Nikon Camera To Be Used In Space

Nikon reveals that its digital SLR products such as the Nikon D3S, D3X along with telephoto lenses will be utilized by the International Space Station, Russian segment.

According to a press release — Korolev Rocket and Space Corporation Energia, the general contractor of the Russian Federal Space Agency on the program operating the International Space Station(ISS). This equipment will be transported to the ISS via the Soyuz TMA-19 spacecraft, to be launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome on June 16, 2010.

No special improvements or modifications will be made to these products. They will be the same products available to consumers, confirming the incredible reliability of the D3S, D3X and NIKKOR lenses. The new equipment will be used along with Nikon SLR cameras, such as the Nikon F5 film-SLR camera and D2X digital-SLR camera and a variety of NIKKOR lenses already used with on-board activities of Russian cosmonauts working in the Russian segment of ISS.

Nikolay Cherlenyak, director of operations for Energia’s ISS program, has commented as follows regarding this order.
“The integration of Nikon photographic equipment in space exploration has a long history and goes back to the moment when there first arose the question of photographing research conducted in orbit. It was then when the first Nikon film cameras and NIKKOR lenses, notable for precision and reliability, were sent into space. They had been used even on the station “Mir”. Since then, the range of photographic equipment has been frequently supplemented by new products and advanced developments of the Nikon Company. Now with the latest models of Nikon D3S and D3X digital cameras, photography in space will reach a new, previously unattainable level ”

Nikon has spent many years contributing to the study of space through the development and manufacture of advanced and extremely durable cameras and interchangeable lenses. With total production exceeding 50 million, NIKKOR lenses make the most of Nikon’s optical technologies. In 2009, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) ordered eleven D3S cameras and seven AF-S NIKKOR 14-24mm f/2.8G ED lenses for use in recording activities aboard the Space Shuttle and International Space Station.

In addition to the extreme environment of space, Nikon also provides official observation equipment used in exploring the Antarctic. Nikon equipment contributes to observation and research of these little explored regions with durability, reliability and technical capabilities that stand up to even the most severe environments.

Primary Nikon products in the current order

• D3X
• D3S
• AF-S NIKKOR 400mm f/2.8G ED VR
• AF-S NIKKOR 600mm f/4G ED VR
• SB-900
• AF-S Teleconverter TC-20E III
• AF-S Teleconverter TC-17E II
• AF-S Teleconverter TC-14E II
• Capture NX2
• Camera Control Pro 2

Nikon products already used in the ISS’s Russian Segment

• D2X
• D200
• D3X
• Various NIKKOR lenses