Installed on a turret a few kilometres away from the launch pad, the infrared camera allowed precise tracking of the launcher during the lift-off phase and on until the booster rocket separation
Cedip Infrared Systems has supplied the European Space Agency with several advanced infrared camera systems enabling them to monitor and track the recent launchings of Ariane 5.
Operating from its site at Kourou, French Guyana, the European Space Agency used a Jade LR infrared camera system equipped with long-range optics, operating in the 3-5um waveband, to monitor flight V165.
Installed on a turret a few kilometres away from the launch pad, the infrared camera allowed precise tracking of the launcher during the lift-off phase and on until the booster rocket separation.
Drawing upon its unique imagery mode, combining several temperature ranges, the camera was able to additionally observe thermal phenomena on the launcher structure at the different stages of the rocket engine combustion.
Equipped with a laptop computer, the Jade LR was able to record the entire launch phase of the flight in real time at 150Hz over a 16-bit range.
To monitor the refuelling phase of flight V164, the European Space Agency deployed two Cedip infrared cameras focused on the cryogenic arms, three hundred metres away from the launch site.
The infrared cameras, Jade LR and Jade LW, operating in the 3-5um and 8-12um wavebands respectively, accomplished their mission in extreme thermal and vibratory conditions in spite of the close proximity of the launcher.
In this instance the cameras were run automatically without the need for an operator controlled using a specific timer feature in the Cedip Altair PC software.
