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Aviation History
1963
1963 - 0507.PDF
'• J IGHT International, 4 April 1963 apd propellant utilization; to further verify structural integrity of ths vehicle's airframe, evaluating stress at critical moments of flight and determining vibration and bending modes; to demon strate again the rocket's control, instrumentation and telemetry s stems; and to test numerous launch and flight techniques and hardware items which are to be incorporated in the programme in the future." in the engine-out experiment, NASA stated, No 5 engine would be cut off lOOsec after lift-off by a preset timer. Normally the four inboard engines would cut off at 112sec; in MA-4 the re maining three inboard engines would cut off at about 114sec and the outboard engines at about 121 sec. The particular performance areas under study were described as follows:— "1. Heating. Engine No 5 will be inoperative and therefore un- eooled for the remainder of the flight. Initially there was some concern that heat from the other engines would disintegrate this engine, allowing it, or parts of it, to buckle and swing over, punctur ing the fuel-cooled nozzle of a nearby engine. This of course would disable another engine and cause a fire which would likely bring about mission failure. Engine No 5 temperature will be measured at the edge of the nozzle, where heating will be greatest. "The loss of an engine also somewhat upsets the flow of hot gases on the heat shield which protects the engine compartment. This imbalance—the concentration of heat in certain areas—was of potential concern, but allowances have been made for this in design, and this should not offer a problem in this flight. "2. Propellant transfer and utilization. Fuel tank No 1 feeds engines No 1 and No 5. When No 5 goes out, this means that one-half of the flow from that tank will cease; the fuel that would have been consumed by No 5 then flows into an interchange con nected with the other engines. It will take several seconds, possibly ten, for the fuel systems to stabilize and maintain an approximately equal level in all tanks. The same is true for the liquid oxygen sys tem . . . "The propellant utilization in the seven-engine case should be virtually as efficient as if all engines were operating. A relatively few pounds of propellant will be added to the normal propellant residuals, which is a typical eight-engine case would average about 8,0001b." Other aspects of the scheduled MA-4 flight include:— 1. Components of future Saturn vehicles are attached in a ; number of "kits" to the inert second stage. While serving no func tional purpose in this mission, they help to simulate the Block II configuration of the vehicle. 2. The four solid-propellant retro-rockets at the top of the boos ter are fired about twelve seconds after cut-off of the inboard engines. There is no separation of the stages. 3. In the control system, two control accelerometers are being used for the first time in place of angle-of-attack meters. They are used to measure the lateral acceleration in the pitch and yaw planes, in order to bias the vehicle into the wind direction and so reduce engine-swivel angle and structural loading. 4. Although the vehicle is controlled by the ST-90 (Jupiter) stabilized platform, a prototype of the ST-124 platform is being flown as a passenger, located in an instrument canister between the first and second stages. 5. A radar altimeter is being flown for the first time on an ex perimental basis. 6. A MISTRAM (Missile Trajectory Measurement) system transponder is carried. MISTRAM is an electronic measuring system now under development to determine the position and velocity of a vehicle by using interferometer radar measurements and triangulation techniques. 7. A small tape recorder is associated with one of the ten tele metry links on the vehicle, and will be used in an experiment to find a way to protect data which may be lost during the period of booster retro-fire and upper-stage ignition. 8. As part of the control-system development, a "Q-ball" transducer which senses the angle of attack is flown in the tip of the modified nosecone. 9. A new type of heat shield insulation is used on certain Panels at the tail section. f ATA-COLLECTION SATELLITES STUDIED The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is studying a new family of "practical" satellites which would collect data from remote areas of the Earth. The Future Applications Satellites unit 485 of NASA's Office of Applications is to sponsor a study to determine the interest in such a system. One of the promising new uses, NASA state, is in data collection from floating buoys distributed over the ocean surface. Sensors in the buoys could measure both sea and air temperatures at the sur face, wave height and a variety of readings at various depths. As the satellite passed anywhere above the horizon it would interrogate each buoy by means of a code and would store the information on magnetic tape. Upon command from a ground retrieval station the satellite would transmit the information for distribution to ocean- ographers and other users. Data on ocean currents and the depth of water could be acquired if suitable sounding equipment were installed in the buoys. Analysis of the data collected on a worldwide basis could result in a better knowledge of the sea; other possible benefits include more effective routeing of ships to reduce weather damage, and the location of water "having temperature and other characteristics favourable to marine life of commercial value." A similar application would allow the satellite to track icebergs or pack ice and relay the information to the International Ice Patrol and other services. This could be accomplished by placing transponders on the ice formations. from various heights above the surface. A network of small bal loons floating at a constant pressure altitude might carry sensors and transponders to provide simultaneous weather data over wide areas. Automatic weather stations in remote land areas and aboard ships at sea could provide additional coverage. Gemini Landing Research A portable device for testing landing conditions to be encountered by the two-man Gemini spacecraft will be designed and built by American Machine & Foundry Co for McDonnell Aircraft, Gemini prime contractor to NASA's Man ned Spacecraft Center. Since Gemini will be the first US spacecraft able to make a controlled landing on the ground as well as on water, the AMF unit will be made portable for testing on different kinds of terrain. Landing will be accomplished by means of a Rogallo wing, deployed and inflated after re-entry. To verify the design of the Gemini landing gear, AMF will design and build a catapult, which will impart 68 m.p.h. horizontally and 10 m.p.h. vertically to simulate the landing approach.
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