A Programmable Integrating Television System for Use with the Stratoscope

Publisher Summary This chapter focuses on a photographic camera or alternatively an infra-red spectrograph formerly occupied the position now taken by the integrating television system. The integrating television system is designed to work with the existing target acquisition television system already aboard Stratoscope II. This system includes two image orthicon cameras, operating at 20 frames/sec, 400 lines per frame, means for switching between cameras, ands 20-W, f.m. transmitter operating at a carrier frequency of 1522.6 Mc/s. One obvious advantage of the integrating television method is that any variation in seeing or tracking during exposure will only affect overall amplitude and will not introduce distortions in the spectral lines as it will in the case of photomultiplier scanning. In the Stratoscope balloon-borne astronomical telescope system it is planned to replace the photographic camera with an integrating television system in order to, realize the demonstrated gain in sensitivity and provide a means of immediately observing on the ground the results of an exposure aloft.