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Aviation History
1964
1964 - 1711.PDF
948 FLIGHT International, 4 June 1964 Missiles and Spaceflight to determine orbital characteristics were to be conducted at the Marshall Space Flight Center, with assistance from several stations. Measuring Programme SA-6 was scheduled to tele- meter to the ground during flight some 1,310 measurements, as- follows: S-I stage. 630; S-IV, 355; instrument unit, 210; and space- craft, 116. Block I Saturns, with only one stage live and carrying no instrument units, made about 600 flight measurements, and SA-5 made about 1,200 measurements. In addition to the flight measure- ments, 220 "blockhouse measurements" were scheduled to be received in the control centre during countdown. These measurements ended at lift-off. The vehicle carried 13 flight telemetry systems: six on the S-I, three on the S-IV and four in the instrument unit (excluding Mini- track). The payload has three telemetry systems. These systems were used to transmit such measurements as engine turbine temperature; propellant pump r.p.m.; positions of valves; temperature of engine bearings, heat exchanger outlets, tail skirts, turbine exhaust and nitrogen pressurization tanks and payload; pressures in combustion chambers, propellant tanks and payload; strain and vibration throughout the vehicle; stabilized platform position; velocity; motion of control actuators; propel- lant level; battery voltages and currents; and inverter frequency. Optical systems were carried for the second time on Saturn. Eight motion picture cameras and two television cameras recorded vital functions of rocket operation (similar optical systems were highly successful on the SA-5 flight). NASA also recorded acoustic, vibration, blast effects and other measurements of the launching. About 400 measurements were made at Launch Complex 37, at other locations on Cape Kennedy. on Merritt Island and on the Florida mainland up to a distance of about 15 miles from the launch site. Apollo Spacecraft The SA-6 vehicle carried an early, "boilerplate" model of the Apollo command and service modules, plus the insert/adapter which is located beneath the service module. The total Apollo weight in orbit was about 17,0001b, more than 5,0001b of which was lead ballast. The launch escape system, jettisoned during S-IV powered flight, weighs about three tons and consists of an inert pitch control motor, an inert launch escape motor and nozzle skirt, a spacecraft escape tower with separation mechanism, and necessary instrumentation sensors and wiring. Mounted within the nose is a "Q ball," a dynamic pressure sensor used to measure the angle of the vehicle in flight. Individual units and systems include the following:— Pitch control motor, simulated for this mission, is 9in in diameter, 22in long, and weighs 351b. Tower jettison motor is a solid-propellant motor, 26in in diameter and 47in long. It has a bolt flange at the aft end to attach it to the forward end of the launch escape motor. The motor has two thrust nozzles, canted at 30° from the motor centre-line. Its gross weight is 551b including interstage structures. The tower jettison motor develops 33,OOOlb of thrust for lsec and burn-out occurs at 1.3sec. Launch escape motor, simulated for this mission, weighs approxi- mately 4,9001b, is 26in in diameter and 183in long. Tower structure is composed of welded tubular titanium alloy with truncated rectangular cross-section. It is 120in long with a base 46 x 50in. The tower forms the intermediate structure between the command module and escape motor. A structural skirt is used to attach the escape motor to the tower, which is covered with an ablative material. Tower separation system consists of explosive bolts in each of four tower legs. In addition to the conventional internal explosive charge, an independent linear shaped charge is provided at a flat- tened section on each bolt. Each charge is triggered by a separate initiator. This system provides a redundant means of tower separa- tion. Command module on SA-6 is a boilerplate aluminium structure simulating size, weight, shape and centre of gravity of the manned operational spacecraft. It is covered with cork insulation material to protect the structure from overheating. Crew compartment in the boilerplate command module uses frame stiffeners of the exterior shell structure to attach mountings for instrumentation, electrical power system and ballast required to maintain proper weight and centre of gravity. Also included are a main hatch (aluminium alloy structure) for access to the compart- ment, and a forward access way (tubular structure of aluminium) welded to the forward bulkhead. This access is provided with a bolted-on cover. Aft heat shield on the boilerplate is similar in shape to the opera- tional heat shield. It is composed of inner and outer layers of lami- nated glass over an aluminium honeycomb core and attached to the command module by four struts. Forward compartment cover on the SA-6 mission is a sheet metal fabricated cover and glass-fibre honeycomb radome assembled to- gether and bolted to the command module. Environmental control system provides cool air in a continuous flow to maintain command-module ambient temperature at 80 F ±10°. The system consists of a storage tank, pump, cold plates, heat exchanger, fan, thermal control valves, and quick disconnect valves. Launch escape system sequencer serves primarily as the arm/de-arm mechanism for the pyro system. It does not initiate any sequence in the SA-6 flight. The tower separation and jettison motor firing signal is provided by the Saturn instrument unit flight sequencer to the launch escape system sequencer. The launch escape system sequencer forwards this signal to the tower sequencer firing circuits. The sequencer includes two independent and identical sections that perform the same functions. Each section contains separate pyro and logic batteries and busses, and individual pyro and logic arm' de-arm motor switches. Service module and insert are aluminium structures 154in in dia- meter. The 124in long service module is attached to the command module by a 52in long insert, or non-functioning separation system, bolted to the adaptor. The active umbilical system, instrumenta- tion sensors, associated cabling and ballast are contained in the service module. Also included are reaction control system quadrant packages having the same weight, shape, location and aerodynamic characteristics as live service module reaction control system packages. Spacecraft adaptor is an aluminium structure bolted to the S-IV stage. It is 154in in diameter, 92in long, and contains an air-con- ditioning barrier, instrumentation sensors and associated cabling. J-2 DELIVERED The first J-2 rocket engine, of the type that will power upper stages of the three-stage Saturn V Moon rocket, was delivered recently to the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration by the Rocketdyne division of North American Aviation. The hydrogen- fuelled J-2 develops 200,0001b thrust at altitude, and is the most powerful engine currently scheduled for use in the upper stages of US space vehicles. First delivery was made to the Douglas Aircraft Co for installation and test firing in a ground test version of the S-IVB upper stage at the Douglas company's Sacramento Missile Field Station. Delivery followed a series of demonstration test firings at Rocketdyne's Santa Susana Field Laboratory. Rocketdyne began development of the J-2 in September 1960. A total of 55 engines and their supporting equipment are scheduled for production under contract to NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center. J-2 has a dual role in the Saturn vehicles. In the Saturn IB it will be used as a single engine in the S-IVB upper stage to launch manned Apollo spacecraft into Earth orbit on astronaut training missions. In the Saturn V, J-2 will be used in both the second and third stages. In the S-II second stage, which is being developed oy North American's Space and Information Systems Division, it will be used in a cluster of five developing 1,000,0001b thrust. The S-IVB, with a single J-2 engine, will be used as the third stage- The engine in this stage will be shut down during Earth orbit and reignited to launch the Apollo on its journey to the Moon. Pr'or to last month's delivery, a number of non-firable J-2s had been delivered to NASA for use as simulators in early-stage checkout.
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