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?NATIONAL RECONNAISSANCE OFFICE 

WAS~lNGTON. O.C1IEXORANDtn\I FOR MR. JOHN CROWLEY, CIA 

SUBJECT: Transmittal of Documents 

23 December 1969 

The attached Minutes for the First, Second, and Third 

Meet of the Fubini Panel are forwarded for your use. 

Attachraents 

1. BYE-13468-69, 

2. BYE-13469-69, 

3. BYE-13470-69, 

Cy ,..:;2..., 

Cy 1.:.1 _,, 

Cy1;)-

RXD.i~ 

ajar, USAF 

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I 

.J 

r,r~" ... .. , 

:.., • ..:. .... j.~"' .. . 
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:;Jf1r~;T c ... 

l'ilNUTES OF MEETING OF,. co;:,::,:nTEE ON' 

ll'11AGE DATA TRANSMISSIO.:, 

The first meeting of the Cojmittee on Image Data 

Transwission was held in the DIA Conference Roo~ on 

November 13, 1969. The following members were present: 

D~ E. Fubini, Chairman 

.Mr. J. K. Lewis 

I 

Mr. H. Davis, Secrecary 

Dr. Alexander Flax was present as an observer. 

The following members were not present: 

I 

Other ooservers were: 

i'.-:r. Les Dirks 

)Ir. John Crow::.ey 

B/G Lew Allen 

Capt R. Geiger 

I 

va70~ J RegenharG.t 

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re:::~itting direct transmission of optical imagery collected 

fro::i a satellite to the ground. The two leading tec~no:ogy 

candidates for satisfying the require~ents for sue~ a 

direct reading syste::i are: -- (:) a system based ·c1;::,o:1 a 

cultiplicity of solio-st~te se~sors such as phototransistors,and (2) a syscem based U?On a device usin6 a 

photocathode (light-sensi.:ive, electron-emitting surEace) 

and a charge-storage device in the form of a tape having 

a silicon surface. 

Dr. McLucas :::irs.: o.bserved 

a require3ents-technology .:race off. For this re&sc:1 

considering changing from sponsori .. 6 technical activities 

to starting a system, D::. NcLucas ielt we need to know 

the technological st.stus be:fo:::e we ai.:Swe:.: w:1ether we can 

fir.;, up on a systera specification. 

~ ~.:-.--G-&-z-t•Ti-~" .. -i:}:"'J.~ -c:-~--...-(5-l-\fc-:.:;-~·:: ~i..;-.: 00. ... s-~Jr:~-::-v::...-~u'"·,~==-'"'"'._...:: --..:: : .. g _..:,.; ----.,, · ~ -- -!-

.·, , .... ..;,,- .. 

ci.s.~.:::::.'-·,t- 0 c· ;- D:..·. Xe Lucas observed that the corrimitt2..:::. 

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would oe in a better position in a year or two years. 

Dr. McLucas pointed out we are ~eveloping a syst~~ 

our presently used CORG;:;;A syste:-,;. 

oack the buckets with the fi:.m i.:c. i.t. We should bear 

this in mind in consideri~J ai~ernatives of read out. 

by a group chaired by ~----~ 

the value of high resolution. This report is co~piete l 

and is being distributed to members of this co~.mittee. 

Dr. }:cLucas pointed out the attractiveness of 

read out -- possibly in situations like Czechoslovakia 

where we r.dght have had informatioa within 1 hour, 

2 hours or 12 hours, depending upon the system. We may 

wish to loo:i:c at only a few sqi.::are mi::'..es, and take o~-;.:;_y v.:::-iat 

we may wan~ ;::o take. A r:ead-o·..1t sys te:-:i may have ei the:::-

po:.:1~ed ot:t that this co:;u:uittee . - ' s:-J.o·'"':J..G ~-----~ 

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;;mssible. He stressed th&;:: the worC::s 'lreal time.u creat8d 

• 1 - • an i.J.us:..on. In a c~isis situa;::ion, there is no 

reasonably clear picture of value versus time. Mr. Crowley 

volur1teered tb.e i11.£orn1atio11. t> .. .:J.t t:b,is l-;,as been st:uC:iccl 

£or six months. In J.::.ly 369, the us:::B said there w&s a 

require~ent to have the picture availa~le one hour after 

exposure. 

required to gain access to a target seemed to be a ~ore 

:b:,portant parameter than the ti:ne t2.ken after access. ~ 

There should be some time wt,ich represe;:its a plateau --

like a day,. or even an hm.:r. Dr. :i:-1:cLucas stated that 

platea-..1s like a day a:;;i:;;i2.al co ,.~:n v..:~.en factors lii<e 

clouds, night, or absc~ce oft~~ Prcsid~n~ is taken 

into accoun;::. If you don It pay rm .• ch to achieve an hou:::-, 

it m:. 6;::;: ce wori:::hw::lile. 

:Sr. }1cLucas also obse::.'.'.'ved that enth;,,isi.2.sm for ::he 

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we are in a period of increasing fiscal austerity, 

is cieμressi1-.;; to those who see new technical oppo:.:tl.i;:-1i::ies 

sor:-,ething else. We must look at technology to sec. wnen 

the time has come to precipitate out a system. 

want to see if the new system could re;:,lace one of t:l-,2. 

existing systerr,s. We migI-.t wc:nt a decision t:::ee - s~owir.g 

what worlc has to be done to allow decisions at t:~,e 

appropriate time. 

cescription of the two syscems. 

a realistic description of what is available, what plateaus 

,,;e co·..1ld expect in tineliness o:' :;:)Qssible systeras, 

£::::ec;_uency o:;: e:qosu:.:-e, anc! resolution. l'ii"'l:.at is t:!:-,2 

-:":2lay of one year r::ay 

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also perrr.it better definitio~ of the resuirement. 

felt the corr~ittee could not influence 

the level of spending in FY 1971. Nevertheless, a 

re?ort by April woul~ be acceptsble. 

Mr. Dirks introduced cha CIA ?resentation on the 

Electro-Optical Imaging Systew. Mr, Dirks briefly 

discussed the history of ove=nead reconnaissance before 

describing the EOI, solid-state array concept. Be 

then reviewed the key elements of the July 1969 USIB 

near real-ti~e readout req~ire~ent and discussed preliminary design requirernen~s for the EOI systew. 

che performance of a solid-state array, EOI system. -n 

this analysis the gro~nd-sampled distance was given as 

a function of ter~s which characterized the scene, the 

optical syscem and the solid-state array. ~~~ ?ancl 

asked ttat an unclassified vers~on of this ana:ysis be 

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This progra.::r: is 

directed at experimenta:ly deterffiining the effects of 

the sa~pling process on ~he reconstructed iffiagery. 

;:1r. Nowinsky described the appar.5.tws .:.nc. the results 

obtained to date. He also poiuted out that the early 

experirrients concentrated on the cdcition of various 

amounts of noise but that work plauned for the future 

Foilowing the Sa::i.pled lr;:a.;2::.-y discussion, :::.:r. B.o::h 

present::u.:::.on by 

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t:~e Tepe-Storage Camera Progra:n. }Ie reviewed the 

effor~s underway at CBS, General E:ectric and BTL. 

Fo::i.owir..g his rer::iar~<s. Co.1. Bor:.r.2.r introduced 

a detailed presentation on the various systen trace offs 

which are available with t~e Tape-Storage Camera (7SC) 

technology. There was a le~;thy ciscussion of relative 

se:::sitivities and the eff2ct of i::-.tegration on the two 

sc.yin.; th~t 

future. Xr. Dirks ~,;.::.s as:(ed to exte:-.c .. is unc lassifiec. 

pa:;:::,er to ·c~·r_f .:her -::sc{.:..,:.... _ _, ,:...,, .. ;'.,,, . ., -"/ · ~ ,1 

Foil.m,ing ~------~1 s presentatic,::·., Coo-;.;-, 

of CES described the status of che Tape-Storage Camera 

generatioG laboracory ~0~21 but he also described o~her 

gu~ designs underway a~ CJS. 

re~res2~catives who discussed the characceristics 

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as an alternative to the CBS electron bea::.-i 

also described work 

~t G.E. 

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1.. TE:CEXOL2:;~: - ,\1:~r:.-~ is :, :-:(Y.-1:-.. , ~:-.. K~ow:-1; gaps> 

[! • 

C. 

d. 

uncert~:;..;;A_i~s .. 

;i0~: ?~otose~sors, 

?~o;::oc&thocies, storage tape, 

Sensitivity vs c'.well cirr.e. 

Coarse-?ine vs accurate pointing. 

B:=:r:dwidth. 

t· .. o ye2rs. 

g. ~=titude cont=o:, poi~t:::.~~-

.::2t:sitivity to e:~.viro:-.;~,enc. 

, 

J • 

a. 

c. 

C~)~i.cal ::22:-.. uo]_o~y r2c:,._:::>2d. 

~hotocc:~od2 cons:cie=&-io~s 

SU:.-: ..... :-:.:_;. 

G=c~~t Jaca Process 

- sensitivity, 

Size 0£ optical syst~~-

Storage and plcy back advantages and 

dis2<ivantages. 

c # N\..1mber of targe~s pc::- ::;.c.ss .. 

G. Re~ay satellice consi~e=atio~s. 

e. Sys terr: developrr.e:·.t fe&sici __ ;::y -- today, 

one year, two years. 

r. Pointing problems - c;en -OOJ vs closed loo?. 

j. 

Access time, repo=~in~ -iffie. 

Arec cove:::-age; resol~utioa; t:r.:::-:...:-:-0::::i:s .. 

Grc~~l ~bca Processi~g. 

Sig~~l-~o-Noisc co~s~Cer~t~o~s. 

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CO;\i."MITTEE ON IiViAGE DATA TRAKSXISSION 

second meet Data 

Conference 

Room on December 3, 1969. The fo:;_ s were 

The fol mecbers were not present: 

C;:ner observers were; 

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Li.e r.1inuces of the ::irst :neetin.; were <listribuc~d 

Io~ a review. Time did not pernit this review, so the 

drait Qinutes will be distributed at the third meetin3. 

first ~eetin~ which stated that a re?ort by him giv~s 

the reasons £or concluding we can st.s.:::-t a system developDr. Garwin stated his report concluded that an 

increased level of effort in the technology of solidstate array sensors would permit a reasonably sound 

judg~ent within a year on the schedule and cost of a 

full-scale development of a spotting system using this 

t.::chnic;_ue. 

Captain Geiger note~ chat i- August 1969 the 

3xecutive Coc:=::::..ctee (ccnsis·~ing of ('·l~ .. Pac:ca::C, M:;:. Eelrns 

r, - ,....., v..::.:r..:.:·l::... .... :ee \-LfX .fc.ncs £or possible 

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sys~em definition were slipped to FY 197:, with a star~ one 

w~ich would have permitted acceleration and an earlier 

deleted in a budget cut. As a result of this action, t~e 

technology program has 24 months beiore system definition. 

C.::ptaia Geiger stateci Dr. :rkLucas r:eecs a review o~ the 

Dr. Garwin reviewed so::::ie of the wo:::-k of the Land 

Panel. They haci lool<ed at a n"...:mber of technologies --

' 

Xerox screened thermoplastic recordi~gs, Vidicons, Laser 

Arrays ar:d the C3S photot.::?e camera. ~he solid state 

array looked like it had the longest life possi~ilities, 

consequently a sub-corr.r;;ittee was set up consisting of 

and R. L. Garwin. r:12 corr,..,:;ittee prej)ared a repor:, 

Both arG b~ing d~striO~ted. 

fol ..... OYiS: 

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2. :t-:2as~reG S/X indicates about two-foot resoh.:;;::o;,. 

20. 

achieved. 

5. Continuous strip surveilla~ce is not necessary 

since wiG.th is narrow. 

6. vr. Flax pointeG out that continuous surveillance 

is nevertheless an acvantage. 

7. Because of slowdown, the systew raust be a spotting 

syste;:;::. 

8. A processed wafer should cost aoout $50. 

9. is no:.: too 

costs into consider.s.tion, abou:.: 1% is OjJtir.rum. 

eact goo~ ch~? would cost $100. A focal li~e would cost 

$20,COQ. 

I 

..,. 

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cost down. 
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::2.. Prob:2~ is joining chips -- ,vi°';.ich has not y2~ 

been acco~plished. 

13. If reacout is to oe acco~plis~ed in 10 secon~s 

seco:1d. If 3-bit delta moculation is used, we need 120 

~ega0its/second. 

l~~ Se~sor integratio~ tiilie is one ~iliseco~d 

( V-::c. 1 foot/ 50 microseconds, whicl-~ :nust be raultip:.ied 

by tri;.: fact:cr 20 for slowdown). 

15. I£ one amplifier i.s to reac out 20,GOO senso:::-s 

...... a r.:ilisecond, the d&-c:a r.s.te wou:.d be 20 x 106 /secon.:. 

If IGO a~plifiers are used, 200,000 s~lliples per second 

or 5 cicroseconds each is s~f£icient. 

l e. 

v. Wastir.ghouse 1:ses diodes c 12:n,;:>ed to 0~1e voltage 

with lea:-c 0::.f. They have to have a very~low-noise 

17. Fairc~ild has too large a pitch -- the large 

18. a chip-join~::.:; .... _ ... --......... ~- ....... ...... .L.-{:);.._--.1.,LC,1.,r,.\,., prob:!.em .. 

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19. Scaso:: u:-,i.::or;:;-,ity t:o a facto::: of two is ac:1:.2v;:.;·..:, ~2.. 

probab ::.y o:: 

r.ow r..t.:ch 

in-flight and how ::-,-:..:ch g:cc·...::.d p::ocessing is desirao~e). 

of the s~r~ace by contaminants. 

tn~ cone h1sion of tt-.z pr,;:se:. .. ·.:ation, Dr. :?ubir.:. 

asked Colonel Bonner to wa~e a co~putation of t~e optics 

size needed by the solid-s.::&.te array and Xr. D::..::ks to 

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~atter of ~ours or days. It is cifficult to cost t~is 

cap2b:.1ity. 

3. We could have several syste~s on orbit 

the Land Panel to prefer solid-state sensors -- which is 

inherently sinple. 

5. The conclusion for solid s-::ate bein.; n:ost 

reliable was intuitive. :he fewer the QOVing par~s 

7. Cost could be est::.::iateo to abou::: 3 db. 

8. In response to a general ciscussion of moving 

p.:r~s :re:iability, poi~ .. ted o~~ :-.v,v A?ollo ~----~ 

develo?ed reliability as technology aC:vanced, how 

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bot~ syste~s use them. Colonei Bonner pointed out a 

thai: CMG' s can be rr.ade re.iablc., p~1.otocatnode had a 

seve:.:e ?roblcra in poisor.ing, solid-array se::i.sors deg::.:;.ced 

gracefully, that other c::::itic.s.::.. ele.ments were compute:::: 

::::eliability, T~'T's cathodes. 

iO. As to the optics, stateC: we are rr,a.kin ~----~ 6 

progress with lerge sizes -- 72 11 h.s.s been built. We 

need 96 11 with an accuracy o.E )JSO. :;,,;-ew polis hi-::1g tcchniq ue s 

are ::iro:::is ir.;;. Eve~ the co:r:in3 

alo-;::g reasona";Jly well. 

a probl.e::-0 .. J.&ytheon has a 50-z-.2ga.o:..t: syste~:. and a 200~ 

co::n;ie.nies , too, 

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13. T~c co~puter ca~ b~ realized with necessary 

rciia~ility by redune~ncy. 

-~- ~cc~racy of pointing is ~21: wichin state-ofSC " ~ ~ - microracians per seconc 

is within the state-of-the-art. 

15. Solar cells, mostly body r.:iounted, with a f.sw 

auxiliary panels, will su~fice. Thermal proble~s are 

relatively simple. 

16. :n conclusion, the sensors are t~e ~ey ele~ent, 

··wit::b tl-1.e glass being the 7:.ext l-i.ighest e.lerr .. e"i:"lt of l 

t:ncer~aint~y. C1⁄2G is 

his analysis of the S/N of ~ha two syste~s. 

did not agree cornplete.i.y poi:-:-::ing out that :iis strc:·.ing 

tcc~nisue ccn be used to reduce the noise of reading 

.,_•_ .... - 1,,.. .. ;,,<;:.._ 

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::o .:::-:.::lyze ::ivc or si:,; Ci!-:G I s cou?:2..eci together. 

'.i'o 

achieve l0,000 ho~rs wi~h S5% conficience, we would neeci 

60, CJO l1ours in ~ trip ... y _ ,.;;,:uU1. .. ~c...:~1,... conf:..guration .. 

Dr. ?ubini zsked Colo~al Zonner to re?eat t~is using 

identical roll rates. 

)~. Xowinski presented scene characteristic 

·::,".:)_ .. · ... · - --.......... -~ 

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Ti1e r1ext meet was to be. on 

1:•;es Coast. on tr.e 8th and 9t.h of 

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.:.. • '.i:'ECHXO::..OGY 

Solid St<1te 

2. 

scL1eriiC as pr 

W~,at is the 

lem? 

:=et..doi...lt 

D:c * G2::vJin ( 

3. of the j 

4. 

low 

ion rate? 

5. ~ ~ ~ t2-ca =oa~-st~o~ 

.. ~u-- ~:-:i.fo~~~, o::-- sc, .. ,., __ sc:.:s fc... :·l 

6.. ""._...,, .. ,. ;_ __ ~.:;. ,_,.,.,2 .s.:...~:.;o::.s -:£.._::.-.:.::-c:::~C.? 

7. 

l2. 

l.3. 

~-_,:.:0c2ss .... t .. g on • .JO&::c..:, ..... ....,H ~~·.._ ...... _.._ u,_,. 

c~~ s~-ns te ~2~1~~~~ 

s 

l. s e£fect of 

1.0, at:.c. 11 

i~ ...... 2-,.-.. ~::..- .--E.::.: S 

t: v, 

14. \,:~-:at c:::2 ·.::::..2 prob:2::2s of :-:.2.£'..sl1:: 

s2nsitivi~y, ~~ifo==i 

:r-2s ponse .. 

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7, (1 o, 

? 
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2. Wh~t is ex:e~t o~ ?~ tocat~ode poisonins? 

lha~ is k~c1⁄4~, wi~c ~eed3 to b~ known? 

3. is li~e of c&tho~~ in phototape t~be? 

~- C~n new p~otoc~chotes be ~sed? Can pho:oc&thod2 be isolat~d fro~ the rest of th2 

c o:npoa-2nc s ? 

A. General. 

1. 1-::""l.c~!: size of 

Eow is this siz2 

sis L~cessary £or bott? 

c.,cl1ieve0? 

2. 1·llic.t is access tit1e of eccl:-.. , ·what is t::e 

e -"'-"c,c~ 0·1 ·-,,,-,·-,,:,·• o,= •·-·•·-::,~c .;- ••}-:, ,...3 c'ec'-? ...... .L~ l,.. ,.,. l.L\....._ .. ~,....,1-.._ .... 1-c .... o,.:;:.L ...... ......... L ... 1i;;.;;. \,.;I .:\. • 

Is a contin~o~s loci ~es~rabie? 

~+ Is~ c_o~C sc~sor =~~siDle, use~~l? If so 

{_o~-i we,·..:~-:: it t..;; c:.-.::i:v:reci i~i. eitQar syste:.:-*? 

4. s recordi~g Le~e6s~=y o= ~esirable? 

5,. ~,_ .. -.:..tis t;:.e e':::..::cct o:Z s/:\ c:.:--.. ~ cc::::~ras:. o:: 

i.::::ter:?-::ec.s. I: ::..o·t .. :· 

6.. ..~::2 tl-:e::e c.::_s.::.c:'1&:: __ .:.z.;e:..s ::..-~ :.-::ovi:.-l.g pc..rts, 

7. ks th~ a~:~~si£sc io~ s~o=te~ing the 

intel-ige~ce cyc:e realistic? 

Speci£ic 

3. 

Cc:.il. C<G Is ___ .:, ____ .;:_ ') .._ ...,;;1,,..,-....,"""""'- ........... _" 

aeliabilicy c~ Lnt~nna poin=in; ~2c~2~i~ 

Is Gar\<:i:1 1 s O:. c:.:.: :cop s1.:gses:.::..c:.1 \;0:::--::~\•,:,,,.., ..... _.2 

~~c ?~~ct~ca~_2? ... .. ..., ~ . cz.μz.0:.1..1. ._ :.es 

c. ~ow ~any =L:2y sat~---=es 2~e neete~? 

~::~"1a':: :..s e·'=:.:'ccc or .. syst:e::-t "oecause of fin::_ .... ~ 

::::eliabili-::y? 

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7 Ca~: corr.put2.r reli.soi lity :::-2 .c.chieved? :;o:-;? 

8. \,Yb.at is relative £rm-.-,2 tir.1e ass'tnning sa,.-,12 

ro 11 ::: ates? 

9. L:.::i.t is fe2sib:.. lL:y of achievi;.:g optics o_ 

t~e size re~uircd? 

10. Is radiation hardness a serious considar.c.tic~? 

~l. Are there o:her c&~didate ser:so:::s or syst~~s 

configi..:::.itior:s? 

"? J.._. 

13. 

14. 

m1at flight tcscs are desirable? 

What testing prograzns are needed? 

Is thei..a an advantage of having a co:.ti:c_::10:_::s 

strip? 

3 

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