May 5, 2026

US12618652 - Rocket camera system and method with rocket and camera dispenser

Systems and methods for photography of a spacecraft during space flight are provided. An autonomous deployable camera (ADC) is configured to capture images and video of a portion of a rocket, such as a crew capsule, as it flies in space with the Earth's horizon in the background and astronauts within the crew capsule visible and recognizable through windows of the crew capsule. The ADC, being reusable, is configured to land on the ground independent of landings or flight trajectories of the crew capsule or other parts of a rocket. The ADC includes a parachute to slow the descent of the ADC and tracking hardware to allow the ADC to be relatively easily recovered on the ground. After recovery, images are downloadable from the ADC.

Assignee: Blue Origin Manufacturing, LLC
Inventors: Edward Shawn Schatzman
Filing date: 2023-12-05

rocketcameraspacephotography

The patent describes a system for deploying an autonomous camera from a rocket to capture images and video of a crew capsule during flight. This reusable camera is designed to land independently and includes features for recovery and image download after its mission.

Claim 1

1 . A method of operating a camera of a rocket system that includes a booster portion and a capsule portion, the method comprising: prior to, upon, or after separation between the booster portion and the capsule portion, ejecting the camera from a camera dispenser attached to the booster portion, wherein the ejecting imparts to the camera a speed and a trajectory that are substantially equal to a speed and trajectory of the capsule portion; and operating the camera to capture video or images of the capsule portion. prior to, upon, or after separation between the booster portion and the capsule portion, ejecting the camera from a camera dispenser attached to the booster portion, wherein the ejecting imparts to the camera a speed and a trajectory that are substantially equal to a speed and trajectory of the capsule portion; and operating the camera to capture video or images of the capsule portion.

Google Patents

https://patents.google.com/patent/US12618652

USPTO PDF

https://image-ppubs.uspto.gov/dirsearch-public/print/downloadPdf/12618652