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takyon [soylentnews.org] writes:

NASA has caught on to the High Dynamic Range craze [nasa.gov]:

While thousands turned out watch NASA's Space Launch System (SLS) recently complete a full-scale test of its booster, few were aware of the other major test occurring simultaneously. NASA's High Dynamic Range Stereo X (HiDyRS-X) project, a revolutionary high-speed, high dynamic range camera, filmed the test, recording propulsion video data in never before seen detail.

The HiDyRS-X project originated from a problem that exists when trying to film rocket motor tests. Rocket motor plumes, in addition to being extremely loud, are also extremely bright, making them difficult to record without drastically cutting down the exposure settings on the camera. Doing so, however, darkens the rest of the image, obscuring other important components on the motor.

[...] When the team reviewed the camera footage, they saw a level of detail on par with the other successful HiDyRS-X tests. The team saw several elements never before caught on film in an engine test. "I was amazed to see the ground support mirror bracket tumbling and the vortices shedding in the plume," Conyers says. The team was able to gather interesting data from the slow motion footage, and Conyers also discovered something else by speeding up the playback. "I was able to clearly see the exhaust plume, nozzle and the nozzle fabric go through its gimbaling patterns, which is an expected condition, but usually unobservable in slow motion or normal playback rates."

The camera was developed as part of the Game Changing Development Program [nasa.gov]. An enhanced version is already in the works. Video on YouTube [youtube.com] and Space.com [space.com]. Here is a stabilized version without the slow motion [dropboxusercontent.com].

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