The electromechanical angle computer inside the B-52 bomber's star tracker

Re:The electromechanical angle computer inside the B-52 bomb... by palm-tree on Saturday April 18, 2026 @02:57PM (#47818472)

Am I right in thinking it didn't matter which star it locked onto, and it didn't need to know which star it was? Would it be a problem if it locked onto another celestial body (e.g. Venus)?

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Re:The electromechanical angle computer inside the B-52 bomb... by kens on Saturday April 18, 2026 @03:05PM (#47818552)

No, it needed to lock onto the right star, the one that matched the coordinates. Otherwise, it would be pointing in a random direction. The navigator would check against three different stars to detect an error.

The system could also use planets or even the sun for navigation. A special filter was used with the sun to avoid burning out the photomultiplier tube.

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Re:The electromechanical angle computer inside the B-52 bomb... by js2 on Saturday April 18, 2026 @03:21PM (#47818714)

Ah, so it could be used in the daytime. I read the whole article assuming it was only useful at night. (When else would you be flying a bomber and need high accuracy?)

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Re:The electromechanical angle computer inside the B-52 bomb... by teamonkey on Saturday April 18, 2026 @06:29PM (#47820075)

The SR-71’s star tracker was so sensitive it could track stars during the day.

https://theaviationgeekclub.com/the-sr-71-blackbird-astro-na...

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Re:The electromechanical angle computer inside the B-52 bomb... by spiritplumber on Sunday April 19, 2026 @04:44AM (#47822799)

being halfway to space probably helped

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