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Aviation History
1964
1964 - 0345.PDF
FLIGHT International 6 February If(,4 Recently completed by the Space Division of Chrysler Corp at NASA's Michoud Operations Plant, New Orleans, was the first industry-built Saturn S-l stage. This booster was handed over to NASA Administrator James E. Webb by Mr Lynn A. Town- send, president of Chrysler Corp, on December 13 Missiles and Spaceflight for the first time. A full propellant load was also carried. As secondary missions, another Project Highwater was scheduled as well as a flight test of live retrorockets. The SAO vehicle left the pad at 12.45 p.m. EST on November 16, 1962, after a 45min hold at T-75 caused by a ground-generator power failure. Lift-off weight was 1,100,0001b and thrust was 1,260,0001b. The rocket reached 104 miles altitude and covered 131 miles downrange before destruction for Project Highwater. The inboard engines were cut off after 141 sec of flight at an alti- tude of 33 miles and at a speed of 3,750 m.p.h. Outboard engines were cut off after 149sec at 38 miles altitude and at 4,000 m.p.h. Launch-pad equipment functioned normally except for the lox fill arm which failed to retract at lift-off. Damage to pad equipment was less than expected. More damage was anticipated because the vehicle was 160,0001b heavier than SA-2, which reduced the rate of initial acceleration of the vehicle. The retrorockets were fired 12sec after the last engine cut-off. Performance was within the predicted limits, and Project High- water also was a success. SA-4 took on an unusual experiment in addition to the primary missions. In this flight, one engine was to be cut off to determine the booster's ability to carry on with only seven engines. Three technical holds delayed the launching 102min on March 28, 1963. The first, for 20min, was to correct an out-of-tolerance indication in the ST-90 stabilized platform. The second hold was for 40min and was due to problems with the ST-90 theodolite and telemetry ground calibration system. The last hold, for 42min, was caused by the lack of a lox bubbling "valve open" indication. The SA-4 vehicle was launched at 3.11 p.m. EST, with a lift-off weight of 938,0001b and a thrust of 1,289,0001b. The rocket rose to a height of 81 miles and travelled 220 miles downrange. The inboard engines were cut off at 113sec at 25 miles altitude and at 3,420 m.p.h. Outboard engines were cut off at 120sec at 30 miles altitude and 3,660 m.p.h.. Propulsion system performance was well within design limits. Shutdown of engine Number 5 at lOOsec presented no problem and the feasibility of the engine-out concept was proven. Performance of the retrorockets was well within the predicted limits, although they induced some vehicle roll as in SA-3. Um- bilical tower static-pressure and vibration measurements were higher than expected, confirming SA-3 measurements. The first engineering test of the missile trajectory measurement device and radar altimeter were successful. SA-5 background and description The Saturn I rocket (Block II) consists of two stages, an instrument unit and a payload. SA-5 is the first of these vehicles. This configuration is capable of placing into Earth orbit about 20,0001b of useful payload. (In the case of SA-5, the total weight is nearly 38,0001b, but this includes the spent S-IV stage, the instrument unit and the payload adapter which, in a normal mission, would not orbit with the payload.) In August 1958 the Advanced Research Projects Agency of the Department of Defense initiated the Saturn programme with the von Braun development group at Huntsville, Ala- bama. That group was then a part of the Army Ordnance Missile Command; by mid-1960 both the group and the Saturn project had been transferred to NASA. The programme grew out of studies made by the von Braun group in 1957. Initially the objective was to demonstrate with ground tests the feasibility of building a large rocket using a cluster of available engines. Within little more than a year a flight programme, including the development of high- energy upper stages, was started. The Saturn I, as it is now known, has had a remarkably successful test programme to date and has led to the develop- ment of two larger space vehicles, the Saturn IB and the Saturn V. Because of timing, scheduling and funding con- siderations, the Saturn I will not be used for manned Apollo flights. NASA announced last October that it had cancelled the four manned Earth orbital flights assigned to Saturn I. The Saturn IB vehicle will use virtually the same first stage as the Saturn I. For its second stage it uses the S-IVB, which develops 200,0001b thrust compared with 90,0001b for the S-IV. Originally the only use envisaged for the S-TVB was as the third stage of the Saturn V rocket. By employing it in the Saturn IB, NASA has been able to increase the Saturn I payload capability by 50 per cent without the expense of starting a new development programme. According to present plans, the Saturn I programme will end with the tenth flight There will therefore be five firings after the SA-5. The missions of these vehicles will be to contribute to the development of Saturn IB and Saturn V, to launch early, unmanned versions of the Apollo command and service modules (beginning with SA-6) and to place in Earth orbit the large meteoroid-detection satellites mentioned earlier. The Saturn I, with a dummy Jupiter nosecone such as is carried on SA-5, stands 164ft tall. Complete with Apollo spacecraft, including launch escape system, it will measure 190ft. The vehicle weighs more than 1.1 million pounds (the SA-5 lift-off weight was 1,121,6801b). [To be continued]
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