RCA J-Series Ground-Commanded Television Assembly (GCTA)
- Usage: Apollo 15 (lunar surface), Apollo 16 (lunar surface) and Apollo 17 (lunar surface)
- Resolution: more than 200 TV lines (SIT sensor - 600 TV Lines)
- Scan rate: 59.94+ fields/s monochrome (color filters alternated between each field) / 29.97+ frame/s / 525 lines/fr / 15734.26+ lines/s
- Color: Field-sequential color system camera
- Spectral response: 350–700 nm
- Gamma: 1.0
- Sensitivity: > 32 dB signal to noise ratio
- Dynamic range: > 32:1
- Bandwidth: up to 5 MHz
- Sensor: Silicon Intensifier Target (SIT) Tube
- Optics: 6x zoom, F/2.2 to F/22
- Automatic light control (ALC): average or peak scene luminance
Because of the failure of the camera on Apollo 12, a new contract was awarded to the RCA Astro division in Hightstown, NJ. The RCA system was a new, more sensitive and durable TV camera tube. The design team was headed by Robert G. Horner. The team used newly developed SIT, and the improved images were obvious to the public.
The system was composed of the Color Television Camera (CTV) and the Television Control Unit (TCU). These were connected to the Lunar Communications Relay Unit (LCRU) when mounted on the Lunar Roving Vehicle (LRV).
Once the LRV was fully deployed, the camera was mounted there and controlled by commands from the ground to tilt, pan, and zoom in and out.
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GCTA transmission from the LRV
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Apollo 15 television camera and high-gain antenna
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Apollo 16 television camera. Notice the sunshade attached to the top of the lens, a feature first used on Apollo 16.
Read more about this topic: Apollo TV Camera
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