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HERCULES

Hand-held Earth-oriented Real-time Cooperative, User-friendly, Location, targeting, and Environmental System (Hercules) spaceborne experiment equipment is a joint NAVY-NASA-ARMY payload designed to provide real-time high resolution digital electronic imagery and geolocation (latitude and longitude determination) of earth surface targets of interest. HERCULES system consists of a specially modified GRID Systems portable computer mounted atop NASA developed Playback-Downlink Unit (PDU) and the Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) developed HERCULES Attitude Processor (HAP); the NASA-developed Electronic Still Camera (ESC) Electronics Box (ESCEB) including removable imagery data storage disks and various connecting cables; the ESC (a NASA modified Nikon F-4 camera) mounted atop the NRL HERCULES Inertial Measurement Unit (HIMU) containing the three-axis ring-laser gyro. The HERCULES camera was flown on STS-53 Discovery, Orbiter Vehicle (OV) 103, Department of Defense (DOD) mission


Atlanta, Georgia

Photo ID: STS056(E)020
STS-56 electronic still camera (ESC) Earth observation image shows metropolitan Atlanta, Georgia at night as recorded on the 64th orbit of Discovery, Orbiter Vehicle (OV) 103. The image was recorded using an image intensifier on HERCULES. Center coordinates on this image are 33.738 degrees north latitude and 84.414 degrees west longitude. Digital file name is ESC04030.IMG.

Charlotte, North Carolina

Photo ID: STS056(E)013
STS-56 electronic still camera (ESC) Earth observation image shows Charlotte, North Carolina at night as photographed from Discovery, Orbiter Vehicle (OV) 103. The image was recorded with an image intensifier on HERCULES. Center coordinates on this image are 35.221 degrees north latitude and 80.847 degrees west longitude.

Chicago

Photo ID: STS056(E)007
STS-56 electronic still camera (ESC) Earth observation image shows Chicago, Illinois with part of the shoreline of Lake Michigan at night as photographed during orbit 33 from Discovery, Orbiter Vehicle (OV) 103. The image was recorded with an image intensifier on the HERCULES device. Center coordinates of this frame are 41.8 degrees north latitude and 87.7 degrees west longitude. The image was acquired at 1/60-second shutter speed and -2/3 exposure compensation.

Darwin, Australia

Photo ID: STS056(E)002
STS-56 electronic still camera (ESC) Earth observation image taken aboard Discovery, Orbiter Vehicle (OV) 103, is of Darwin, Australia. The image was recorded with a 180mm lens on the HERCULES. In this observation, the center coordinates are 12.433 degrees south latitude and 130.939 degrees east longitude. Geolocation accuracy on this image is 2.3 nautical miles. Digital file name is ESC01037.IMG.

Lansing, Michigan

Photo ID: STS056(E)006
STS-56 electronic still camera (ESC) Earth observation image shows Lansing, Michigan at night as photographed during orbit 33 from Discovery, Orbiter Vehicle (OV) 103. The image was recorded with an image intensifier on the HERCULES device. Center coordinates of this frame are 42.7 degrees north latitude and 84.5 degrees west longitude. The image was acquired at 1/60-second shutter speed and -2/3 exposure compensation.

Melbourne, Australia

Photo ID: STS056(E)014
STS-56 electronic still camera (ESC) Earth observation image is of Melbourne, Australia and was photographed from Discovery, Orbiter Vehicle (OV) 103. The image was recorded with a 300mm lens on the HERCULES. Center coordinates of this frame are 37.49 degrees south latitude and 144.58 degrees east longitude. North will be at the top if the picture is held with the thin trail of clouds at left edge, moving over Port Phillip Bay into Hobsons Bay.

Nagoya, Japan

Photo ID: STS056(E)018
STS-56 electronic still camera (ESC) Earth observation image shows Nagoya, Japan as recorded on the 44th orbit of Discovery, Orbiter Vehicle (OV) 103. Lomas Point and the town of Yuaca are visible in the frame. The image was recorded by the HERCULES device. Center coordinates are 34.991 degrees north latitude and 136.870 degrees east longitude. (180mm lens, no filter). Digital file name is ESC06023.IMG.

New York City

Photo ID: STS056(E)016
STS-56 electronic still camera (ESC) Earth observation image shows New York City at night as recorded on the 64th orbit of Discovery, Orbiter Vehicle (OV) 103. The image was recorded with an image intensifier on the HERCULES. Center coordinates on this image are 40.665 degrees north latitude and 74.048 degrees west longitude. (1/60 second exposure).

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Photo ID: STS056(E)015
STS-56 electronic still camera (ESC) Earth observation image shows metropolitan Philadelphia, Pennsylvania at night as recorded on the 48th orbit of Discovery, Orbiter Vehicle (OV) 103. The image was recorded with an image intensifier on the HERCULES. Center coordinates on this image are 39.970 degrees north latitude and 75.157 degrees west longitude.

St. Louis, Missouri

Photo ID: STS056(E)005
STS-56 electronic still camera (ESC) Earth observation image taken aboard Discovery, Orbiter Vehicle (OV) 103, shows St. Louis, Missouri at night and was photographed during orbit 33. The image was recorded with an image intensifier on the HERCULES. In this observation, the center coordinates are 38.6 degrees north latitude and 90.2 degrees west longitude. The image was acquired at 1/60-second shutter speed and -2/3 exposure compensation.

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Updated Thursday, January 30, 1997