Dryden's Western Aeronautical Test Range (WATR) technician operations branch recently deployed a continuous 360-degree tracking pedestal featuring a high-definition (HD) digital camera and an infrared analog camera for use in the tracking of highly maneuverable experimental aircraft and Space Shuttles at distances of up to 100 miles, day or night.
This capability, known as the HD Long Range Optics (LRO) tower, is located
at the midpoint of Edwards Air Force Base runways 04 and 22 and features breakthrough
technology developed primarily through the work of a lead technician - Tony Trent,
WATR video systems lead - and a support group of Spiral Technologies contractors
from Dryden's Research Flight Information and Support Services contract, including
Al Guajardo, Peter Merfa, Linda Peters, Hector Rodriguez and Pete Young. "It's
been an amazing process," noted Linda Peters, Spiral work group leader for the
LRO Video Control Center. "It's taken a team of people, not just one person, to
get this capability in place."
Dryden spirit supports HD LRO, removes obstacles
"Whenever we encountered problems or obstacles
on the road to achieving our goals, people came through in true Dryden spirit
and made things happen," said FR Branch Chief Craig Griffith.
"Although we've grown significantly in the last
few years, it's still that small, tight-knit culture that makes people responsive
to each other."
"For example, Charlie Baker's folks at Kay and
Associates, Inc. supported this effort by providing us with the use of the man
lift truck and logistics support - all on short notice. We appreciated that level
of responsiveness and Linda Peters even made them a carrot cake as a token of
our thanks."
"Another person who provided support early on in
the process was George Finley (branch chief of imaging and audio systems) who
was also the branch chief of WATR video at that time. In fact, we're grateful
to all of the veterans in Dryden video support - without their contributions the
road would have been harder."
"Someone else who exhibited that same Dryden spirit
was Linda Peters. One day she was tracking the Space Shuttle when the monitor
broke. Linda overcame that obstacle by working off of a four-inch monitor. Pretty
amazing if you ask me."
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It is also a capability that has a lot of support at NASA Headquarters.
"NASA Administrator Daniel S. Goldin is a big fan of high-definition video," observed Trent. "Mr. Goldin started an HDTV work group four years ago and required NASA to go completely digital by 2003. [Because of that requirement] we've been given the tools to make us one of the premier video groups in government and now we have a combination of NASA Standard 2818 and HD in place."
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Dryden's HD LRO camera sits atop a tower located at the midpoint of Edwards Air Force Base runways 04 and 22. The new tower enhances the capability of WATR's video support of range activity.
NASA Photo / Carla Thomas
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"In fact, we're leading NASA in transferring from standard TV to HDTV," pointed out Jerry McKee, WATR Program Manager. "This capability is perfect for the kind of work we do - the tracking of highly maneuverable vehicles in the flight research facility arena. We have to be flexible with our people and our equipment to track the full gamut of vehicles and applications - slow, high speed, etc. I don't know that there's anyone else who does what we do."
"This technology is very new - in fact, this capability had never been invented before. It's a little more experimental than the work we usually do in visual documentation," commented Trent as he explained how the team took commercial-off-the-shelf products and modified, integrated and tested them for use at Dryden.
A Focal Technologies fiber-optic rotary joint (FORJ) - originally produced in Nova Scotia for use in submersible, remotely operated vehicles featuring rotating manipulator arms - was modified to pass HD video and camera-control signals through two fiber-optic conductors and overcome the bandwidth limitation historically associated with conventional copper slip rings, Trent noted.
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Brady Rennie, Steve Hansen and Peter Merfa connect the camera to the pedestal atop the HD LRO tower.
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"Slip rings facilitate the rotation of the pedestal, but the HD system is digital and at 1.5 gigabits per second it's too much for a rotating slip ring," explained Peters.
The modification of the FORJ included the fabrication of a yoke assembly to enable rotation of the upper half of the FORJ with the rotation of the upper half of a pedestal - itself modified to accept the FORJ, Trent said.
"In the beginning we went to the pedestal manufacturer and told them what we wanted to do," recalled Trent and Peters. "A bid was then conducted through Spiral's procurement system. All proposals were reviewed and, in the end, a local engineering firm by the name of Knight Engineering came up with a design that not only worked, but also saved the government thousands of dollars. Incredibly, it only took them three weeks to design tools and equipment to make this work."
"The company who built the fiber joint was really amazed and impressed with our application," Trent added. "It had never been used the way we're using it."
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Proud members of the WATR team stand atop the HD LRO tower. Pictured in row one are Pete Young, Jerry McKee, Craig Griffith, Linda Peters, Hector Rodriguez and Tony Trent. Jovany Bautista, Al Guajardo, Peter Merfa and Todd Kunkel are pictured in row two.
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In addition, the LRO platform was also a commercial-off-the-shelf product.
"The HD camera system is the Panasonic AQ-720P prototype," said Peters. "This is a progressive HD camera that's being used in a unique application. In fact, it's the only HD camera mounted on a tracking pedestal in the world."
The HD camera was mated to a Canon zoom lens and the entire apparatus mounted to the tracking pedestal. The data from the camera is transmitted with routers to recorders and displays.
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This photo of the moon is an ideal example of the capabilities now available via the HD LRO camera.
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The new HD LRO tower is a popular enhancement of WATR's video support of range activity and Space Shuttle landings because it provides HD video with unobstructed views and digital data that can be used and interfaced with computers easily.
"All of these cameras are remotely controlled," noted Peters. "Anyone who uses the range has this capability available to them and are encouraged to schedule use of these cameras for their projects."
In the few months that the new HD LRO tower has been in place it has supported NASA, Dryden and Air Force Flight Test Center (AFFTC) programs such as three Space Shuttle landings, the X-38, the X-40, the X-43A, the F/A-18 Autonomous Formation Flight (AFF), the X-32 and X-35 and the F-22 Raptor - and it will be supporting the X-45 in the near future. Support of AFFTC programs is provided as part of the 'AFFTC - NASA Alliance.'
Technology Brief
Fiber-Optic Rotary Joint for Passing High-Definition Video: Fiber optic transmission
overcomes the band-width limitation of slip rings
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Fiber-optic rotary joint developed by WATR technicians.
NASA Photo
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The HD LRO's digital video signal is transmitted from the camera via an optical
fiber at a data rate of 1.5 Gb/s. The signal passes through a fiber-optic rotary
joint (FORJ) through the horizontal axis of rotation of the pedestal. The FORJ
contains two fiber-optic conductors, each capable of a data rate of 3 Gb/s, that
are used to pass high-definition video- and camera-control signals. All other
power and control signals pass through standard copper slip rings in the pedestal.
The FORJ and the pedestal are commercial products. The pedestal was modified
to accept the FORJ. The modification included the fabrication of a yoke assembly
to enable rotation of the upper half of the FORJ with the rotation of the upper
half of the pedestal. The FORJ was originally produced for use in submersible
remotely operated vehicles with rotating manipulator arms. The high-bandwidth
digital video signal cannot pass through conventional copper slip rings of the
unmodified tracking pedestal. The modification of the tracking pedestal to work
with the FORJ makes it possible to use high-definition video for tracking experimental
aircraft and spacecraft.
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"The TV networks were very positive about the quality of the video footage
of the Space Shuttle landings they received from the HD camera," recalled Trent.
"We tracked Atlantis' Feb. 20 landing with the LRO," elaborated Peters. "Kennedy
Space Center covers Space Shuttle launches with a camera that rotates 90 degrees;
our LRO's capability is a continuous 360-degree view."
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The yoke assembly for the rotating fiber-optic
rotary joint is cradled in the hands of a WATR team member.
NASA Photo
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"We then took that footage and converted it to standard video for the networks,
but it was still better quality footage than they would have otherwise received,"
added Trent.
It is precisely this type of responsiveness that is making Dryden capabilities attractive to users.
"Other NASA Centers and the U.S. Department of Defense's HDTV work group - and even Hollywood - are interested in this technology and capability," said Peters, who is one of WATR's members on the Dryden Digital TV work group. The Dryden group also participates in the NASA HDTV work group.
Griffith is very proud of the work that the technicians in WATR's operations branch have done to develop the breakthrough technology manifested in the HD LRO.
"There is no one else in the world who has done what this group of technicians has achieved," said Griffith. "This capability has been imagined for some time and yet it took the ingenuity and resourcefulness of these men and this woman to make it real. In my opinion, they're pioneers in the field of HDTV and their achievement will find application in all sorts of arenas. I know that they're proud of what they've accomplished and are looking forward to the technology transfers that lie ahead."
To learn more about the HD LRO contact Tony Trent at (661) 276- 2570.
