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The Baker-Nunn Camera, designed by James Baker and Joseph Nunn, was created to observe both natural and man-made satellites orbiting at a great altitude. This high-precision telescopic tracking camera was used by the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory (SAO) to track artificial satellites from the 1950s to mid-1970s. The SAO set up a highly successful optical tracking system using a network of Baker-Nunn cameras at twelve tracking stations located in Argentina, Australia, Curacao, India, Iran, Japan, Peru, South Africa, Spain, and at three sites in the United States.

 Identifier

NASM.2012.0014

Creator

Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory

Date

bulk 1965-1983

Provenance

Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory (SAO) via Space History Division, NASM, Gift, 2012

Extent

9.46 Cubic feet ((8 boxes))

Archival Repository

National Air and Space Museum Archives

Scope and Contents

This collection consists of 8 cubic feet of documentation on the Baker-Nunn camera, including the following types of material: drawings, photographs, manuals and reports, and memorandums and correspondence

Rights

Material is subject to Smithsonian Terms of Use. Should you wish to use NASM material in any medium, please submit an Application for Permission to Reproduce NASM Material, available at Permissions Requests

Restrictions

No restrictions on access.

Citation

Baker-Nunn Satellite Tracking Collection, Accession 2012-0014, National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution.

Topics

Baker-Nunn camera

Artificial satellites -- Optical observations

Artificial satellites -- Tracking

Astronautics

Type

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Drawings

Correspondence

Manuals

Photographic prints