US Patent 11685545 Tethered sensor for close up viewing

An imaging system has a tether sub-system deployable and retrievable from an aircraft, an imaging device attached at a deployable end of the tether, and control apparatus comprising control and communication circuitry receiving images captured by the imaging apparatus and storing the images. The tether is deployed to a predetermined length, the aircraft is piloted in a flight pattern causing the imaging device at the deployed end of the tether to attain a fixed position proximate an imaging target, and the control apparatus is operated to capture images of the target.