The Viewlex company pioneered planetarium technology beginning in the late 1960ies using a synchronized tape method devised for the Goto projector. Apparently the system did not prove to be as reliable as advertised. Phillip Stern, as former lecturer at New York City's Hayden Planetarium, had the idea of creating a small projector which could be programmed. Unable to pay for this himself, Stern became the head of the planetarium division of Viewlex, a mid-size audio-visual firm on Long Island. There, he manufactured the Apollo projector for small planetaria that came along with a 5 meter blow-up dome. The stars are generated by 950 pinholes drilled in the 25-cm-ball. The planets are projected in a interesting way, their projectors are mounted on the top of the star ball and share the same lamp source as the stars. It also had an equator and ecliptic projection as well as an adjustable latitude. It was the only development by Viewlex on its own. The company went bankrupt for reasons unrelated to the planetarium business. Ash Enterprises specialises in refurbishing these machines. It completely modernises the electronic controls.