science

Nikon NASA F4

Nikon NASA F4 is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Nikon NASA F4 rather than just read about it. In short: The Nikon NASA F4 Electronic Still Camera is one of the first and rarest fully digital cameras, with development started in 1987. While Nikon delivered a modified Nikon F4 body, most of the electronics for the digital camera and housings were designed and manufactured by NASA at the Johnson Space Center and other suppliers.

Key takeaways

Nikon NASA F4 belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Nikon NASA F4 to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Nikon NASA F4 from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

The Nikon NASA F4 Electronic Still Camera is one of the first and rarest fully digital cameras, with development started in 1987. While Nikon delivered a modified Nikon F4 body, most of the electronics for the digital camera and housings were designed and manufactured by NASA at the Johnson Space Center and other suppliers. It was first flown in September 1991 on board the Space Shuttle Discovery, mission STS-48. Later the cameras were flown on several other Shuttle missions including STS-44, 45, 42, 49, 53, 56 and 61. Although the camera was often used alone mounted with its Electronics Box, the HERCULES system was built around it: Hand-held Earth-oriented Real-time Cooperative, User-friendly, Location, targeting, and Environmental System. It includes one of the first laptops in space mounted atop the Playback-Downlink Unit (PDU) and the kit also included the HERCULES Attitude Processor (HAP, a gyroscope based geolocation processor with initialization through star alignment shot with Nikon NASA F4 and additionally GPS data, giving up to 0.005 degrees per hour precision), Electronic Still Camera (ESC) Electronics Box (ESCEB) including removable imagery data storage disks, NRL HERCULES Inertial Measurement Unit (HIMU) with the three-axis Honeywell ring laser gyroscope, DA-20 action finder, a night vision image intensifier as well as assorted lenses and cables. It was flown on the STS-53 and 56 missions and was succeeded by the HERCULES-B.

History

Nikon has been a supplier of space (EVA) capable cameras for NASA since 1971, when they delivered a modified Nikon F SLR Photomic FTn camera with center-weighted TTL metering system, which was first used on the Apollo 15 mission. In 1973, a newer modified version of the Nikon F with a motor drive was delivered for use in Skylab. In 1980 and 1989, Nikon delivered modified, space capable F3 (big and small version) respectively F4 cameras to NASA, which were used in the Space Shuttle. Nikon's first digital camera (still video camera, with analog storage) was the Nikon Still Video Camera (SVC) Model 1, a prototype which was first presented at Photokina 1986. This was followed in 1988 by the Nikon QV-1000C Still Video Camera, which was produced mainly for professional press use. Both cameras used QV mount lenses, a variant of Nikon F-mount lenses. Via a mount adapter (QM-100), F-mount lenses can be used. The NASA Electronic Still Camera / Nikon NASA F4 was followed by the NASA-used Nikon-based Kodak DCS 460, DCS 660 and DCS 760, Nikon D1, D2X, D2Xs, D3, D3X, D3S, D4, D800E, D5, D6, and, more recently, Z9. The Nikon F-mount is the only 35mm SLR or DSLR lens mount ever used by NASA. With the advent of the Nikon Z-Mount, the Z-mount cameras are the successors with integrated FTP (File Transfer Protocol), reduced power consumption and other changes compared to the commercial cameras. The Nikon Z9 for the Artemis III mission to the moon is named Handheld Universal Lunar Camera, and is additionally modified to withstand the high radiation levels in space and is protected by a new thermal blanket.

Technology

The camera was based on a modified F4 with standard F-mount and had a digital camera back with a monochrome CCD image sensor with 1024 x 1024 pixels on an area of 15 x 15mm developed by Ford Aerospace: type FA1024L. ISO 200 was the only light sensitivity, without infrared filter ISO 400. Removable IDE hard-disks were used for digital storage of 40 images each with 8 bits per pixel (256 gray levels). The camera's imaging sensor interface was based on an Altera Stand Alone Microsequencer and employed a 1 image SRAM storage buffer. The removable hard drive, RS-232 interface, LCD, Ku-Band downlink interface and remaining camera control were accomplished with a Wildcard 88 (Intel 80C88 8 MHz CPU) single-board computer. Images were transmitted to the ground via the Orbiter Ku-Band digital downlink at a rate of 2 Mbit/s. Within 1 hour the images were processed at Johnson Space Center's Pixar Image Computer and laser printed with a 3M Color Laser Imager. Three copies of the NASA Electronic Still Camera were produced. The original development team included NASA Civil Servant electronic and mechanical design and fabrication, Lockheed development of the Electronic Still Camera ground station, Nikon Engineering supplying in total 14 modified Nikon F4 camera bodies also for prototypes, and Ford Aerospace and JPL development of the CCD image sensor. Developed upgrades included a 2048 x 2048 CCD sensor, a color CCD and architecture changes, but finally the Kodak DCS 460 was preferred.

See also Nikon E series List of cameras on ISS List of NASA cameras on spacecraft

References

External links

Nikon NASA F4 (ESC) Images taken at Mission STS-48 (E) Archived 6 October 2012 at the Wayback Machine NASA Nikon NASA F4 (ESC) Images taken at Mission STS-49 (E) NASA HERCULES Earth observation Nikon NASA F4 (ESC) Images taken at Mission STS-56 (E) NASA Nikon NASA F4 (ESC) Images taken at Mission STS-61 (E) Archived 11 March 2007 at the Wayback Machine NASA

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Nikon NASA F4

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Nikon NASA F4 claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Nikon NASA F4 before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Nikon NASA F4 ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Nikon NASA F4

In research: Nikon NASA F4 appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Nikon NASA F4 in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Nikon NASA F4 is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Digital cameras with CCD image sensor, Nikon DSLR cameras, Nikon F-mount cameras, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Nikon NASA F4 outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Nikon NASA F4 in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Nikon NASA F4 means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Nikon NASA F4 out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Nikon NASA F4 in simple terms?

Why does Nikon NASA F4 matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Nikon NASA F4?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Nikon NASA F4.