We've lost another one. James W. H. Justice, who developed the circuitry that was burned out when Alan Bean pointed the Apollo 12 Lunar Surface Camera at the sun, has passed away. According to his obiturary, Justice passed away at the age of 89 from cancer.
The color camera was a project by Westinghouse, which Justice was employed. It was first tested on Apollo 10, but wasn't ready for Lunar operations and could not have been included on Apollo 11's historic first launch. The camera was first features on Apollo 12, and had a short, spectacular life thanks to Beans error or pointing it towards the sun.
It wouldn't be seen again until Apollo 14, where it got some amazing views of the Fra Mauro Highlands, and would garner NASA an Emmy award in 1969 for Outstanding Achievement in Technical / Engineering Development.
To learn about development of the Apollo Lunar Surface camera, check out our podcast interview with Stan Lebar
here.
