December 1968.". SKYLAB: A CHRONOLOGY. NASA Special Publication-4011. NASA. pp. 118–120. Retrieved 9 May 2023.
