INITIAL PROCESSING OF SPACE SHUTTLE CLOUD PHOTOGRAPHS

THE OBJECTIVE OF THIS PROPOSAL IS TO DIGITIZE AND RECTIFY CLOUD PHOTOGRAPHS TAKEN DURING SPACE SHUTTLE MISSIONS AND THEREFORE TO ALLOW FOR AUTOMATIC ANALYSIS. THE DIGITIZATION PROCEDURE WILL PRODUCE DIGITAL IMAGES THAT WILL BE RECORDED ON COMPACT CARTRIDGE TAPES OR FULL 9-TRACK TAPES ON THE MICROVAX II. THE SHUTTLE ORBITAL INFORMATION, TOGETHER WITH TIME AND VIEWING ANGLE INFORMATION FOR EACH INDIVIDUAL PHOTOGRAPH WILL BE USED TO COMPUTE THE ANGLE RELATIVE TO NADIR FROM WHICH EACH PHOTOGRAPH WAS TAKEN AND THE SCALE AT ALL PICTURE ELEMENTS OF EACH PHOTOGRAPH. IN ADDITION A GEOGRAPHICAL GRID WILL BE PROVIDED FOR OVERLAYING ON EACH IMAGE WHEN DISPLAYED ON A SCREEN.