The space shuttle "Discovery"was equipped with an HDTV camera and launched from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida on October 29, 1998. NHK, working with NASA, and with the cooperation of the NASDA, developed a space specification HDTV camera (VCR integrated camera) for the space shuttle. To satisfy the strictest safety standards set by NASA, many issues had to be addressed, such as safety measures for the battery and countermeasures for electromagnetic interference. NHK's engineers achieved a space spec HDTV camera through extensive research, research that also produced 4,000 pages of research results and safety measures for 28 items. The HDTV camera successfully took high definition images of the earth from space for the first time in human history. It made it possible for mankind to see the earth from space in a high-definition, realistic HDTV format.