vanguard 3 press kit

8/8/2019 Vanguard 3 Press Kit

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NAYIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION

WASHINGTON 25 . D. C.

H ~ l d or ReleaseUnt $1 Launched

No. 19-59

SATELLITE DESCRIPTIONA N D

EXPERIMENTS

With t h e f i r i n g 95 Vangcaard S a t e l l i t e Launching Veh icle t h e

l a s t i n t h e VmgJard s e r i e s 9 t h e U. S. w i l l a t te m p t t o pu t i n t o

o r b i t an i n s t r - m s n t p?ckage t o measure t h e e a r t h ' s m a g n e t i c f e l d ,

m l a r X-rays, a_~?d pace e n v i r c m e n t a l c o n d i t i o n s . The ins t rumented

payload weighs 5C ; Y X C . ~ Y, T3t;al weight i n o r b i t , i n c l u di n g tin?

a t t a c h e d thir2-stage Casi_aZg, w i l l be about 100 pounds.The s a t e l l i t e 4s made o f magnesium an d f i b e r g l a s s , a n d l o o k s

rmzh like E A oTser-sfzei3 i c e cream cone -- a 26-inch tape red tubee x t e ~ d i n g r o m a 2 C - k c % sphe re , The t u b e , f a b r i c a t e d of g l a s s

Pfbsrs and phenoiic v"e?sizs a?r,d ra,nging i n d iame te r from 6 t o 2$

Lcches, c s n t a f a s if? 5 - b ~ 2 p a magcetometer t o measure t h e e a r $ h P s

magnetic f i e l f i ? , T?.e f c r w a r 2 s e c t i o n o f t h e s p h e r e f r o m which t h e

t u b s extende as a l m maair ~8 i b ep g l a s s . The r ema in ing th re e - qc a r t e r s

of the s2kerE: i s magr-52:sI~&m,

The szzellite!s kat.t.ery of 62 small s i l v er - z i n c c e l l s h as an

es t%mat%d - i f e X m e sf 90 days,

These a r s th e a p ~ r ~ x f a n a t e eight br3akdoms of' t h e s a t e l l i t e :

s t ruc tu ra l wePgh t ( inc1udf sg a11 of" t h o s e items not immediately

connected with the experiments such 8 8 antennas, internal supp~rts,and I T - s t ~ m e n t s t f c r aekagfng) is 19 pounds ; ba t te ry composed o f


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62 smal l s i l v e r - z i n c c e l l s , 22,5 pounds; and the experiments

themselves fmeludisg associated e l e c t r o n i c s , 8,5 pounds,

Tie Snc l fmi t ion oP t h e s a t e l l i t e ' s o r b i t i s expected t o be

expEoratfcn, mc*6 st;il:aa,-ina detec%i on, undergoes con s tan t changes

F S l a i n g ~ ed s o c k e 2 - S a r ~ e magnetometers proved the exis tenw


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were of a short duration. Day-to-day readings f r o m varying

a l t i t u d e s w i l l pave the way for more wide-scoped s c i e n t i f i c

conclus ions .

Here i s bow t h i s experiment w i l l work:

The magnetometer consis ts o f a copper c o i l f i l l e d w i t h l i q u i d

(hexane) l o c a t e d i n t h e s e a l e d t i p of t he 26- inch t ape re d tube .

Wires connect the c o i l t o t h e e l e c t r o n i c s and b a t t e r i e s of t h e

s a t e l l i t e in t h e 20-inch sp he re . On command f r o m a g r o u n d s t a t i o n ,

a r e l a y c l o s e s which sends 6+ amperes of c u r r e n t t o t h e c o i l for

about two seconds.

E x r g f z i n g t h e c o i l o r i e n t s t h e pro tons (hydrogen atoms) i n

t h e l i c p i d a n d s e t s t h e m s p in n in g w i t h in t h e c o i l i n a p r e s c r i b e d

manner.

A f t e r about two secondss t h e f l ow o f cu r r en t s t o p s . Then --f o r tke m x t two t o two and a half seconds -- t h e p r o t o n s s p i n i na wobbli-ag o r b r t i m i d e t h e c oil. a s d i c t a t e d by t h e e a r t h ' s m agne tic

f i e l d . Th e f requency of t h e i r movement impar ts vo l ta ge t o t h e c o i l .TbEs c y c l i c v c l t a g e t h e n is a m p l i f i e d and t r a n s m i t t e d i n s t a n t a n e o u s l y

to a ground receiver where i t i s taped. Simult aneous ly a ground

magnetometer r e a d k g i s made.

AnalyzirAg t h e s e tw o s i g n a l s s h o ul d t e l l u s much a b ou t t h e

e a r t h ' s magnetic f i e l d .

T h e s a t e l l i t e w i l l be i n t e r r o g a t e d a bo ut 50 t imes a day, o r

about tw ice a t each pass o v e r a t r a c k i n g s t a t i o n . The l e n g t h of

t h e command s i g n a l a n d t h e t e l e r n e t e r e d d a t a w i l l vary accord ing

to a l t i t u d e , battery vo l t age and s a t e l l i t e t empera tu re which may


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vary f r o m -10 o f 50 d e g r e e s C.

w i l l be i n r a ng e of an i n d i v id u a l t r ac k i n g s t a t i o n a t each pass

i s about e i gh t minutes .

The average t i m e t he s a t e l l i t e

The s a t e l l i t e ' s d e si gn and m a t e r i a l s r u l e o ut m e t a l l i c i n t e r -

f e r e n c e w i t h the s e n s i t i v e c o i l . For t h i s r e as o n t h e t a p er e d t u be

and t h e t o p q u a r t e r of t h e s p h e r e were f a b r i c a t e d of f i b e r g l a s s a n d

a s b e s t o s p h e n o l i c r e s i n ,

During sezo_rld s t a g e bur nin g t i m e , t h e p l a s t i c nose cone cove r ing

t h e payload w i l l pop o f f . The s a t e l l i t e ' s f o u r a n t e n n a s g e q u a l l y

spaced around t h e s p h e r e ' s equ ato r and fo ld ed upward i ns id e t h e

cone, w i l l s p r f n g down i n t o p l a c e a n d l o c k .

Thickness o f t5 e t a p e r e d t u b e walls i s about ,026 i n c h e s ; t h e

s k in of t h e 20- inch sphere ranges f rom .O5O t o .026 inches . It

i s expected t h a t t h e t ube w i l l p rec ed e t h e sp he re i n f l i g h t , a t

l e a s t i n th e i n i t i a l o r b i t s , La te r wobb ling ( p re ces s ion ) o r

tumbl ing w i l l n o t i n t e r f e r e w i t h the experiment .

ENVIRONMENTAL EXPERIMENT - A more accurate knowledge of spaceenvi ronmenta l condi t ions i s e s s e n t i a l t o t h e d e s i g n o f f u t u r e

s a t e l l i t e s a nd manned s p a ce v e h i c l e s . T h i s s a t e l l i t e w i l l c a r r y

i n s t r u m e n t a t i o n to measure fo u r s p ec i f i c envi ronmen tal con d i t ion s ,

both on i t s su r f ace and wi th in th e sphe re. The re are t h r e e

measurements of t empera ture , t w o of s u r f a c e p e n e t ra t i o n, f o u r of

s u r f a ce e ro si on , and i n s t m e n t a t i o n to measure microm eteor i tebombardment,

. - .. . . . I__.. , , . - .-. ..,._I_.-- . I . .. . . , . . . .. .. "- ..".. ..I_..I ...


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Two thermistors (tiny thermomenters), mounted o n the inside

wall of the sphere, will provide a time history of the average

shel l temperature as well as its orbital fluctuations.

termistor will measure the internal temperature of the so lar X-ray -Environmental instrument compartment.

A third

Two pressure zones girdling the sphere will be sealed and

drained of enough air to make them partial vacuums.

zores are covered by about 20 percent of the satellite's shell.

differential pressure gauge connected between the zones will

indicate puncture of one o r both.

shel l will be telemetered as a change in length of one of the

telemeter charnels,

These pressure

A

Penetration of the magnesium

Erosion due to bombardment with dust, micrometeorites, ionsp

molecules, and atoms will be recorded by three metallic strips and

a photosensitive detector. Resistances of the chromium strip

erosion gauges will change as thei r surfaces change. The photo-

sensitive detector, a cadmium sulphide cell protected by an opaque

covering of Mylar plastic and deposited aluminum, will show a

resistance change as the covering is penetrated o r eroded. Erosion

measurements will be telemetered as lengths of telemetry channels

and will permit estimates of the erosion rates.

Four barium titanate type microphones will record micrometeorite

impact on the sphere's surfaceoand shaped and fed into a magnetic counter unit. This unit

continuously provides three decimal digits of the cumulative count

of impacts. The unit counts up to 1000 and then resets to zero.

The microphone output is amplified

. . . . . . . . . . .. . . . - . ..,


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X-RAY EXPERIMENT - S o l a r X-rays and t h e e f f e c t s t h e y haveon the ea r th ' s a tmosphe re i s the purpose of t h e t h i r d e x p e r i m e n t

i n t h i s Va n g u a r d s a t e l l i t e ,

The X-ray in st ru me nt at io n i s des igned t o determine t h emaximum v a r i a t i o n i n t h e i n t e n s i t y o f s o l a r X-ray r a d i a t i o n du r i ng

each o r b i t , The exper iment would t hus r ev ea l s ho r t t ime va r i a t i o n

i n t h e aver age X-ray emi ssio n.

i n t e n s i t y t hr ou gh ou t t h e d a y l i g h t p o r t i o n of f l i g h t w i t h a dynamic

range of a t l e a s t 1 0 angstroms, The io n iz a t io n chambers a r e

s e n s i t i v e t o wavelengths i n t he band 1 t o 8 angstroms.

I t would r e c o r d s o l a r f l a r e pe ak

I n s t r u m e n t a t i c n i n c l u d e s a n e l e c t r o m e t e r c i r c u i t f o r

ampl i fy ing t h e s i g n a l s g e ne r at e d i n t h e io n i za t i on chambers; a

peak reading memo@' d e vi c e; and a n o r b i t a l s w it c h c o n s i s t i n g

p r i m a r i l y of a l i g h t - s e n s i t i v e s o l a r c e l l . The memory d e v i ce w i l l

r e t a i n t h e maximum X-ray s i gn a l r ece iv ed du r ing one o r b i t . T h i s

memory core i s t h e c o n t r o l l i n g e le me nt i n an a ud io o s c i l l a t o r

which modulates the m i n i tr a c k t r a n s m i t t e r (108.00 MC) .w i l l be u se d i n a n o r b i t a l switching arrangement -- t h e c o r emodulat ing t h e t r a n s m i t t e r w i l l co nt ai n t h e maximum s i g n a l f rom

t he p reced ing o r b i t , while t h e second core w i l l be s t o r i n g d a t a

from t h e c u r r e n t o r b i t , , The r o l e s of th es e two core s w i l l be

r ev er se d a s t he s a t e l l i t e p as se s from da rkness i n to l i g h t . A t h i r d

co re w i l l t r a n s m i t i n s t a n t a n e o u s v a l u e s of r a d i a t i o n .

Two cores


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. - NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINITRATIONWASHINOTON 25, D. C.

Hold f o r ReleaseU n t i l Launched

N o , 29-59

SATELLITE LAUNCHING VEHICLE 7

Two notable cha:?.ges f r o m previous Vanguard rockets mark

S a t e l l i t e L aun ch in g Veh i cl e 7 0

Although the f i r s t two st ag es remain th e same, th e t h i r d s t a g e

engine t h i s t ime was made by Hercules Powder Company's Allegany

B a l l i s t i c s Labora tDry, The s o l i d p r o p e l l a n t t h i r d s t a g e has a

h i gh e r e f f i c i e r c y than t h e one p r ev ious ly u sed; i t s burn ing t ime

i s 10 seconds longer. , The extended bur nin g time compensates f o r

t h e payload weight of 50 pounds -- more than t w i c e t h a t of formerVanguard instrument packages,

The t h i r d s t a g e casing, which weighs about 50 pounds, will not

sepa ra t e f rom the pay load a f t e r eng ine bu rn-out , It w i l l remain

a t t a c h e d t o t h e i n s t rumen t package t h roughou t t h e l i f e t im e of t h e

s a t e l l i t e , c r ea t in g a l a r g e r t a r g e t f o r o p t i c a l t r ac k er s ,The l a un c hi n g v e h i c l e i t s e l f i s approximately 72 f e e t l on g,

45 i n c h e s in diameter a t i t s b as es f i n l e s s , w i t h a gros s t ake -o ff

( loaded) weight of app rox ima tely 22,600 pounds.

f s pr ime con t r ac to r f o r t h e vehicle,

The Martin Co,

The l i qu id -p rope l l an t f i r s t s t a g e has a gimbal led engine

b u i l t by G e n e r a l E l e c t r i c Co, Its p r o p e l l a n t s a r e l i q u i d oxygen

and kerosene, T h r u s t i s about 28,000 pounds a t sea l e v e l .


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The second s t a g e a l s o i s a l i q u i d - p r o p e l l a n t r o c k e t , b u r n i n g

whi te fuming n i t r i c a c id and unsymmetr ica l d imethylhydraz ine , I t s

g imba l l ed eng ine and fue l t anks a r e made by Aerojet-General Corg,

Second-stage t h m s t i s about 8,000 pounds a t a l t i t u d e ,The second s tage conta ins t h e " b r a i n s " o f t h e e n t i r e l a un c hi n g

v e h i c l e -- t h e gu idance system, Minneapolis-Honeywell RegulatorC o o , A i r Associa tes , Des igners f o r Indus t ry, and t h e Martin Co.

provide t h e ve h i c l e Ps gu idance and con t ro l sy s tem, A lso i n t h e

second s tage i s a sp iming mechan i sm fo r t he t h i r d s t a g e ,

The t h i r d s t a g e i s a s o l i d - p r o p e l l a n t r o c k e t , c o n s i s t i n g of a

p l a s t i c c y l i n d r i c a l c a s e j a n o z z le j p r o pe l l a nt c ha rg e, and i g n i t e r ,

A l l egany Ba l l i s t i c s Labora to ry made the t h i r d s t a g e e ng in e i n SLV-7,

It gene ra t e s abou t 3,500 pounds o f t h r u s t , T h i s e n g i n e , o r i g i n a l l y

developed f o r the Vanguard programp i s e s s e n t i a l l y t h e s a m e u s e d

i n t h e t h i r d s ta ge of Thor-Able I11 which launched Explorer V I , ,

The f i r s t s t a g e burns f o r a b o u t 140 seconds, Second st a g e

i g n i t i o n oc cu rs w i t h in a s p l i t second a f t e r f i r s t - s t a g e s e p a r a t i o n ,

During second-stage burning, a p l a s t i c nose cone enshrouding t h e

payload pops o f f a t p l us 172 seconds , Second s t ag e burns out a t

about plus 260 seconds,

Next comes a c o a s t i n g p e r i o d o f about 260 seconds. A t t h e

end of t h i s t i m e t h e v e h i c l e s h ou l d be i n t h e p r op e r a n g l e of

" a t t i t u d e , " and a l t i t u d e t o pu t t h e t h i r d s t a g e a n d a t t a c h e d p a y -

l o ad i n a n orbital p a t h , During t h i s p e r i o d , t h i r d - s t a g e s p i n - u p

s t a r t s a t abou3 p l u s 500 seconds. The t h i r d s t a g e i g n i t e s a t about


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520 seconds and burns out a t about 560 s e co n ds o The s a t e l l i t e ,

w i t h i t s permanently a t ta che d burned-out th i rd- s ta ge cas i ng has

now a t t a i n e d s u f f i c i e n t v e l o c i t y t o c a r r y i t i n t o o r b i t ,

Robert W e Stroup, of the S a t e l l i t e A p p l i c a t i o n s S y s t e m s

Div i s ion a t NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, i s p r o j e c t o f f i c e r

for th e payload. , Experiments were developed by s c i e n t i s t s a t t h e

U. S, Naval Research Laboratory and Goddard Space F l i g h t Center. ,


10/14

NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION

WASHINOTON 25, 0 . C.

Hold f o r ReleaseUnti l Launched

T E L E M E T RY A N D T R A C K I N G

No. 49-59

The Vanguard sa te2l i te w i l l be t r acked by 10 NASA m in it ra ck

s t a t i o n s . T h e y a r e l o c a t e d a t Blossom Po in t, Maryland; San tia go ,

Chi le ; An tafa gas ta, Chi le; Lima, Peru; Q ui to , Ecuador; Grand Turk

Isle, Bahamas; Sa n DfegD, Ca li fo rn ia ; Es sel en Park, South Afr ica;

and Woomera, Australia, A 1 1 b u t t h e South African and Grand Turk

s t a t i o n s w i l l . i r t e r r r g a t e the s a t e l l i t e and a r e e quipped w i t h

ground magnetometers e

The s a t e l E l ' ; ~ ' $ r a c k i n g s i g n a l w i l l be a s t ea dy one on 1 0 8 ~ 0 0

megacycles, with a pow~gr of 80 m i l l i w a t t s . When in t er r o g at ed by a

t r a c k i n g s t a t l o n , t h e 188 mc s i g n a l w i l l be modulated by X-ray and

environmental telemebry d a t a ,

Magnetic SfeLd Peasurements w i l l be r e l ayed ove r a 1.08~03 nc

T h i s t r a n s m i t t e r will o p e r a t er a n s m i t t e r w i t h a power of 80 m w ,

only on command f r o m a g s o u n d s t a t i o n .

Baker-Narn t r a c k i n g cameras w l l l o p t i c a l l y t r a c k t h e Vanguard

s a t e l l i t e , O p t i c al t r a c k i n g s t a t i o n s a r e l o c a t e d a t Organ P ass , New

Mexico; Ol if an ts fo ct ef n, South Afr ica; Woomera, Au st ra l i a; Cadiz ,

Spain; Tokyo, Ja2.an; Nani-tal, India ; Arequipa , Peru ; Shi raz , I ran ;

Curacoa, N.W,I,; Hebe So-md, Flo r id a ; V i l l a Do lo res, Argen t ina ; and

Haleakala, Hawaii, O p t i c a l t r a c k i n g w i l l be supervised by t h e

Smithsonfan Astrophysical Observ atory, Cambridge Massach usetts, under

a grant f rom t h e NASAo

___. .I_ " - _ ~ l l I-. . . I ._ . - . ... . , ^ . . . .. .. . . . .. . ' . . ... . -.


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, NATIONAL AERONAUTICS ANDSPACE ADMINISTRATION

WASHINGTON 2% 0 . C.

Ho8i.i f o r ReleaseUntil Launched

PROJECT VANGUARD BACKGROUND

No, 59-59

On J u l y 2 9 , 1955, the White House announced t h a t t h e United

S ta t e s p l anned t o launch e a r t h s a t e l l i t e s as p a r t of t h i s coun t ry ' s

c o n t r i b u t i o n t o the International Geophysical Year which ended

fo rma l ly on December 31, 1958,

t o t h a t p a r t of t he s a t e l l i t e program which was under the manage-

ment of the Chief of Naval Rese arch, The Naval Research La bor ato ry

(NRT;) i n Washington, D e C. had r e s p o n s i b i l i t y f o r t e ch n i c a l a s -

Project Vanguard i s the name assigned

p e c t s of the program,

Pr oj ec t Vanguard was t ra ns fe rr e d t o the National Aeronautics

and Space Administration by Executive Order on October 1, 1958.

The t r a n s f e r a f f e c t e d 156 NRL s c i e n t i s t s and t e c h n o l o g i s t s , i n -

c lud ing D r . John P, Hagen, Pr oj ec t Vanguard d i r e c t o r .

S i x f i r i n g s o f the Vanguard tes t vehic le and s ix f i r i ngsof t he Vanguard s a t e l l i t e l aun ch i w veh i c l e have been made t o

d a t e , s t a r t i n g wi t h t h e May 1, 1957$ experiment. Two Vanguard

s a t e l l i t e s have a ch ie ve d o r b i t , A three-and-one-quarter pound

t e s t s p h e r e was launched by TV-4 on March 17, 1958 ( i t s 50-pound

t h i r d s t age rocke t cas ing also went i n t o o r b i t ) , Vanguard I , a83

i t was c h r i s t e n e d , i s s t i l l a l o f t , w i t h an expec ted l i f e t ime

of hundreds of years.

- . -. . . ..., . . . -_._-.I __I.. ~ ~ . -^ . . . . -. . . ... . _. . . . .


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SLV 4, launched February 17, 1959, p laced about 70 pounds

i n o r b i t - = a 21$-pound, 20- inch d iameter sphere plus t h e t h i r d

s t age rocke t ca s ing wh ich was t r e a t e d with spec ia l coaGing t o

f a c i l i t a t e o p t i c a l t r a c k i n g . The s a t e l l i t e was named Vanguard 11.The pr imary objec t ive of t h i s experiment was t o measure t h e

d i s t r i b u t i o n amd movement of c loud cover over t h e d a y l i g h t p o r t i o n

o f t h e s a t e l l i t e ' s e q ua t or i a l o r b i t and r e l a t e i t t o t h e o v e r a l l

meteorology of t h e ea r t h , The c loud-cover d a t a a r e now being

reduced ,

Today's experiment, re pr es en ts a complet ion by NASA of the

Vanguard I G Y s e r i e s , D a t a f r o m t h e s a t e l l i t e w i l l be made a v a i l -

a b l e t o t h e 66 n a t i o n s of t h e I G Y,

I n a l l , 15 r o c k e t v e h i c l e s w ere p r e pa r ed f o r t h e Vanguard

Program. Thus far, 1 4 h av e be en f i r e d i n c l u d i n g t o d a y t s l a un c hi n g,

One t e s t v e h i c l e (TV-2 backup) was given t o t h e Smithsonian

I n s t i t u t i o n f o r e x h i b i t purposes. F o r a d d i t i o n a l d e t a i l s of t h e

comple te Vanguard program, r e f e r t o r e l e a se No. 3.


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NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMlNlSTRATbON

WASHINOTON 25. D. C.

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MEN BEHIND THE EXPERIMENTS

No. 69-59

Following are brief biographies of the principal experimentors

in this Vanguard experiment:

1 Magnetometer

DR, JAMES P o HEPPNER - A geophysicist in the Space Sciences

Division of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Dr. Heppner wrote

his doctoral thesis on magnetic field disturbances. Before joining

the NASA last December, he was active in sounding rocket research

at the U, S o Naval Research Laboratory, He was graduated from the

University of Minnesota in 1948, and earned a master' s degree in

1950, and a doctorate in 1954, both from the California Institute

of Technology.

2. Environment 1

HERMAN E, LA GOW - chief of planetary atmospheres programs atNASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, is responsible fo r the space

environment experiment,

and was project leader in previous Project Vanguard experiments.

He was graduated in 1943 from Bayl or University and has done graduate

work in physics and mathematics at George Washington Universityand the University of Maryland,

He was employed at NRL until last December


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3 . X-Ray

DR, HERBERT FRIEDMAN- s u p e r i n t e n d e n t of t he Atmosphere andAst rophys ics Div is ion a t t h e U. S. Naval Research Laboratory,

was gra duat ed from Brooklyn College i n 1936 and rece ived h i s

doc to ra t e f rom Johns Hopkins Univ ers i ty i n 1940,

i n a tmosphe re r e sea rc h w i t h r o c k e t s , p a r t i c u l a r l y i n t h e f i e l d of

s o l a r - e a r t h r e l a t i o n s h i p s ,

He

H e s p e c i a l i z e s

4 , NASAss p r o j e c t o f f i c e r f o r t h i s Vanguard p aylo ad i s

ROBERT W. STROUP, S e n i or P ro j e c t C oo rd in at or i n t h e S a t e l l i t e

App l i ca t i ons Systems Division, Goddard Space F l i g h t Center. H e

was employed a t NRL u n t i l l a s t December and i nv ol ve d i n many

previous Vanguard experiments .College, Davidson, North Carolina, w i t h a Bachelor of Science degree

i n ph ys ic s i n 1948.

H e was graduated f rom Davidson

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