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| IMAX Cargo Bay Camera (ICBC) |
| Payload Bay |
| 664 lb. |
| Prime: Jerry Ross |  |
| Backup: James Newman | |
| Overview |
| The primary objectives of ICBC on STS-88 are to film the Node 1 installation onto the orbiter docking system (ODS), the functional cargo block (FGB) rendezvous, FGB docking, extravehicular activity (EVA) tasks, separation burn, and flyaround. The ICBC is a space-qualified, 65 mm color motion picture camera system consisting of a camera, lens assembly, and a film supply magazine containing approximately 3,500 feet of film and an empty take-up magazine. The camera is housed in an insulated, pressurized enclosure with a movable lens window cover. The optical centerline of the 30 mm camera lens is fixed and points directly out of the payload bay along the orbiter Z-axis with a 23-degree rotation toward the orbiter nose. Heaters and thermal blankets provide proper thermal conditioning for the camera electronics, camera window, and film magazines. For STS-88, the delivery reel is loaded with 3,500 feet of film (nominally), enough for approximately 10.5 minutes of filming at normal camera speed (24 frames per second, fps). On this flight, the camera speed can be changed to 6 fps for photographing slower moving objects. The ICBC can also be loaded with a 2,200-foot film magazine. A single 30 mm wide-angle lens is mounted on the camera; lenses and film cannot be changed during the flight. ICBC operations are terminated when all film is exposed. The ICBC is controlled from the aft flight deck with the enhanced GAS autonomous payload controller (GAPC) and uses orbiter dc power. A crew member can command the ICBC to turn main power on, go to a standby mode, adjust f-stop and focus, and film a scene. A spotmeter will be used by the crew to aid in setting the IMAX camera f-stops. By using the GAPC, the crew member can also determine the status of the camera, such as the current f-stop and the amount of film exposed. A light level measurement unit is used to set the lens aperture. A fixed focus zone and seven aperture settings are available for this flight. A tape recorder is also provided for crew documentation. All the GAS hardware, such as the GAS control decoders, status responder units, GAPCs, and the GAS signal and control cable, are owned, serviced, and certified by NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center. The basic operational profile of the ICBC is as follows: enable the heaters within seven hours of launch or approximately 30 minutes before a planned payload activity to be filmed, maintain thermal conditioning of the camera and film magazine, perform a typical filming sequence, and return to thermal conditioning. A typical filming sequence begins with powering the camera in standby mode. This consists of powering up the internal camera electronics, feed magazine and drive, take-up magazine and drive, IMAX interface electronics, and the lens drive to a standby mode. The f-stop, focus, and frame rate are adjusted to the desired settings. Actual filming occurs when the door motor and camera drive motor are operated. The camera then returns to standby until the end of the filming sequence. |
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| History/Background |
| The IMAX project is a collaboration between NASA, the Smithsonian Institution's National Air and Space Museum, IMAX Systems Corp., and the Lockheed Corp. This system, developed by IMAX Systems Corp. of Toronto, Canada, uses specially designed 65 mm cameras and projectors to record and display very high definition color motion pictures which, accompanied by six-channel high-fidelity sound, are displayed on screens in IMAX and OMNIMAX theaters that are up to ten times larger than a conventional screen, producing a feeling of "being there." The 65 mm film from STS-88 will be transferred to 70 mm motion picture film for use in a future large-format feature film. An audio tape recorder with microphones in the crew compartment will record middeck sounds and crew comments during camera operations. The audio will then be transferred to tapes or compact disks to accompany the motion picture. IMAX cameras have been flown on space shuttle missions STS-41-C, 41-D, 41-G, -29, -34, -32, -31, -42, -46, -51, -61, -63, -71, and -74 to document crew operations in the payload bay and the orbiter's middeck and flight deck as well as to film spectacular views of space and Earth. Film from those missions was used as the basis for the IMAX productions "The Dream Is Alive," "The Blue Planet," and "Destiny in Space." |
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| Benefits |
| The IMAX project is designed to document significant space activities and promote NASA's educational goals using the IMAX film medium. |
Editorial Contact Ed Campion
Technical Contact USA Web Master
