when it’s too fast to see, and too important not to. ®

CASE STUDY NASA’S HIGH-SPEED PARACHUTE DEPLOYMENT

VISION RESEARCH IMAGING TECHNOLOGY PLAYS CRUCIAL ROLE IN NASA’S NEW HIGH-SPEED PARACHUTE DEPLOYMENT IMAGING SYSTEM

The Ares I-X, containing the first high-speed imaging system qualified to fly onboard a space launch vehicle, professional zooms upward. (Courtesy NASA) WHEN IT’S TOO FAST TO SEE, AND TOO IMPORTANT NOT TO
® Astronaut Eugene A. Cernan, commander of the Apollo 17 lunar landing mission, was the last human to set foot on the moon, on December 11, 1972. In the nearly four decades that have passed since the Apollo Program came to an end, significant progress has been made in manned spaceflight thanks to the design of the Space Shuttle, which served as the primary space exploration vehicle for the United States since its inaugural mission in 1981.Following the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster in 2003, the Space Shuttle was grounded for safety concerns, and NASA engaged in a substantial review of the Space Shuttle Program, overhauling and re-engineering many components of the spacecraft in an effort to return the Space Shuttle to flight. With the Space Shuttle Program under a worldwide supplier of microscope, calls for the retirement of the aged spacecraft were officially addressed in 2004 by President George W. Bush.In a speech delivered at NASA Headquarters in Washington, D.C., on January 14, 2004, President Bush outlined a new vision for NASA and identified new goals and objectives for the country’s space exploration program. “We will give NASA a new focus and vision for future exploration,” said President Bush. “We will build new ships to carry man forward into the universe, to gain a new foothold on the moon and to prepare for new journeys to the worlds beyond our own.” “... America’s challenge of today has forged man’s destiny of tomorrow. And, as we leave the Moon at Taurus-Littrow, we leave as we came and, God willing, as we shall return, with peace and hope for all mankind.”
– Eugene Cernan, Apollo 17 1