Cinetheodolite

Cinetheodolite. . Inside the astrodome is a Contraves Electro Optical Tracking System, Model F (EOTS-F). It replaced the Askania Tracking System that was used at White Sands Missile Range from the late 1950s to 29 January 1973, when the Contraves system became operational in both mobile and fixed location configurations., This cinetheodolite was located at one of the many optical instrumentation sites on the Range, and was used to record data during performance testing of missiles, aircraft, and other experimental weapon systems. These fixed cinetheodolites were retired in 1992 to make way for the new Kineto Tracking Mount System., A Cinetheodolite is a combination of a camera ("cine") and the surveyor's theodolite, mounted on a tracking mechanism. It tracked a missile through the course of its trajectory, observing its in-flight behavior., Basically, a cinetheodolite determined an object's position versus time. It recorded on film the azimuth and elevation angles of the line of sight from the station to the object being tracked. The cinetheodolite required two operators, one for azimuth tracking and one for elevation tracking., The cinetheodolite displayed here supported the following missile tests: Redstone, Talos, Lance, Pershing, Nike Hercules, Sprint, Zeus, Hawk, Athena, and Patriot. It was located at Southwest 50 on White Sands Missile Range., (engineering) A surveying theodolite in which 35-millimeter motion picture cameras with lenses of 60- to 240-inch (1.5- to 6.1-meter) focal length are substituted for the surveyor's eye and telescope; used for precise time-correlated observation of distant airplanes, missiles, and artificial satellites.