SIMPLE, INEXPENSIVE OPTICAL BEACON FOR USE ON SMALL SATELLITES

A Vivitar model 283 photography flash unit was modified and tested for use as an aid for acquiring a target in low-Earth orbit. External circuitry was added to control the flash rate and pulse duration; the relative visibility of the flash was then tested with respect to these parameters, using two types of low-light level television camera systems over a range of effective distances. A rate of 40 flashes/min and a pulse duration of 1.8 ms were found to be optimal within the power capabilities of the existing inverter circuit. Removing the color correcting lens in front of the flash tube was also found to improve the efficiency of the unit in this application.