This view shows the 32-inch-ball turret system mounted on the nose of a WB-57 aircraft at Patrick Air Force Base in Cocoa Beach, Fla. It houses an optical bench, providing installation of both HDTV and infrared cameras as part of the NASA-approved WB-57 Ascent Video Experiment (WAVE). Flown during launch of a Space Shuttle, the WAVE provides both ascent and entry imagery and enables better observation of the Shuttle on days of heavier cloud cover and areas obscured from ground cameras by the launch exhaust plume. The WB-57 is being prepared for launch of Space Shuttle Discovery on Return to Flight mission STS-114.
Information
Taken in
Kennedy Space Center
Author
NASA
Description
This view shows the 32-inch-ball turret system mounted on the nose of a WB-57 aircraft at Patrick Air Force Base in Cocoa Beach, Fla. It houses an optical bench, providing installation of both HDTV and infrared cameras as part of the NASA-approved WB-57 Ascent Video Experiment (WAVE). Flown during launch of a Space Shuttle, the WAVE provides both ascent and entry imagery and enables better observation of the Shuttle on days of heavier cloud cover and areas obscured from ground cameras by the launch exhaust plume. The WB-57 is being prepared for launch of Space Shuttle Discovery on Return to Flight mission STS-114.