Equipment
| Name | Type | Focal Length | Resolution | Swath |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| E-1 | readout | 1.83 m (72 in) | 30 m (100 ft) | 161 × 161 km |
| E-2 | readout | 0.91 m (36 in) | 6 m (20 ft) | 27 × 27 km |
| E-5 | film | 1.67 m (66 in) | 1.5 m (5 ft) | 98 km length |
| E-6 | film | 0.7 m (28 in) | 2.4 m (8 ft) | 280 km width |
The E-1 and E-2 cameras used the readout method. Little is known about the E-3 type of camera, which was eventually cancelled. It likely had higher resolution, and may have been superseded by the later E-6. An E-4 camera was initially planned for relatively low-resolution mapmaking purposes, but it was cancelled with the functionality being taken up by the KH-5 (Argon) satellite. The E-5 and E-6 were panoramic format film cameras that appeared in later launches, but only a few were used. The E-5 would later be called upon in the short-lived KH-6 (Lanyard) program.
Some satellites were equipped with so-called Ferret devices, for "ferreting" information by spying on electronic communication. A more modern term for that activity would be Signals Intelligence. Toward the end of the program, satellites were only being launched with Ferrets, without any cameras. Two Ferret systems were created, designated F-1 and F-2.
Some additional payloads were sometimes on board, mostly scientific devices for learning more about the space environment so that future satellites could be better-designed for spaceflight. The satellites as launched varied in mass from 1845 to 1900 kilograms.
Read more about this topic: Samos (satellite)
Famous quotes containing the word equipment:
“Biological possibility and desire are not the same as biological need. Women have childbearing equipment. For them to choose not to use the equipment is no more blocking what is instinctive than it is for a man who, muscles or no, chooses not to be a weightlifter.”
—Betty Rollin (b. 1936)
“At the heart of the educational process lies the child. No advances in policy, no acquisition of new equipment have their desired effect unless they are in harmony with the child, unless they are fundamentally acceptable to him.”
—Central Advisory Council for Education. Children and Their Primary Schools (Plowden Report)
“Pop artists deal with the lowly trivia of possessions and equipment that the present generation is lugging along with it on its safari into the future.”
—J.G. (James Graham)