Cast Glance is a gyrostabilized optical instrument used by the
United States Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...
and
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army S ...
. It is an airborne system that is used by
Air Test and Evaluation Squadron 30 (VX-30) on board the
Lockheed NP-3D
Orion. The system consists of a moving gyro-stabilised mirror with fixed optics, two fixed cameras and five sensors. The cameras look out of the starboard side of the aircraft. The system is
photometric and enables the simultaneous recording of the
electro-optical
Electro–optics is a branch of electrical engineering, electronic engineering, materials science, and material physics involving components, electronic devices such as lasers, laser diodes, LEDs, waveguides, etc. which operate by the prop ...
to the
infrared
Infrared (IR), sometimes called infrared light, is electromagnetic radiation (EMR) with wavelengths longer than those of visible light. It is therefore invisible to the human eye. IR is generally understood to encompass wavelengths from aroun ...
spectrum and medium wave
IR.
The system provides photographic coverage of air-to-air, air-to-surface or surface-to-air test operations. Cast Glance was also used to support the
Space Shuttle
The Space Shuttle is a retired, partially reusable low Earth orbital spacecraft system operated from 1981 to 2011 by the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) as part of the Space Shuttle program. Its official program na ...
program.
External links
Cast Glance Near Infrared Imaging - Futron CorporationVideo imagery produced by Cast Glance (from 02:57)
References
{{Reflist
Military electronics of the United States
Optical instruments