First Onboard Live Video of a NASA Space Shuttle Launch Provided by RocketCam(TM) Imaging System
NASA, the aerospace community,
television viewers and Internet surfers worldwide got an unprecedented view of
a Space Shuttle launch today when Shuttle Atlantis roared into orbit while
transmitting live video from a RocketCam(TM) Imaging System attached to the
skin of its large external fuel tank.
The aft-facing RocketCam provided NASA’s launch team and an eager world-
wide audience with dramatic live, color video of the entire launch —
beginning 10 minutes before liftoff and continuing uninterrupted through
separation of the Shuttle’s twin solid-rocket boosters and Atlantis’ jettison
of its empty external tank at the edge of space. The RocketCam transmission
ceased about 15 minutes after liftoff when the tumbling external tank burned
up during reentry high into the atmosphere above the Indian Ocean, while
Atlantis continued on its 11-day mission to deliver a large solar array truss
structure to the International Space Station.
RocketCam Imaging Systems have been bringing the drama of space to life
since 1997. Available exclusively through Pasadena, California-based Ecliptic
Enterprises Corporation, the leading provider of onboard video systems for use
with rockets, spacecraft and other remote platforms, RocketCam has been 100%
successful on all 21 launches to date.
The unique camera system is employed regularly by The Boeing Company on
their Delta II and Delta III rockets and by Lockheed Martin Astronautics on
their Atlas 2, Atlas 3, Atlas 5 and Titan IV rockets. The next scheduled use
of RocketCam will be on the early November inaugural launch of Boeing’s large
Delta IV, which will orbit a communications satellite for Paris-based
Eutelsat.
Each RocketCam generates live, full-color video from onboard its host
platform, which is then transmitted to receiving equipment on the ground for
subsequent distribution to launch control centers, technical and management
audiences, media outlets and the public.
“Ecliptic is pleased that our technology has provided this new view of a
Shuttle launch — always an exciting phase of each mission,” said Rex
Ridenoure, Ecliptic’s CEO and President. “We look forward to expanding our
RocketCam experience gained on launch systems into other extreme environments
that people are curious about, such as in Earth orbit, deep space, the
stratosphere and similarly remote locations.”
Ecliptic Enterprises Corporation (Ecliptic) provides data-transport
systems and onboard imaging systems for use with rockets, spacecraft and other
remote platforms operating in extreme environments. Its technical staff has a
broad range of direct experience on nearly eighty space missions, including
several recent deep-space missions and numerous low-cost missions involving
small satellites. The privately held firm’s core competencies include space
systems engineering, space telecommunications, and aerospace avionics and
instrument systems. RocketCam(TM) is a trademark of Ecliptic Enterprises
Corporation.
More information about the company and its products is available at
www.eclipticenterprises.com . For RocketCam video clips and technical
information, go to www.eclipticenterprises.com/products_rocketcam.shtml .
For background on the Shuttle onboard video system, visit:
http://www.spaceflightnow.com/station/sts112/020912shuttlecam/ and
http://www.spaceref.com/news/viewsr.html?pid=6516 .
For further information please contact Jim Cantrell, Business Development,
Ecliptic Enterprises Corporation, +1-435-757-9940,
jcantrell@eclipticenterprises.com.
