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In the 1970s, NASA inaugurated the Landsat series of satellites to study the Earth from space. The program demonstrated the practical benefits of such research: for the first time the Earth's natural resources--land, water, and vegetation--could be mapped and studied continuously and on a global basis.

The Earth Resources Technology Satellite (later renamed Landsat 1), launched in 1972, was the first of these satellites. One of the main instruments was a Return Beam Vidicon (RBV) camera, which provided provided black and white images of the Earth.

This artifact, a vidicon (or television) tube, was the key component of this instrument system. The RBV used three vidicon tubes, each gathering data at different wavelengths.

Mr. Abe Schapf donated this artifact to the Museum in 1975.

 Display Status

This object is on display in One World Connected at the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, DC.

One World Connected
Object Details
Country of Origin United States of America Type SPACECRAFT-Uncrewed-Instruments & Payloads Manufacturer RCA Astro Electronics
 Dimensions 3-D: 21.3 × 5.7cm (8 3/8 × 2 1/4 in.)
3-D: 0.2kg (0.4lb.)
 Materials Glass, ferrous alloy, white metal alloy, copper alloy, unidentified plastics, paint, black ink
 Inventory Number A19761829000 Credit Line Gift of Abe Schapf Data Source National Air and Space Museum Restrictions & Rights Usage conditions apply
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