ranger i press kit

8/8/2019 Ranger I Press Kit

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RELEASE NO . 61-159

NEWS R E L E A S ENATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION1 5 2 0 H S T R E E T , N O R T H W E S T . W A S H I N G T O N 2 5 , D . C .T E LE P H ON E S : D U DL EY 2 - 6 3 2 5 . E X EC U T IV E 3 - 3 2 6 0FOR RELEASE: Monday PM9s

,- July 24, 1961..--t

RANGER SPACECRAFTThe Ranger spacecraft to be launched within a few days,is the latest and most complicated step taken by the UnitedStates in the program of the National Aeronautics and SpaceAdministration to explore the moon, the planets and inter-planetary space.Designed to test an enormously complex spacecraftsystem (Ranger has 19,520 working electronic parts), Rangeris a forerunner of later spacecraft in the same serieswhich will rough-land instrumented packages on the moon.Successors to this series eventually will make soft landingson the moon and planets.Primary purpose of the ffrst Ranger shot is to'developand test basic elements of spacecraft technology requiredfor lunar and interplanetary missions. These include anattitude stabflization system based on celestial references(the sun and the earth), a high gain pointable antenna, anadvanced communication system, the development of componentsable to operate for long periods in space environment, andcalibration of solar cells in a space environment.In view of the developmental nature of the spacecraft,the first Ranger will not be aimed at the moon, but willbe sent off on a long trajectory into space, reaching morethan half a million miles from the earth before it returnsto the earthOs atmosphere and b u m s up after a round tripof perhaps more than 50 days. There is a slight possibilitythat, with the expected dispersion in rocket performance,Ranger may reach earth-escape velocity and speed into an

orbit around the sun.While the first flight of Ranger, then, will be anengineering development test to provide the answers uponwhich more complicated events and machines of the futurecan be based, the initial spacecraft will carry, as itssecondary mission, many important scientific experiments


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designed to study the nature and activity of cosmic rays,magnetic fields, and radiation and dust particles in space,along with an experiment which seeks to discover if theearth carries along with it a comet-like tail of hydrogengas., Eight scientific experiments are carried on Ranger.They are the work of scientists and engineers at theCalifornia Institute of Technology, Goddard Space FlightCenter, Jet Propulston Laboratory, Los Alamos ScientificLaboratory, Naval Research Laborato-ry, State Universityof Iowa, Universjty of Chicago.

The Ranger project is part of the NASA program toexplore the moon and the planets.Laboratory, operated for the NASA by Caltech, developedthe Ranger spacecraft and is responsible f o r the executionof current projects in the unmanned part of this pmgram.

exploratory missions, engineers at JPL agreed on a basicspacecraft design which would be rerlected thrgughout ageneration of spacecraft, even though the missions mightdiffer considerably from one to another. Out of thisconcept, came the idea of a hexagonal-shaped basicconfiguration t o carry the electronics and other instru-mentation which would be standard, or olose t o standard,on many missions. This concept is in keeping with theJPL philosophy of stressing reliability by using the sametype of components many times.

The Jet Propulsion

In developing the spacecraft to perform the8e

This basic hexagon, which will be used in many JPLspacecraft, came $0 be called the bus, in the sense thatit will be used as an omnibus to carry passengers in thef o m of scientlfic experiments. The bus, essentiallyunchanged in form, in this generation of spacecraft,will be able to go to the moon or the planets and carrypassengers in the form of instruments whose characterwill change according to the area in which they are toperform and the nature of their tasks.

In developing the Ranger I to as high a degree ofreliability as could be attained in s o complex a machine,considerable emphasis was placed on a prototype calledthe Proof Test Model (PTM). This PTM was made as nearlyidentical to the flight model as humanly possible, downto th e last nut and b o l t , and was put through a seriesof severe tests. It was vibrated at rates in excess ofany launch vibration that could be expected, it wassubjected to temperatures Between 32 and 122 degreesFahrenheit and it was exposed to vacuums down to .OOOO;Lmillimeters of mercury. It was put through dummy runs,

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simulated count downs and simulated flights. Its complicatedattitude control system was tested, its solar panels weretried out, its earth and sun sensors were tested. Thetests not only produced valuable data which were translatedinto improvements in the flight model, but permitted theJPL crew t o gain familiarity in handling the spacecraftagainst the? time when the flight model was t o be launched.In April, 1961, the PTM was trucked to Sunnyvale,California, where it was mated to the Agena B secondstage rocket being produced by the Lockheed Missiles andSpace Company. These compatibility tests completed theuseful life of the PTM, insofar as the Ranger project isconcerned.Work on the flight model of Ranger I, meanwhile, hadbegun in early February, 1961, and lessons learned on thePTM were incorporated into the flight model as the workwent on. The flight'version f Ranger I was shipped tothe JPL hangar at the Atlantic Missile Range by specialtruck from Pasadena, arriving at Cape Canaveral in lateMay. The JPL crew at the AMR again put Ranger I througha series of tests, some of them lasting as long as eighthours,. to insure that the delicate electronic instrumentationwas still in operating condition after the long journey.These tests continued almost t o launch day.

SPACECRAFT DESCRIPTIONRanger I is slightly more than five feet in diameterat the base of the hexagon and 11 feet long. In its cruiseposition, with its solar panels extended to collect energy

from the sun, it is 17 feet in span an@ 13 feet long. Ranger Iweighs 675 ounds, of which 243 is represented by the eltc-panels and 238 is structure.tronics, 14 1 is the scientific experiments, 50 is the solar

Rising from the hexagonal base are f o u r struts andfour diagonal braces made of aluminum which serve tosupport the scientific instrumentation. Ranger 1 hastwo radio transmitters and two antennas, one an omni-directional antenna at the front end of the spacecraft,and the second a high gain directional antenna 4 feet indiameter at the base of the spacecraft, which will beaimed at the earth in order to permit more efficienttransmission of data after Ranger I is well o u t in space.

The solar panels are each approximately 10 square feetand each contains 4340 solar cells to collect sun energy,making a total of 8680 solar cells on the two panels. Theyare expected t o pick up enough solar energy t o be convertedinto a minimum of 155 watts and a maximum of 210 watts.-3-

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Because of t h e a t t enua t ion of s o l a r energy by th eear th 's a tmosphere, there i s uncer ta in ty as t o p r e c i s e l yhow much s o l a r en ergy can b e c o l l e c t e d by t h e panels andconverted i n t o e l ec t r i c a l . ene rgy. This unc er t a in ty mustbe resol ved befor e more complicated spac ecr aft car ryi ngs o l a r p a ne l s are sen t out on d if fe re nt missions, someas f a r as Venus and Mars, s o one of the experiments onboard Ranger 1 i n c l u d e s f o u r sp e c i a l l y c a l i b r a t e d so l a rc e l l s which w i l l measure the c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s o f si3h.rc e l l s o p e ra ti n g i n a space environment.The two s o l ar panels are hinged on fpamework belowthe hexagon, and i n the l aunch pos i t ion a re ca r r i edfo lded i n the manngr of bu t t e r f l y wings.I n th e hollowed-out in ne r sec t i on of the hexagoni s a s i l v e r z i n c b a t t e r y w eighing 125 pounds w i t h acapaci ty of 9000 w a t t hours. This ba t te ry w i l l providethe power t o run the Spacec ra f t p r i o r t o the t ime ofacqu i s i t i on of th e sun by t h e solar panels, and also,

w i l l serve as a backup power source if th e so la r -qui-s i t i o n t& ot successful. The bat te ry w i l l provideenough e l e c t r i c a l power t o run t h e spacec ra f t f o r t w odays.Before th e s ol ar power i s a v a i l a b l e t o run the space-c r a f t , the tw o r a d i o t ransmit ters on board w i l l both senddata t o a a r t h v i a t h e m L d i r e c t i o n a 1 antenna. A th ree -w a t t t r a n sm i t t e r w i l l send on a f requency nea r 960 megacyclesahd a separa te quar te r-wa tt t r ans mi t t e r w i l l send on asimilar frequency. The quar te r -wa t t t r ansmi t t e r has a l i f e -t i m e of seven days and w i l l s tay on the a i r continuouslyu n t i l i t s b a t t e r y i s exhausted.

SPACECRAFT CONTROLLERSix el ec tr on ic boxes loca ted on each s i d e of t he ,hexagonal base conta in thet e le ' c t ron ic in te l l igence ofRanger I. One of t h e most impo rta nt of these instrumentsi s c a l l e d t h e sp a ce c ra f t c o n t r o l l e r . It i s th is c o n t r o l l e rwhich a l lows Ranger t o e le c t ro ni ca l l y c a l cu la te when i tshould perform what fu nc ti on , how i t shou ld ro l l and p i t c ht o f in d the sun and lock onto t h i s power source w i t h i t ss o l a r panels, how t o f i nd th e ear th and a i m i t s d i r e c t i o n a lantenna a t th e earth, as well as many other functions.The Spacecra f t con t ro l l e r is a n e l e c t r o n i c so l i d -s t a t e t imer. It takes 400 cycles per second from thespacecraft power source and divides i t i n t o one pu l sepe r second, and us es these pu lses as the bas ic t imingrefer ence. These puls es are accumulated i n a s toragedevice. The u n i t a l s o c on ta i ns a memory device whichhas a pre-set ser ies of t r i g g e r s .-4 -

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When t h e accumulated pu lses p e r second match th e pre-se t count s t ored i n the memory device, a r e l a y i s closedand the con t ro l l e r i ssues a command f o r Ranger I t o performsome s pe ci f i c funct i on. From launch t o the end of i t suse fu l l i f e t h e r e are t e n such commands tha t t h e c o n t r o l l e rmust i ss ue ; hence t he re a r e te n such channels and te n suchre lays .The con tr o l le r t imer i s s tar ted three minutes beforelaunch. This time then serves as the r e fe rence po in t fo rfuture commands t o be i ssued by t h e c o n t r o l l e r . When th espacecraf t i s turned on, from power supplied by t h e l a r g es i l v e r z in c ba t te ry i n s i d e th e hexagon, most of the sc ien -t i f i c i n st ru m en ts , and b o t h ,the quar ter -wat t and t h e t h r e e -watt transmitter begin t o operat'e.However, some instmrments are not turned on, notablythe s o l ar corpuscular de tec tors , and th e three-watt trans-m i t t e r i s given only enough power t o run a t half s t rength ,o r 1.5 watts. This i s done because, as the launch vehiclepasses through a , c r i t i c a l area between 150,000 and 250,000fee t , t h e r e i s a tendency f o r devices us ing h igh ,vo l taget o a r c o ver and damage themse lves; hence these are turnedon by t h e c o n t r o l l e r a f t e r t h i s c r i t i c a l t ime i s pasaed.During the launch phase of t h e Atlas Agena B launchvehic le , the Ranger I spacecraf t i s pro tec ted aga ins taerodynamic heating by a shroud which covers i t . AfterAtlas cu t -o f f , a t approximately 280 seconds, the shroudis je t t i ssoned . A t a l m o s t th e same t i m e that t h e p r o t e c t i v eshroud i s pushed forward by e igh t spring-loaded b o l t s , th eAgena B separates from the Atlas. A t this time, the Agena Bp i tches down from an a t t i t u d e almost 15 degrees above the

loca l ho r izon t o almost level wi th the lo ca l ho rizon .time and burns fo r almcrst 22 minutes t o r each earth o r b i tspeed of approximately 18,000 miles an hour. After 24minutes of burning t i m e , Agena B sh ut s down and coa at s i na parking o r b i t for more than 13 minutes u n t i l i t reachest h e optimum poin t i n time and space i n i t s o r b i t t o f i r ef o r the second time.

I n t h i s hor izon ta l mod:, t h e Agemi B f i r e s f o r t'he f i r s t

I n t he f i r s t Ranger sho t , which i s n o t t o be aimed a tthe moon, the mechanics of t h i s park ing o rb i t are notimportant, b u t w i l l serve as a t e s t of th e procedure foruse i n la ter launches aimed at the moon. The parkingorb i t technique i s a means by which t h e geometry imposedon moon s h o t s by the loca t ion of t h e Atlan t i c MissileRange i s cor rec ted by using a second st ag e rocket as amobile launching platform i n space.

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I n j e c t i o n of the Agena B and the Ranger I spacecraf t ,s t i l l as one u n t i , occurs approximately over AscensionIsland i n th e South At la nt ic Ocean approximately 23 minutesa f t e r launch. U p to t h i s time, the evenks of the launch,separa t ion of Agena from th e Atlas, opera t ion of th e Ranger Ispacecraf t system and i g n i t i o n , and cut-off times of Agena Bhave been telemetered t o ground t r a c k i n g s t a t i o n s throughthe Agena B telemetry system.A l i t t l e more t h an 2 minutes afCer in jec t ion , Ranger Ii s separated from the Agena B, again by spring-loaded b o l t s .After t h i s occurs, Agena B does a 180 degree yaw, f i r e s upsome s o l i d r e t r o r o c k e t s and moves i n t o a d i f f e r e n t and lowert r a j e c t o r y from t h a t a t t a i n e d by ?angerI. There are tw oreasons f o r t h i s maneuver. It would not be de si ra bl e i nl a t e r s h ot s f o r the unster i l ized Agena B t o follow Rangeron i n and t o impact t h e moon, and i f Agena B close ly fo l lowsRanger, the spacecraft sensory system might mistake r e f l e c t e dsun l igh t from Agena B f o r t h e sun o r the ea r t h and thusconfuse i t s acquis i t ion sys tem.I n any case , Ranger I i s now pointed on a t r a j e c t o r ywhich will take i t out on a long swing away from t h e e a r t h ,and the dead Agena B rocket casing i s slowed down on ano r b i t t h a t will move it c lo se r in to t he e a r th ' s atmospheret o ul t im ate ly burn up by f r ic t i o n .Now i t i s pos sib le t o descr ibe t he sequence of th e 10commands is sued t o Ranger I by the sp a c e c r a f t c o n t r o l l e r ,and thus descr ibe the operat ions of Ehnger I on i t s longt r i p out and equal ly Long swing back into ear th .commands and t h e i r timing a re :

a f t e r t he c o n t r o l le r was s tar ted, which w a s 3 minutes beforethe launch. This c o m d i s t o th e power source i n Ranger I,s t i l l being provided by the b i g s i l v e r zinc bat tery, t o i n c r e a sethe power be ing s en t t o the la rg er t ran smi t te r from 1.5 wattst o 3 watts, It i s now po ss ib le t o do t h i s s i nc e t he c r i t i c a la re a , i n which arc ing ~ v e r ight have occurred, i s passed, andthe increased power aBPows the gpound s ta t i on near Johannesburg,South Africa, to more easi ly acquire the s i g n a l f r om Ranger I.The Deep Space I n s t m e n t a t i o n F a c i l i t y s t a t i o n i n S outh A fr ic aa l s o w i l l be ab le t o t e l l fpom telemetry from Ranger I t ha tthis command w a s i s sue d t o t h e sp a c e c r a f t by t h e sp a c e c r a f tc o n t r o l l e r .

TheFIWT COMMAND -- This i s i s sued 1500 seconds (25 minutes)

SECOND CQMMPaND -- This i s Zssued at 2100 seconds (35minutes) and tu rns on the s c i e n t i f i c i n s t m e n t s which hadnot been turned on because of th e passage th rough the c r i t i ca la l t i t u d e a r e a.THIRD CQ- -- This i s i ssued a t 2200 seconds (36 minutes,40 seconds) and performs two separa te funct ions .funct ion i s t o extend, by means of a compressed spring,The f i r s t

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the e l ec t r os ta t i c ana lyze r package i n a small box on a smallboom about four f e e t from the main body of the spacecraf t .This i s done s o the two sensors i n the e l e c t r o s t a t i c a na ly ze rcan look a t the sun and away from the sun a t the same timewithout in ter ference from th e body of th e spacecraf t . Thesecond function of this command i s t o f i r e small squibswhich p u l l out p i n s t h a t h o l d th e t w o so l a r panels lockedi n pla ce. When th es e pin s are displaced, co&pressed springsmove the solar panels ou t, i n th e manner of bu t t e r f l y wings,u n t i l t h e y are a t r i g h t angles t o the length of the space-c r a f t . This opera t ion requires perhaps half a minute.FOURTH COMMAND--This occurs a t 3700 seconds (61 minutes,40 seconds) and takes place while Ranger I i s s t i l l s o r t o fstaggering through space as a r e s u l t o f th e separation shocki t received when i t l e f t Agena B. T h i s cormnand t u rn s on thea t t i t u d e c o nt r ol system and sends power t o t h e sun sensors,the cold gas jets, and the gyroscopes. The gyros f i r s ta c t t o c a nc el o ut th e re s idua l movements resulting fromsepara t ion .There a r e two sun senso rs loc ated on Ranger I, spot%edi n areas s o that no matter how the spacecraf t i s posi t ionedi n space, some of the senso r s w i l l see the sun. There a r ethree sensors loca ted on the backs of each of the tw o solarpanels, making s ix there, and four located on th e legs ofthe spacecraf t . The sun sensors are l igh t - sens i t ive d iodeswhich inform the gas j e t s and th e gyros when they see thesun. The a t t i t u d e c o nt r ol system responds t o these signalsby turning the spacecra f t i n such a manner that the longi-t u d i n a l o r roll axis points toward t he sun,th e spacecraf t f o r these maneuvers i s providedlby ten

cold gas j e t s which are fed gas from bo tt le , about8 inches, i n diameter and conta in ing 2% pounds of nitrogenunder 3000 pounds pressure per square inch, kThis i sc a l c u la t e d t o be enough ni troge n t o ope rate the gas j e t st o ma in ta in a t t i t u d e c o n t r o l f o r a minimum of 50 days anda m a x i m u m of 100 days.

Torquing of

The gyros have f i r s t a c te d t o c a nc e l o ut the r e s i d u a lsepara t ion rates which affected Ranger I a f t e r i t l e f tAgena B. The sun se ns ors then, working on the valvescontrollirbg the gas j e t s , jockey the spacec ra f t abou t un t i li t s long axis i s pointed a t th e sun.the sun senso r s can ac t i v i a t e the gas j e t va lves . Inorder t o conserve gas, the a t t i tu de con t ro l sys tem permitsa po in t ing e r ro r toward the sun of one degree, o r .5 degreeon each s i d e of dead on.control system i s c a l i b r a t e d t o keep Ranger I slowly swingingthrough t h i s one degree of a rc pointed a t the sun.swing takes approximately 60 minutes.the .5 degree limit on one side, th e sensors signal the

Both the gyros and

The mixing network i n th e a t t i t u d eThisAs Ranger I nears

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gas j e t s and they f i r e again. ibis process i s repeatedhourly through the e f f e c t i v e l i f e of Ranger I , I t i sca lcu la t ed tha t t h e gas j e t s will f ' l r e one tenth of asecond each 60 minutes t o keep the spacec ra f t ' s so l a rpanels aimed a t the sun .Approximately 15 t o 30 minutes w i l l be requi red

i n i t i a l l y t o lock onto the sun.p lace , the four- foot d i r ec t io na l antenna which has beentucked up under the hexagonal bus was moved out to a pre-s e t a n g l e .f r o m t he co n t r o l l e r which in i t i a t e d the sun acqu i s i t i on .While t h i s i s t ak ing

This was accomplished by t h e same commandWhen t h e sun i s acquired within the al lowable er ror ,t h e power system now re co gn iz es that i t i s g e t t in g e l e c t r i cpower from the s o l a r panels through th e conver te r , s o i tswitches off th e large s i l v e r z i nc b a t t e r y and s t a r t s t ou s e t h e e l e c t r i c power from the sun t o feed t he powerdemands of Ranger.supply a minimum of 155 watts and a m r u c im um of 210 watts.

Ranger's power demand peaks a t 150 watts.The s o l a r pane ls are expected t o

After Ranger 1 has been locked onto the sun w i t h i t ss o l a r panels , t he spacec ra f t con t ro l l e r t u rns o f f t h e s ixsun sensors locaked on the under s ides of t h e solar pane ls .Thi s i s done t o prevent t h e p o s s i b i l i t y o f these sun sensorsseeing th e ea rt h and perhaps confusing i t w i t h t h e sun, whichwould cause them t o give commands to t he gyros and gas j e t s .F IF TH COMMAND--This occurs a t 5600 seconds ( 9 0 minutes).I n e f f e ct , t h e spacecra f t cont ro l - le r t e l l s Ranger I , "Okay,you've locked onto the sun, now s t a r t looking f o r t h e ea r thw i t h your d i re c t i on a l an tenna but don ' t lo se your lock on

the sun ." So, keeping i t s long axis r i g i d l y p o in te d a tt h e sun, Ranger s t a r t s looking f o r t h e e a r t h w i t h t h r e eea rt h sen sors , which ar e photo mul t i pl ie r tu bes mountedco-ax ia l ly w i t h t he d i rec t iona l an t enna .then s t a r t s t o roll on i t s long axis, w i t h t h e d i r e c t i o n a lantenna extended a t a pre-calcu la ted angle . During theroll, t h e earth sensors w i l l see the ea r th and inform thegas j e t s . The j e t s w i l l f i r e t o keep the e a r t h i n viewof th e sens ors , and thus lock onto t h e earth. The space-c r a f t now i s s t a b i l i z e d o n tw o axes, t h e s o l a r panel-sunaxis, and th e ea r th -d i rec t iona l an t enna axis. There i ssome danger that the ea r th sensors , du ring t h e i r s t a r c hf o r t he ea r th , may see the moon and lock onto tha t , buttelemetry w i l l infomn e a r t h s t a t i o n s i f tha t error o c c u r s ,and Goldstone has t h e a b i l i t y t o send an override commandt o t h e a t t i t u d e c on tr ol syseem t o tell it t o l ook a g a i n f o rthe ea r th .

The spacecra f t

SIXTH COMMAND--This occurs a t 7100 seconds (118 minutes,20 seconds).t e l eme t ry measurement which informed ear th s t a t i o n s of theT h i s command changes t h e s c a l e f a c t o r of a-8-.. .., - . . . . .. _... _ . . .- - .. . ._____ . ...... . - ..


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wobbling which Range? went through when it was f i r s t separatedfrom Agena B. The wobbling, now under c o n t r o l of t h e l i m i tcycle of the at t i tude control system which keeps the space-c r a f t p oi nt ed a t the sun, i s considerably under t h e l e v e l sf i r s t encountered, s o t h e s c a l e f a c t o r of t h e t e lemet ryof t h i s information i s ad jus ted t o better accommodate t h elower r a t e s .SFVENTH COMMAND--This occu rs a t 12,000 seconds (200I t changes t h e s c a l e f a c t o r i n one of t h e s ixinutes) .i n st r ume nt s c a mle d i n the S t a t e Univers i ty of Iowaradia t ion exper iment .s ix instrum ents more sen si t i ve t o provide a f i n e r measure-ment of' the rad ia t ion levz ls encounte red .

I n e f f e c t , i t makes one of th e

EIGHTH COMP/IAND--This occurs a t 15,000 seconds (250minutes) . I t t r a n s f e r s data being sent from the three-watt t r a n smi t t e r from t h e omni-dtlrectional antenna t othe di r ec t ion a l ante rma, the ixoy g r e a t l y i n c re a s in g t h erange from which t h e infannat ion can be s e n t . The qua r t e r -watt t r an s mi t t e r cont inues t o send t h e same data over th eomni-directional antenna.e a r t h a c q u i s i t i o n i s made, a t the end of th e f i f t h command,and when the directlonaI .antenna.comes intx>play $8a safqtyprecau t ion i n the event t h a t t he spa c e c r a f t had f a i l e dt o a c q ui r e t h e eai-th.

The de lay between the time

NINTH COMMAND--This occurs a t 22,000 seconds (366 minutes,40 seconds) .t h e qua r t e r - w a t t t r a nsmi t t e r has been sending data over theomni-directional antenna. The low power tr an s m it t er nowi s ne a r i t s l i m i t s because of d i s t a nc e , s o the amount ofinformation i t sends i s reduced 'and i t s a b i l i t y t o communicateover longer d i s tance i s improved.

I t c o n s i s t s of a r e duc t ion i n th e ra te a t which

TENTJ3 COMMAND--This occurs a t 22,200 seconds ( 3 70 minutes).This command tu rn s on an eng inee ring experiment t o t r y t odetermine some of t h e k r i c t i o n f o r c e s invo lved i n t h e opera t ionof machinery i n t h e hard vacuum of space.and planetary program, i t w i l l be des i rab le t o land complicatedmechanical instruments, w i t h moving par ts , on the moon andt o have them o p e r a t e i n space. It i s known now t h a t mostmetals moving against other metals i n hard vacuums have atendency t o s t i c k f a s t t oge the r .t o determine t h e e f f e c t of space environment on bearingmaterials, c o n s i s t s of a motor-driven shaft on which aremounted a se r ie s of d iscs of d i f f e r e n t material .a g a i n s t the d i s c s are hemispheres of d i f f e r e n t material,Between the discs and t h e hemispheres, t he re a re 80dif ferent combinat ions of materials.on each hemisphere w i l l te lemeter t o ear th the drag f o r c emeasured between each combination.

Later i n t h e l u n a r

This experiment, designed

Press ingS t r a i n gages mounted

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Ranger I has a passive tempera ture control systemt o i n s u r e t h a t i t s working parts , p a r t i c u l a r l y t h e s e n s i t i v ee le c tr on ic components, ne i t he r f reez e i n t h e coldness o fspace nor melt i n t he f a c e of d i r e c t s u n l ig h t u n f i l t e r e dby earth atmosphere. This i s done by using gold p la t ing ,white paint and polished aluminum on th e spacecraf t t obalance the amount of heat taken i n on th e s i d e of' t hespacecraft fac ing the sun and the amount of hea t r ad ia tedfrom the spacec ra f t on t h e shadow s i d e .

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RANGSR T RACK I NG

The Deep Space Instrumentation Facility (DSIF) consistsof three space communication stations located approximately120 degrees apart around the earth, and a mobile stationwhich can be located t o suit the purpose of a particularmission.California; Woomera, Australia; and near Johannesburg,South Africa.The three permanent stations are Goldstone,

The DSIF is under the technical direction of theCalifornia Institute of Technology Jet Propulsion Laboratoryf o r the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.Eberhardt Rechtin is JPL's DSIF Program Director.In the lunar and planetary programs, the mission ofthe DSIF is to track, receive telemetry from and sendcommands to spacecraft from the time they are injectedinto orbits until they finish their missions.

apart around the earth, the three stations can provide360 degree coverage around the earth so that one of thethree always will be able to communicate with a distantspacecraft.

Dr.

Since they are located approximately 120 degrees

In the case of Ranger, the mobile station, under acrew headed by Earl Martin of JPL, will locate its 10-foot-in-diameter tracking station at a position approx-imately one mile east of the DSIF station near Johannesburg.The mobile station will be used in that locationbecause it has the advantage of having a 10-degree beamwidth--ten times as wide as the 85-foot-in-diameter dish--and it can track at a rate of 10 degrees per second, alsoten times as fast as the b i g dishes. On the other hand,since its antenna is not so large as the big dishes, itcannot match the big dishes in range and consequently Willbe used only in the initial part of the flight.Based on nominal performance and a nominal trajectory,the initial Ranger acquisition and l o s s times for eachDSIF station are:Mobile S t a t i o n , South Africa--Acquires 5 minutes

after injection,h o l d s for 13 hours.DSIF, Johannesburg--Acquires10 minutes after injection,holds f o r 13 hours.

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DSIF, Woomera--Acquires 25 minutes after injection,holds for 6.5 hoursDSIF, Goldstone--Acquires 12 hours after injection,holds for 11 hours.The Goldstone DSIF station, located 50 miles north of

Barstow in the Mohave Desert, is regarded as the researchand development center of the DSIFJ in that pioneeringtechniques and hardware are tested and proved out atGoldstone for the benefit of the other two stations.Goldstone is equipped with two 85-foot-in-diameterantennas, one for receiving p d one for transmitting.The two antennas are seven air miles apart, separated bya ridge of hills to minimize the possibility of interferencebetween the two.Goldstone is operated for JPL by the Bendix RadioCorporation. JPL's engineer in charge is Walter Larkin.The Australian DSIF is 15 miles f r o m Woomera Villagein South Australia. It consists o f an 85-foot-in-diameterreceiving antenna and supporting equipment and buildings.The Woomera station is operated by the Australian Departmentof Supply, Weapons Research Establishment, Dr. Frank Woodrepresents the WR E . JPL's resident engineer is RichardFahnestock.The South African station, like the Island Lagoonstation, consists of an 85-foot-in-diameter receivingantenna and supporting equipment and buildings and islocated in a bowl-shaped valley approximately 40 milesnorthwest of Johannesburg. The South African stationis operated by the South African government through theNational Institute for Telecommunications Research,Dr. Frank Hewitt, director. NITR is a division of theCouncil f o r Scientific and Industrial Research. JPL'sresident engineer is Paul Jones.

4

The two overseas stations and Goldstone are equippedwith a communications network which allows trackingand telemetry information to be sent to the JPL CommunicationCenter in Pasadena f o r processing by JPL's IBM 7090 computer.


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RANGE3 I SPACECRAFT SUBCONTRACTORS AND SUPPLIESRanger i s par t o f t h e National Aeronautics and SpaceAdministrat i on ' s luna r exp lora t ion program. The JetPropuls ion Laboratory, operated f o r NASA by Caltech,deslgned t h e Ranger spacecraft and is responsible f o r

i n t e g r a t i o n of experiments aboard Ranger. Eighteensubcontrac tors t o JPL provided instruments and hardwareused on t h e Ranger I spacec ra f t . They a re :American PIissile, 15233 Grevillea Avenue, Lawndale,C a l i f . , te lemetry encoders, power switching and logicassembly; Applied Physics, 2724 S. Peck Road, Monrovia,C a l i f . , dynamic capacitor; Consolidated Systems, 1500S. Shamrock Avenue, Monrovia, Ca l i f . , Lyman Alpha telescope;Hoffman Electronics Corporation, 1001 N. Arden Drive, E lMonte, C a l i f . , s o l a r ce l l s ; Horkey-Moore, 24660 S. CrenshawBoulevard, Torrance, C a l i f . , spacecraf t system t e s t stand;I n t e r n a t i o n a l Telegraph and Telephone, 15191 Bledsoe S t r e e t ,

San Fernando, C a l i f . , s t a t i c power conv erte r modules; Leach,18435 Susana Road, Compton, Ca l i f . , telemetry checkout;Lockheed A ir cr af t Corporation, Mi ss fle and Space Div isi on,7701 izloodley Avenue, Van Nuys, C a l i f . , p r o t o t y p e s t e r i l i z a t i o nC a r t ; Motorola, Inc., 8201 East MacDowell Road, Scottsdale,Ariz. , transponders and radio command program.

Nortronics, Division of Northrop Corporation, 222 N.P r a i r i e Avenue, Hawthorne, C a l i f . , sun and ear th sensors;Radiaphone, 600 E a s t EvergFeen Avenue, Monrovia C a l i f . ,sc ie n t i f i c in s tmments , ground s uppor t equipment; RadiationInstrument Development Laboratory, 61 E a s t North Avenue,Nor th lake , I l l . , 32 channel puls e heigh t ana lyzers , groundsupport equipment and decoders, power supplies; Servomechanisms,I n c . , 12500 Avia tion Boulevard, Hawthorne, Ca l i f . , e l e c t r o -ga ti ng system; Space Technology Labor ator ies , 5730 ArborV i t a e , Los Angeles, C a l i f ' . , sc ie n t i f i c in st ruments , enginee r ingserv ices ; Spect ro lab , Inc", 1921 Sherman Way, North Hollywood,C a l i f . , Lyman Alpha mir ror ; St a te Univers i ty of Iowa, radiat iond e t e c t o r .Texas Instrunerib, Apparatus Division, 6000 LemonAvenue, Dallas, Tex. , ground support equipment, f l i g h tdata encoders; United Electrodynamics, 200 Allendale Road,Pasadena, C a l i f . , pole beacon encoders, f l i g h t f r i c t i o nand ground t e s t se t s .I n a d d i t io n t o t he se subcontrac tors , t he re were 1500i n d u s t r i a l firms who contributed t o t h e Ranger Program. Theco st of the se s up pli es amounted t o $12 mil l ion.

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f . .


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LAUNCH VEHICLE AND PAYLOAD DIMENSIONS

5 feet11 feet

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KEY PERSONNELThe National Aeronautics and Space Administrationprovides overall direction of the Ranger Project fromNASA Headquarters in Washington.The project is managed by the Office of Lunar andPlanetary Programs, which is part of the NASA Officeof Space Flight Programs. Key NASA personnel in theRanger program are :Dr. Abe Silverstein, Director of the Office of SpaceFlight Programs.Edgar M. Cortright, Assistant Director for Lunarand Planetary Programs.Oran W. Nicks, Chief of Flight Systems, Officeof Lunar and Planetary Programs.Benjamin Milwitzky, Head of Lunar Flight Systems.The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.,operated for NASA by the California Institute ofTechnology, is responsible for design and integrationof the spacecraft and its scientific payload, and trackingof the spacecraft. Key JPL personnel are:Clifford I. Cummings, Lunar Program Director.James D. Burke, Ranger Project Manager.Allen E. Wolfe, Ranger Project Engineer.Dr. Nicholas A. Renzetti, Deep Space InstrumentationSystems Manager in the Ranger Program.Milton T. Goldfine is in charge of spacecraft launchoperations, or JPL.John R. Casani, Ranger Systems Design Engineer.(Mrs. Marcia M. Neugebauer, Project Scientist forRangers One and Two.Phillip A . Tardani, Operations Managkr for the DSIF.Marshall S. Johnson, Data Operations and ControlsSystem Manager, is responsible for the Ranger operationafter injection. -END-


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LAUNCH VEHICLE FACT SHEETThe National Aermautics 2nd Space Administration'sRanger I spacecraft will be launched by an Atlas Agena Brocket. This will be NASA's first use of the Atlas Agena B,a new combination of two proven rockets which have figured

prominently in earlier space exploration.The rocket is procured from industry by the NASA MarshallSpace Flight Center through the Air Force Space SystemsDi is on.This unique relationship is spelled out in a NASA/USAFagreement which provides that the Air Force will furnish NASAa number of vehicles consisting of modified Atlas and Thorboosters with modified Agena B's serving as second stages.The Agena was developed for the Air Force Discoverersatellite program, in which it has achieved a significantreliability record. (The agreement between NASA and the Air

Force says that "In order to take advantage of the existingU S A F capability and procedures, the NASA is implementing theAgena program through established USAF ... channels.)Major contractors involved in the vehicle operation areLockheed Missile and Space Division and General Dynamics-Astronautics. The launching at Cape Canaveral will beconducted by these companies and the Air Force under thedirection of the Marshall Center's Launch OperationsDirectorate.

Launch Vehicle Flight PlanThe Atlas/Agena vehicle carrying Ranger I will lift o f fPad 12 at Cape Canaveral. executing a programmed roll andpitch maneuver to achieve a laurich azimuth of 108 degreeswhich will carry it acrass the Sou'ch Atlantic near AscensionIsland, the southern portion of South Africa and the IndianOcean.All engines of the Atlas -- booster, sustainer andvernier -- are burni2g at liftoff. The booster is programmedto burn approximately 2-1/2 minutes; the sustainer about4-1/2 minutes and the verniers about 5 minutes.burnout the vehicle should be about 80 miles high and some

350 miles down the Atlantic, Missile Range,At Atlas

Prior to sustainer cutoff the Atlas ground guidancecomputer determines the velocity when vernier cutoff occursand coast begins. Acting on this data the computerestablishes the time when a signal ta the Atlas airborne- 16 -


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guidance system s t a r t s a t imer aboard the Agena. T h i s t imerand an au x il ia ry t im er i n th e Agena c on tro l th e sequence ofevents which occur a f t e r s epara t io n from t he Atlas.When ve rn ier cutoff occurs, th e e n t ir e vehicle goes i n t oa coast phase of about 25 seconds. F i r s t the shroudprotect ing the Ranger spacecraft during i t s exi t through theearth 's a tmosphere i s separa ted by a s e r i e s of springs. Nextsmall explosive charges release the Agena carrying t h e space-c r a f t from the Atlas. Retro-rockets on the boos te r f i r e ,slowing i t s upward f l i g h t and allowing the Agena t o s e pa ra t e ,Then the Agena pneumatic control system begins a pitch maneuvert o o r i e n t t h e ve hi c le i n t o a n a t t i t ud e ho r i zon t a l t o t he e a r t h .T h i s p i t c h maneuver i s programmed t o be completed beforet he t i m er s i gna l s i g n i t i on of t h e Agena engine.A t engine s t a r t the hydraul ic control system takes overkeeping the vehicle hol-izontal during the approximately 2-1/2

minutes the engine i s operat in g. The inf ra -r ed horizonsensing device sends minute co rr ect io ns t o the control system.I f a l l events have gone as programed, a t Agena enginecutoff t h e vehicle and i t s Ranger payload w i l l be i n a nearc i r cu l a r o r b i t a round the ea r t h a t a n a l t i t ude of about 100 mi les ,T h i s f i r s t o r b i t i s ca l l ed a "parking orbi t . "The Agena now co as ts i n i t s parking o rb i t f o r approximately1 4 minutes. The pneumatic control system t ak es over main-t a i n i ng t h e ve hi c le i n t he pr cper a t t i t ud e w i t h re spec t t ot h e ea- th. A t t he proper i ns t an t t h e t imer aga in s igna lst . -&eAgena engine t o begin operat ion. T h i s second burn i s

yrogrammed for approximately 1-1/2 minutes.Approximately 2-1/2 rrinutes a f t e r final engine shutdownthe Ranger spacecraft i s separated from the Agena by springs.T h i s occurs about, 25 minutes a f t e r l i f t o f f . The pneumaticco nt ro l system i n th e Agena now begins a maneuver turningt h e vehic le 180 degrees o n i t s yaw a x i s s o t h a t i t i st r a ve l i ng t a i l f i r s t .sepa ra t ion a re t ro - rocke t cn t h e Agena f i r e s providing re t r ot h r u s t to s l o w t h e Agena. ( I n l a t e r Ranger launch es when th et r a j e c t o r y i s i n t h e d i r e c t io n of t h e moon t h i s maneuver w i l lprevent the Agena stage frm mpacting on t h e moon.)

About 6-1/2 minutes a f t e r Ranger

At separation f rom $he A ena t h e Ranger spacecraftshould be t ravel ing about 23, flGO miles per hour. Thisve loc i ty w i l l place i t i n a n ig h ly e c c e nt r i c e a r t h o r b i tw i t h an apogee of 685,000 mi les , a per igee of 37,500 milesand an o r b i t a l per iod o f 58 days .= 17 -


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The operation of the Agena second burn will be monitoredby an Amy missile tracking ship, the American Mariner, whichservice will be provided to the Marshall Center by the ArmyOrdnance Missile Command. The ship will be located nearAscensi31.i Island, where the Agena's second burn period willoccur. In this initial Ranger launching, the trackingcould be accomplished at the Atlantic Missile Range station atAscension. This, however, will provide a "drill" for the shipin preparation for later launchings in which the rocket'spath will be out of range of the AMR station.

Atlas "D" Space BoostersPROPULSION: Cluster of three rocket engines; two boosters,m e sustainer; using liquid propellants.SPEED: Approximately 12,000 statute miles per hour f o r themission.THRUST: Total nominal thrust at sea level more than 360,000 lbs,SIZE:m e t ide across flared engine nacelles. 10 feet wide acrosstank section.

Approximately 78 feet high including adapter f o r Agena;

WEIGHT: Approximately 260,000 lbs. at moment of launch, fullyloaded with propellants - liquid oxygen and RP-1 and adaptersections -- approximately 15,800 i mG U T 9 n ' T Z 3 :.- .--I___ Radio Command guidance. Airborne elements sensehmputer determines corrections necessary and transmitsinformation to airborne unit which signals control system.Control accomplished through engine gimballing and engineb ~ ~ r n i r ~ gime

' -fty and vector transmitting this data to ground computer.

CONTRACTORS: Airframe and assembly - Convair Astronautics;propulsion - Racketdyne Division of North American Aviation;Radio command guidance - Defense Systems Division of GeneralElectric Company; Ground guidance computer - BurroughsCorporation.,Agena "B" Second Stage

PROPULSION: Single rocket engine using liquid propellants -inhi-bited ed fuming hitric acid (IRFNA) and unsym,eS,-fL;ddimethylhydrazine (UDMH].- 18 -


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THRUST: l5,OOO pounds a t a l t i t u d e .SIZE: Approximately 22 f e e t long inc luding adapter t o acceptRanger I .boos tevl 8 f e e t of Agena f i t in to adap te r a top the AtlasWEIGHT: Approximately 15,000 pounds including adapter toaccept Ranger I .--AYLOAD: Ranger I and shroud weighing approximately 790 pounds.CONTROL SYSTEMS: Pneumatic us in g high pr essure gas meteredthrough ex te rn al j e t s fo r use during coast phases. Hydraulicthrough gimballing roc ket engine during powered po rt io ns off l i g h t . 3 0 t h a r e f ed by a programmer initiated by ai rbornet imer s, Corrections ar e provided by the airborne guidancesystem.GUIDANCE: Agena guidance i s not dependent on ground-spacer a d i o l i n k s . The guidance system which i s made up of timingdevices, an i n e r t i a l r e fe rence p la tform, a ve loc i ty meter andan infra-red horizon sensing device, i s e n t i r e l y s e l f- c o nt a i ne d .F i n a l data on the ve loc i ty of the launch vehicle i s computedby the Atlas ground guidance computer prior to separa t ion oft h e Agena. Signals t o s t a r t the t imers i n the Agena ar e s en tt o t h e Atlas via rad io and ar e t ransm it ted by "hard wire" tot h e Agena be fo re st a gi ng occur s. Commands t o ig n i t e t h e Agenarocke t engine a r e in i t i a t e d by the r e spec t ive t imer f o r firstand second burn. The vel oc it y meter (an accelerometer de vice)in i t ia tes engine shutdown s ignals as necessary t o achievethe des i red te rminal ve l oc i ty . The inf ra- red hor izon sensor"L3oks" f o r the horizon and sends correct ions t o t h e con t ro lk;ystem. The i n e r t i a l re fe re nc e platfo rm keeps t h e vehic les t a b l e i n a l l three axes sending the necessary pi tch, yawand r o l l c o r r e c t i o n s t o the contro l sys tem.C-ONTRACTORS: Lockheed M iss i le and Space Co., prime contractor ;B e l l Aerospace Co., en gi ne ,

Key Management PersonnelAgena B d i r e c t i o n a t NASA Headquarters i s provided bythe Off ice of Launch Ve hicle Programs. The Agena programmanager i s Dick Forsythe , who r e c e n t l y re pl ac ed Commander

A . J. Kelley.The f i e l d in s ta l la t i on charged with managing the vehi cleprogram i s the NASA Marshall Space F l i g h t Center. HansHueter heads t he Ce nt er 's Light and Medium Vehi cles Of fi ce .Fr iedr ich Duerr i s the Agena systems manager.

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Major John 0 . Albert is the d i r e c t o r a f t he NASA Agena Bprogram for t h e AF Space Systems Divislon, ass is ted byMajor Charles A . Wurster.Harold T. Luskins is the Lockheed Missile and Space Co.manager of NASA-programs,Charles Cope of' th e NASA LOD performs l i a i s o n betweenHuntsvill e- and Canaveral, w i t h r e s pe c t t o launch a c t l v i t i e s .

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RANGER ONE SCIENTIFIC EXPERIMENTSRanger One represents the latest and most advanced stepin the effort to explore nearby and interplanetary space. Theimportance and necessity for this exploration--learning moreabout partic'les and fields--was recognized at the outset of the

National Aeronautics and Space Administration's program.States scientists have learned much from earlier space flights.UnitedThere are eight scientific experiments on Ranger I. Theyrepresent the work of scientists and engineers at seven insti-tutions: the California Institute of Technology, Goddard SpaceFlight Center, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Los Alamos ScientificLaboratory, Naval Research Laboratory, State University of Iowa,and the University of Chicago. Scientific aspects of the instru-ment system were the responsibility of Mrs. Marcia Neugebauerof J P L , project scientist; and Raymond L. Heacock of JPL, projectengineer, was responsible for system engineering of the scientificinstruments.Most of the experiments examine the charged particles inspace outside the earth's atmosphere. These are protons, thenuclei of hydrogen atoms which continually fly out from the sun,and the very fast cosmic rays which stream across our solarsystem from unknown sources. Since such particles are electri-cally charged, their flight is strongly affected by the magneticfields in space. At the same time they create additional magneticfields as they move through space. Thus the accurate measure-ment of the strength and direction of the interplanetary magneticfield is a second vital objective of the scientific program ofRanger I.Mos t of the particles which Ranger I will observe comeoriginally from the sun. The magnetic field which Ranger Iwill measure originates primarily in the sun from which it isto some unknown extent transported and warped by the streamsof particles. But neither the streams of particles nor theinterplanetary magnetic field can be directly observed on thesurface of the earth, or even from a point several hundredmiles above the earth's surface. Not only does the atmosphereo f the earth shield us from almost all of the relatively slow-moving particles that come f rom the sun, but also the magneticfield of the earth deflects the motion of the particles andoverrides the comparatively weak magnetic field of space.

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._._ _I_._ .. . .- . - . ..-.I...,..- I . ~. , . _I . . .. . ... .- . ... .... -.-_- -.


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I n s p i t e of t h e sh i el d in g , a c t i v i t i e s on t h e s u r r a c e oft h e sun have very important consequences on t h e su r face of t h ee a r t h . For example, magnetic storms on the ea r t h which i n t e r -f e r e w i t h radio t ransmiss ion appear t o b e di rec t ly caused bydi stu rb an ces on the sun, and even th e aur or a bc?.realis--thenorthern l ights--seem t o r e s u l t from solar a c t i v i t y .t he ea r th ' s wea the r i s con t ro l l ed by t h e sun, and changes i nweather may result f rom Varia t ions i n S o la r a c t i v i t y ,happenings on t h e sun , However, ou r pr es en t und erst and ing ofs o l a r behavior i s l i m i t ed i n t h a t w e cannot really determinethe mechanisms which r e l a te some s o l a r phenomena t o t h e phenomenaw e observe here on t h e ear th . The sc i e n t i s 6 a making measurementson the Ranger L spacecraft hope these observat ions w i l l add t oc i r knowledge of t h e sun and i t s r e l a t i o n to t h e e a r t h .

Of course,

Many happenings on e a r t h may be connected d i r e c t l y t o

Not only w i l l the particles which stream outward from t h esun be counted, and th e magnetic f i e l d s which they ca rr y withthem t h a t c o n t r o l t h e i r f l i g h t b e observed, bu t a l s o some oft h e x-rays produced by t h e sun w i l l be de tec ted .

One ef f e c t which w e suspect t h e sun has on the ear th i s t heproduction of a vast c loud of n eu tr al hydrogen gas surroundingt h e ear th l i k e a super atmosphere. This cloud i s ve ry d i f fuseand i t s o v e r a l l s i z e and shape cannot b e easily determined bymaking measurements actually within the cloud i t s e l f . Thus, whenth e spacec ra f t i s many thousands of miles away from the ear th ,a spec ia l t e l e scope w i l l look back t o s c a n t h e e a r t h i n apa r t i cu l a r r eg ion o f t h e f a r ul t raviole t spectrum which conta inst h a t c o l o r of sun l igh t s trong ly sca t t e re d by ne ut ra l hydrogen? a s A crude p ic t ur e of the e a r th and t h e space around i t w i l lwv ca l t he presence of t h i s gas and th e e xt en t t o which i t i sbompacted or diffused.

S t i l l ano the r experiment on t h e Ranger w i l l d e t e c t t i n ydust p a r t i c l e s t h a t f l y through space. T h i s measurement i salso connected t o the behavior of t h e sun, f o r t h e s u n l i g h t a c t st o push away very t in y pa rt ic le s i n the sme way t h a t i t pushesaway the t a i l o f a comet. Sc ie nt is ts today bel ieve t h a t t h esun and a l l of t h e planets which move around it accumulatedfrom a gig ant i c cloud of d us t pa r t ic le s . The or i g in of t he sed us t p a r t i c l e s i s s t i l l not known, n or i s i t known whether todaythe solar system i s sweeping up more and more of t he se dus tp a r t i c l e s from space, whether dust p ar t i c l es are being l e f tbehind by comets passing close t o the sun, o r whether thep a r t i c l e s t h a t remain are simply t h e d e b r i s of t h e a n c i e n ts o l a r system formation process. By measuring th e i r s i z e , t h e i renergy, and t h e i r d i r e c t i o n of f l i g h t we hope t o ga in moreknowledge about the se t in y p ar ti c le s whichunderneath t h e blanke t of our atmosphere.

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SOLAR CORPUSCULAR RADIATION EXPERIMENTThis experiment is under the responsibility of Mrs. Marcia

Its purpose is to deter-Neugebauer and Dr. Conway W. Snyder, California Institute ofTechnology Jet Propulsion Laboratory.mine the flow and movement of interplanetary plasma (clouds ofcharged particles) by observing the density and direction ofmotion of drifting plasma clouds and also by measuring theenergies of the particles which make up these clouds.simply the continuation of the sun's atmosphere into the spacebetween the planets. This atmosphere, or corona, consistsmostly of protons and electrons. The cloud is so diffuse thatordinary pressure and temperature measurements cannot be made.Some theories suggest that the interplanetary plasma is arelatively stationary cloud of gas surrounding the sun.the other hand, other scientests believe that a solar windconstantly streams away from the sun. This solar wind consistsof ionized atoms of gas (primarily hydrogen) which move withvelocities of several hundred to a thousand miles a second.

Many scientists consider this interplanetary plasma as

On

All descriptions of the interplanetary plasma picture itas being disturbed by outbursts of solar activity--solar flaresor magnetic storms on the surface of the sun. At such times,the density, the speed of flow, and the temperature of the inter-planetary plasma probably all change.Most particle detectors are enclosed in shields or tubeswhich would keep out the very low energy particles expected toexist in interplanetary plasma. The electrostatic analyzers

carried on board the Ranger, however, are open to space, andcan collect and measure the lowest energy particles, Six suchdetectors are carried pointing in six different directions.(If you were standing on the Ranger,you would find one pointingabove you, one below, one to the front, one behind, and one tothe right and one t o the left.)As a charged particle enters the analyzer, it finds itselfin a curving tunnel. The two sides of this tunnel are metalplates carrying static electric charges, one negative, the otherpositive.repelled by the other, and so follows a curved path down thecurved tunnel.

runs into ane wall o r t h e o t h e r .the right speed, it makes its way all the way to the end and isthere detected by a particle counter. Thus, a l l the particlesmoving in *ha right direction t o enter the tunnel and moving withthe right speed to get all the way through will be detected.

The charged particle is attracted by one plate andIf it is moving t o o slowly or too rapidly, it

But if it is moving a t j u s t

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Automatically, at fixed intemals, the amount of the stagiccharge on the metal side plates is changed, so that a differentrange of energy is required for the particles to get through.Twelve such voltage steps are included in a cycle through theanalysis process. As a result, a spectrum of particle energiesis obtained which shows the number and the direction of f low ofprotons and electrons in the solar plasma whose energies arecharacteristic of the suspected solar wind.outward from the sun as 8 solar wind, or wandering at random.through a comparatively stationary plasma cloud, the m o s t f'unda-mental measurement is a comparison of measurements taken lookingtoward the sun and looking directly away from the sun. The pairof analyzers which makes these two measurements is positioned ona boom located several feet out from the body of the spacecraft.This removes these analyzers from the effects of any sheath ofcharged particles, or "atmosphere," which the Ranger may accumu-late about itself as it moves through the interplanetary plasma.

In order to determine whether the particles are streaming

In cycling through its voltage sequence, each analyzerwill observe four energy ranges of electrons between 13.7 and110 electron volts and eight energy ranges of protons between13.7 and 5500 electron volts.The s i x units in this experiment have a total weight of33 pounds and a power requirement of 2.74 watts. C. S. Josiasand J. I;. Lawrence of JPL performed the engineering design ofthis experiment.

MEDIUM-ENERGY-RANGE PARTICLE DETECTORSSix medium-energy-range particle detectors will observe

charged particles in an energy range which overl.aps the,l.owerenergy rarige of:'bhe sol&@ ~ c ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ c~ecpe~,il-1 'menb and winch extends upward toward the high energies of' thefast moving cosmic rays.Four of these units a r e cadmium sulfide detectors--solidstate semi-conductor devices which change their electricalresistance in proportion to the rate at which they are beingbombarded by charged particles. As in the case of the solarcorpuscular radiation detectors, these instruments are notcovered by any protective tube or case. Thus, particles ofvery low energy can be de$ected. Protons and electrons withenergies greater than 100 electron volts will, upon striking

the cadmium su l f i d e detectors, produce a measureable changein resistance. Sunlight also produces such a change, so thedetectors are placed behind a series of light baffles designedto protect them against the aocidental illumination by reflectedsunlight. -24-


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One of these detectors includes a small magnet, An elec-tron with energy below 400,000 electron volts moving toward thedetector would be swept aside by this magnet and thus not becounted, whereas the much heavier protons will proceed nearlystraight on. The other three detectors contain no suchmagnets and will consequently count both electrons and protons.One of these detectors has an automatic aperature adjustmentwhich cuts out most of the particles while the Ranger ispassing through the Earth's radiation belts.measurements within the very hugh flux of particles found in theradiation belts with the same detector used to count the verysmall number of particles in interplanetary space. The fourcounters are arranged in pairs and point in two differenbdirections--all at about 45 degrees to the direction of the sun.

This experiment was developed by the Department of Physicsand Astronomy, State University of Iowa, under the direction ofP-rofessor James-A. Van Allen. Professor Van Allen's group alsodeveloped another experiment employing a Geiger-Mueller counters-imilar to those with which Professor Van Allen discovered theexistence of the vast belts of radiation around the earth,the Van Allen Belts. This Geiger-Mueller tube will count allprotow.which strike it with energies above 5OO,OOO electronvolts, and all electrons which strike it with energies above35,000-electron olts.20,000 particles per second.

This permits

It can accurately count as many asDrs. C. Y. Fan, P. Meyer, and J. A. Simpson of the Cosmic-Ray Group at the University of Chicago are bupplying an experi-ment -which also uses a solid-state detector for observingcharged particles. The debector consists of two thin discs o fsilicon coated with gold and then placedom behind the other.A proton with an energy greater than one-half million electron

volts will enter the first disc and produce a shower of ionsof sufficient number for the electronic circuits to registera cpunt. If the proton has an energy less than five millionelectron volts, it will not be able to get all the waythrough- he first disc.five million electron volts will penetrate into bhe seconddisc and cause another shower of ions and a pulse from thesecond disc. The electronic circuits can determine whetherpulses come from both discs or ;just the front One, and thusdetermine whether the particle entering the first disc had anenergy less than or greater than five lhillion volts.

Particles with energies greater than

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If the energy is greater than ten million electron volts, itwill proseed so rapidly through the first disc that theresulting s-hower of ions will be t o o weak t o record as a count.Thus ten million electron volts is the upper energy limit of -the counter. Coincidental counts on both discs will indicatethat the entering particle had an energy between five and tenmillion electron volts.

This detector has the advantage of being sensitive only toparticles coming from one hemisphere in space.further advantage of being completely insensitive to electronsand x-rays, so it will count only the nuclei of atoms--principally protons, the nuclei of hydrogen atoms.The total of six medium-energy-range particle detectorsweigh 3.8 pounds and consumes approximately 0.16 watts of power.J. Denton Allen and Dr. Conway Snyder provided JPL's engineer-ing and scientific support f o r this experiment.

It has the

COSMIC-RAY IONIZATION RATE MEASUREMENTPrimary cosmic radiation and other ionizing radiation inthe space beyond the earth's atmosphere will be measured bya quartz-fiber, integrating type ionization chamber, invented byDr. H.V. Neher of the California Institute of Technology.The quartz-fiber ionization chamber works in a mannersimilar to the gold leaf electrometers which are found in highschool physics laboratories.

positioned a short distance from a quartz rod inside a hollowmetal shell (the chamber). Initially, both rod and fiber arecharged to the same voltage.wall of the ionizationschamber and shoot across the gas inside,they leave behind a wake of charged particles, - - the moleculesof the filling gas having been split into positive andnegative parts.quartz rod and build upon it a static charge, which attractsthe fiber. When enough ions have been produced and havedrifted to the rod and enough charge is built up, the fiberis pulled close enough to touch the rod.electric pulse which is amplified and sent out over theRanger data telemetry system, and at the same time dischargesthe rod, returning the instrument t o i t s starting position.The time interval between successive pulses of this typeindicate the rate at which cosmic rays are penetrating the wallof the ion chamber. Protons which penetrate the walls of thechamber must have an energy of at least ten million electronvolts.

In the Ranger ionization chamber, a quartz-fiber isAs cosmic rays penetrate the

Negative ions and electrons drift toward the

This produces an,

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Storms on the surface of the sun are known to produce manyhighly energetic particles which will be hazardous to men inspace. The importance of the ionization chamber lies in itsability t o measure this- otentially dangerous radiation, andalso in the fact that it is being used as an absolutestandard for all radiation measurements. Chambers of thesame design have been flown on balloons for several years inthe study of cbsmic rays. Measurements made with these chamberscan be compared with each other from year to year, with completereliance on the uniform and consistent characteristics of themeasuring instrument. Thus, measurements made with such achamber can be used to connect the measurements of many of theparticle counters on the Ranger with many of the cosmic raymeasurements which have been made here on earth over the lastseveral decades.

The complete experiment, in which Drs. H.R. Anderson andW.S. McDonald of JPL participated with Professor Neher, weights1.3 pounds and requires about 0.01 watts for operation.TRIPLE - COINCIDENCE COSMIC-RAY EXPERIMENTHigh energy radiation in interplanetary space will be mea-sured by an experiment developed by three scientists of theUniversity of Chicago, Drs. C.Y. Fan, P. Meyer and J.A. Simpson.This instrument is composed of two triple-conincidence telescopeseach of which has seven proportional-counter tubes arranged inthe same manner as in units successfully flown on the ExplorerVI satellite and Pioneer V space probe. They are cylindricalbundles, with six tubes on the perimeter and the seventh inthe center.

These two cylindrical bundles lie on their side projectingthrough the top of one of the equipment boxes in the hexagonalbase of Ranger I. In each bundle, the counting tubes areconnected in three separate groups: the first group consistsof the outer three tubes which are exposed to the space outsidethe equipment box. The second "group" ds the single tube inthe center of bundle, and the third group consists of thethree tubes which lie on the bottom of the bundle and actuallyproject into the equipment box in which the instrument ismounted. As a charged particle comes through the bundle oftubes, the electronic circuits determine which of'the groupsthe particle has penetrated. When a pulse is received fromall three groups at the same time--a triple-coincidence--this indicates that the particle responsible was undoubtedlya high energy particle rather than an x-ray o r a low energyparticle. Operating in the triple coincidence mode theinstkument discrimmates strongly against x-rays.

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Such "triple-coincidence events" are telemetered back toearth by the Ranger I data telemetry system, together with singlecounts from the center tube. A single count from the center tubewill, five tM e s out of a hundred, be caused by an x-ray ratherthan a high energy charged particle (assuming both have the samechance of entering the center tube.) By comparison of thesingle count data and the triple coincidence data, thescientists responsible for the experiment can then determine howmany of the counts were due to x-rays and how many were due toprotons or other high energy charged particles.The two bundles of counters differ from each other in theamount of shielding placed around them. One bundle is coveredwith a shell of lead which keeps out all protons with energiesl e s s than 75 million electron volts and all electrons withenergies less than 13 million electron v o l t s . The other bundlehas a lead shield only around its lower half, the half thatprojects into the equipment box. Protons of greater than 10million electron volts and electrons with energies greaterthan -$ million electron volts are permitted to enter thebundle from the unshielded upper half.The location of the bundles is such that particles comingdirectly from the sun can penetrate and be counted without havingt o go through any pmtion of the spacecraft before reaching thecounters.The energy range of particles detected by the half-shieldedbundle is similar to the energy range of particles which willbe detected by the quartz-fiber ionization chamber. A comparisonof the readings of these two instruments--the average ionization;*ate from the quartz-fiber chamber, and the individual particleimpact rate from the triple-coincidence counter--will allowthe scientists to determine the average ionizatim per particle.This in turn will permit them to determine the type and energyof particles detected--protons, alpha particles, or perhapsheavier nuclei or x-rays. It is anticipated that almost allof the particles will be protons, the nuclei of hydrogenatomsThe total weight of this experiment, counters, leadshielding, and the electronic circuits associated with thecounters, is 9 pounds, and the experiment consumes 3 watt ofelectrical power. J. Denton Allen and Marcia Neugebauer

provided Jet Propulsion Laboratory's engineering and scientificsupport for this experiment.

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MAGNETIC FIELD EXPERIMENT,Ranger carries a rubidium vapor magnetometer t omeasure the strength and direction of the magnetic field ininterplanetary space. The nature of' the interplanetary f i e l d

is closely connected to the behavior of charged particleswhich make up the solar plasma,Present-day theories of magnetohydrodynamics--thestudy of the relation between the motion of charged particlesand the magnetic field which surrounds them--say that theplasma which flows away from the sun should drag with it thelocal solar magnetic field, since the motion of chargedparticles not only responds t o but also creates magneticfields. The mathematical description of this interactionbetween the stream o f charged particles leaving the sun andthe magnetic field which surrounds the sun is extremely com-plicated. The theories which have been used to describe these

phenomena are incomplete and often contradictory, In orderto make any headway at all against the mathematical difficulties,scientists are forced to assume various characteristics of theinterplanetary plasma. However, at present, there is no wayof determining whether or not these assumptions are realistic.The results of the Ranger I measurements on themagnetic fields in interplanetary space will be used tocheck the conclusions o f the various theories now existing,and will also be used t o provide a new set o f still more validassumptions f o r the creation of more conclusive theories,Several earth satellite measurements, and measure-nents taken by the probes, Pioneer I, ioneer V, ,and Exr, lorer X havegiven us a few pieces of information about the field at great dis-tances f'roiii clie earth, and information about the nabure ofthe magnetic field in the space between the earth and themoon, It is in this latter region o f space that the inter-planetary field and the earth's magnetic field interact t oform a complicated boundary. Some scientists believe thatthe detailed structure o f this boundary may explain thecreation o f the Van Allen radiation belts. Results fromExplorer VI and Pioneer V suggest that the magnetic fieldin this region may be perturbed by a vast current ringencircling the earth outside of the major radiation belts.

The particles in this current may have been detected bySoviet space probes, Russian scientists have reported suchobservatlons,

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Here on ear th w e can observe changes i n t h e bombardment r a t eof cosmic ra ys -- th e charged p a r t i c l e s which have enough energyt o pene t r a te a l l t h e way through our atmosphere and o ur magneticf i e l d , I n many cases , t he se changes cannot b e asc r ibed t o anychanges in t h e e a r t h ' s own magnetic f i e l d , but may well r e s u l tfrom changes i n the in te rp lane t a ry f i e ld .Thus i t can be seen t h a t t h e data from the magnetometermeasurement w i l l b e of fundamental importance i n int er pr et in g there su l ts of th e var ious charged pa r t ic le s experiments which arecarried on board Ranger I. The combination of charged p a r t i c l emeasurements and magnetic f i e l d measurements w i l l be of tremendousvalue i n advancing ou r knowledge i n t h e behavior of the sun andi t s effects upon phenomena here on t h e sur face of t h e e a r t h .

The rubidium vapor magnetometer r e l i e s upon fundamentallaws which govern t h e behavior of th e atoms of rubidium ga s i nt h e presence of a magnetic f i e l d . The small c e l l of rubidiumvapor, whose behavior w i l l i n d i c a t e t h e s t r eng th o f th e magneticf i e l d , i s loca ted a t t h e c e n t e r of a hollow i13-inch diameterf i b e r glass sp h e r i c a l s h e l l . Wrapped around t h i s s h e l l a r ec o i l s of wire through which el e c t r i c cu rr en ts of known str en gt hscan b e sen t du r ing t h e measuring sequence. By t h e propersequencing of cur re nt s i n t h e coils both the s t rength and thedi re c t io n of the magnet ic f i e l d i n space can be determined. Th i su n i t i s lo ca te d nea r th e fr on t end of Ranger I as f a r as poss ib lefrom the e l ec t ron ic c i r c u i t r y i n and near t h e hexagonal base.T h i s minimizes t h e e f f e c t of th e magnetic f i e l d s from thespacecraf t and i t s electronic components.

The experiment weighs 5.75 pounds, was developed under the,"irection of D r . J . P . Heppner and J . D . StolarYk of the NationalAeronautics and Space Administration's Goddard Space FlightCenter. The experimental equipment consumes a power of 4 .1watts . Sc ie n t i f ic and engineer ing suppor t f o r t h i s experimenti s provided by D.E. Jones and M . Gumpel of the Je t Propuls ionLaboratory,

SOLAR X-RAY DETECTIONA p a i r o f s c i n t i l l a t i o n co un te rs a re mounted on Rangeras p a r t o f t h e Atomic Energy Cornision's co nt rib ut io n t o theA i r Force ' s V e l a Hotel p ro jec t . T h i s experiment i s suppliedby D r . John A . Northrop of Los Alamos Sc ie n t i f i c Laboratoryin c o n j u n c t i o n with a group a t the Sandia Corporation.

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These scintillation detectors are located about a foot apartwith their sensitive surfaces facing the sun. They are designedto detect bursts of low-energy x-rays originating at the sun.Six opaque windows in front of each scintillation detector areintended to provide the best possible protection against cosmicdust puncture while permitting the passage of x-rays to thedetecting portions of the instruments.It I s well known that the sun is not only a copioussource of' such radiation, but also that it is far from beinga source of constant intensity. This equipment, therefore,is designed to detect extremely short-term variations sothat future instruments sent into space can distinguishbetween man-made nuclear explosions and solar outbursts.The equipment weighs approximately 12 pounds and includesits own power supply, logic, and data handling system. Timerskeep the high voltage removed from the photomultipliers inthe scintillation counters for 8 hours during passage throughthe radiation belts of the earth.

NEUTRAL HYDROGEN GEOCORONAThe design of this experiment is under direction of T. A.Chubb and R. W. Kreplin of the Naval Research Laboratory andH. T. Bull and D. D. LaPorte of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory.It employs a telescope and detector sensitive to the Lyman-alpha region of the spectrum (the color of the neutral atomichydrogen gas) which will scan the region containing th e earth

a f t e r Ranger I has proceeded far into space.Scientists at the Naval Research Laboratory have previouslyobserved the glow of neutral hydrogen gas outside the earth'satmosphere from instruments carried in high altitude soundingrockets. They concluded that this glow resulted from a cloudsurrounding the earth, but the extent and shape of this cloudcould not be determined from these measurements taken fromdeep within it. It is possible that this cloud will have some s o r tof a long tail much like the tail of a comet. The cloud maybe diffuse or relatively compact depending on its temperature.As the telescope is mechanically scanned across the sky,

a detector sensitive to this Lyman-alpha radiation will producean electrical signal proportional t o the amount of Lyman-alphalight which strikes it. The result will be very similar toa crude television picture taken of the earth and itssurroundings in this particular color of l i g h t .proceeds out from the earth, it will take a series of suchpictures, and in each one the earth will occupy a smallerand smaller area.As Ranger I

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There are theories which could account f o r a hydrogen cloudexten6ing far into nearby space. Hydrogen is formed by theaction of sunlight upon water vapor and marsh gas high in theearth's atmosphere at an altitude of approximately 60 miles.The released hydrogen gas then diffuses outward t o f o r m themain constituent of the earth's very high upper atmosphere.In this high altitude region, the neutral hydrogen couldreflect the Lyman-alpha radiation put out by the sun or couldpossibly emit radiation of its own aftir being bombarded byhigh energy radiation from the sun or the earth's radiationbelts. It thus stems likely that we have a glowing coronaround the earth quite analogous t o the corona of the sun.If' the solar wind sweeps out from the sun, as has beenindicated by the shape of the comet tails, then the gas atthe outer edge of the cloud is probabl7 being continuallyswept away from the earth, giving the corona" of the eartha tail like a comet. I f , on the other hand, no such solarwind ex i s t s , the neutral hydrogen may simply merge with themore diffuse gas of interplanetary space.

I

Since the density and behavior of this hydrogen clouddepends on the behavior of the solar plasma and the strengthof solar winds, it is clear that proper interpretation of thedata from the Lyman-alpha telescope will require the data fromthe solar corpuscular radiation measurement as well as themedium energy particle measurements and the magnetometermeasurements. The Lyman-alpha telescope may give observationsof other phenomena such as the aurora borealis (northern lights)occuring during the lifetime of the experiment, o r s t a r s whichshine wlth particular brilliance in this special region of thespectrum and are located in a position where the t.elescope willsee khem in sweeping back and forth across the vicinity oftens earth.

The gimbal-mounted telescope together with its Lyman-alpha detector and the associated electronics weighs 15 poundsand consumes 1.4 watts of electrical power.COSMIC DUST DETECTORS

Impact rate, energy, momentum, and direction of flight ofdust particles in interplanetary space will be measured bya miniature cosmic dust detector designed by a group at NASA'sGoddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland, under thedirection of W. M. Alexander.

Housed in a magnesium container measuring 3" x 6"x 5%",the instrument consists of a light-flash detector sensitivet o minute bursts of light produced by dust particle impacts,and a special microphone attached t o the sensitive exposedsurface.

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The experiment is located on Ranger I so that it will detectparticles moving around the sun in the same direction as theearth and those moving in the opposite (retrograde) directionduring different portions of the flight.Analysis o f the data which results from this experimentshould show both the mass and speed of particles which aredetected as well as their direction of flight. This willgive information as t o whether the measured particles are inorbit around the earth or moving free of the earth in orbitaround the sun. Previous measurements from earth satellitesand sounding rockets have indicated a strong concentrationof dust particles near the earth. Some scientists believethis indicates the presence of a cloud of trapped dust particlesin orbit around the earth. Other scientists feel that theconcentration is due simply t o the earth's gravitational effectupon a swarm of dust particles in motion around the sun.Information on the orbits of these particles and on theirsizes will give scientists a better understanding of the dis-tribution of matter in the solar system. Scientists believethat the sun and the planets were formed by the condensationof a vast cloud of dust particles some five billion years ago.It is possible that the dust particles now existing in thesolar system arc the remnants of this original condensation,o r it is-possible hat they come from the breakup of cometswhich pass near'the sun from a point far outside the farthestplanet. Some have suggested that dust particles from inter-stellar space are constantly sweeping into the region ofthe solar system and being trapped by the interaction ofthe gravitational fields of the sun and planets, thus con-.ributing a steady influx of matter t o the whole solar system.It is not likely that these preliminary measurementsof the dust and interplanetary space carried out aboardRanger I will enable scientists to decide among the variouspossibilities. However, the measurements should givescientists a much better basis for further calculations onthe origin and history of the solar system and material within it.The cosmic dust detectors and their associated electronicsweigh 3.55 pounds and consume 0.20 watts of electrical power.Scientific and engineering support for this experiment is

provided by Marcia Neugebauer and E. S. McMillan of JetPropulsion Laboratory.

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. .- . -- -. -0

:>=F- '7 ,- +- ,.I . . ? ; 7 . II.$ : * ' .x .

NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE A3MENISTRAliCN1 5 2 0 H S T R E E T. N O R T H W E S T . W A S H I N G T O N 2 5 . 5 . C .T E L E P H O N E S : D U D L E Y 2 - 6 3 2 5 * E X E C U T I V E 3-3260

FOR RELEASE: MondayRELEASE NO. 61-160 July 24, 1961

COMMERCIAL SUPERSOITXC TRANSPORT AIRCRAFT REiTORT

Development of a commercial trans ort airplane to flythree times the spzed of sound (mach 3 is feasible, andcould be done by 1970-1971.is a world market f o r upwards of 200 such planes.Supersonic Transport Aircraft Report," issued today by theFederal Aviation Agency, the Department of Defense and thepage report was signed by N. E. Halzby, Administrator of theFAA, James E. Webb, Administrator of the NASA and Robert S.McNamara, Secretary of Defense. A Task Group of the threeagencies prepared the report as a joint review of informationgathered from industrial 2nd governmen$al sources.report will be available in lirnlted numbers, f rom the P A Ain Washington.

The industry estimates thereThese are the major conclusions of a booklet, ? ?Comkrcial

0. National Aeronautics and Space Administration. The 50-

The

The report notes "the B-58 ar,d the 3-70 bomber programsand broad earlier research and experience of supersonicflight from which they evalvec? provide the United Stateswith a unique capability for developing a.supersonictransport". Private industry, the report adds, cannot atpresent finance the job alone but will need Govera-nentassistance. Some recoupntmt of Government funds fromsales is practical.techaical and administrative capabilities of the threeagencies under the overall leadership of the FAA in thestudy phase of the program.

The Governiient can use existing

The principal reasons f o r developing the fast transportare given in the report:leadership and p r e s t i & e of the United States in aviatior,;and benefits ?.n h e airplane's effect or, genera l econordcprogress.the maintenance of the present

0

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The Secretary and the two Administrators agreed oncertain basic principles for the project. They are t h a tthe program is one of Government assistance t o industry;that competition should be used to maximum advalztage; c?L%cCtGovernmmt financial assistance should be provided onlyto the point from which industry can carry on alone; thatthe civil air carriers should participate actively; al-ldthat the maximum feasible recovery of direct Governmentexpenditures should be sought.

0

Research on various parts of the problem alreadyis under way by each of the agencies. The program forresearch in fiscal 1962 deals with the technical a-easrequiring intensified research. The FAA has asked Congressf o r $12,000,000 o r this work in fiscal 1962, not ing t h e tadditional funds will be required next year. The NASA planst o spend about $8.5 million for internal research this year.

Manufacturers estimated their planes would haVe a rangaof about 3500 nautical miles; would weigh approxixately400,000 pounds; would have a wing span of 100 feet andfuselage length of 200 feet; carry from 100 to 150 passsngers;and cruise at around 2,000 miles per hour at 70,000 f e e taltitude.

Aviation industry representatives believe t h a t a ?ZWengine for the plane must be developed, the report s t r $ 2 s .The greatest power need will be at altitudes over 40,000feet where the plane accelerates from subsonic into thesupersonic speeds. Present engines are not consideredsuitable for the supersonic transport, and there is virtuallyunanimous preference by the manufacturers for some f o m ofturbofan engine.A wing design will require considerable research tobe efficient at both low and high speeds. One idea isfor a wing that can be mechanically swept back t o a-"delta"shape .when the plane enters its high speed range. Researchprograms have been established t o study fuselage and wizgs'cructu'ral aterial that will withstand the thermal coizditionsof Mach 3 flight.A "primary operati,onal roblem" is the sonic boom, t h ereport says. Nasa 8s now organizing a research prograin toobtain.detailed information on sanic'booms under Variousoperational conditions. At subsonic speeds, the new plane

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Manufacturers est imated production models o r t i ict ransport should cos t between $12.6 and $20 m i l l i o n each.There are widely varying e st im ate s, however, of the possiblemarket in the Free World a t the time when the new j e t s wouldbe ava i l ab . l e . The t s t imates ranged f r o m 75 t o 4.50 a i r c r a f tfor th e 1968-1975 er iod.Administrator Halaby sa id :aviation i s our business.In dilscussing

the t r i - ag en cy co o p e ra t i v e e f fo r t FAA"Progress with sa fet y andI1

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ranger i press kit

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