pioneer iv press kit

8/8/2019 Pioneer IV Press Kit

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FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY

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NATIONAL AERONAUTICS A N D SPACE ADMINISTRATIONOFFICE OF PUBLIC INFORMATION

1520 H STREET, N. w.WASHINGTON 25, D. c.EX. 3-3260 - EXT. 6325

PIONEER IV INFORMATION PLAN

Background

Policy

Responsibilities

Procedures

Communications

Release Clearance Policy

Annexes

1. Preplanned Briefings and Announcements

2. Communica.tions

3. Photographic, Film and TV Requirements

4. Contractor Activities

February 28, 1959

FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY

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Pioneer I V Informat ion P l a n

1. Background

U. S. p u b l i c i n fo r m at i on p o l i c y p r ov i de s f o r t h e widest p r a c t i -c ab l e d i s s emi na t i on o f i n fo rma t i on conce rn ing s pace a c t i v i t i e s andt h e r e s u l t s t he re of c o n s i s t e n t w i t h F e de r al s t a t u t e and n a t i o n a ls ecu r i t y . Wi t h i n t h i s context , he re i s a br i e f r ev i ew of t h e moonand space probe s e r i e s w i t h which t h i s in format ion p lan i s concerned:

Department of Defense announced a s e r i e s o f f i v e expe ri ment s -- th reeby the A i r Force, two by t h e A r m y -- desi gned t o o b t a i n da ta from thev i c i n i t y of th e moon and beyond.

remaininr exper iments were t ransferred by Execut ive Order t o t h eNational Aeronautics and Space Administrat ion on October 1, 1958.Here i s a br ie f rev iew of t h e t e s t s c a r r i e d ou t t o da t e :

On March 27, 1958, th e Advanced Research P r o j e c t s Agency of t h e

A f t e r t h e f i r s t ARPA-Air Force experim ent (August 17, 1958) t h e

On August 17, 1958, t h e A i r F or ce B a l l i s t i c M i s s i l e D iv i si o n,under ARPA d i r ec t i on , l aunched t h e f i r s t U.S. moon probe. A n enginef a i l u r e i n t h e f i r s t s t ag e of th e four -s ta ge Thor Able I rocket causedt h e v e h i c l e t o blow up 77 seconds a f t e r l i f t - o f f . The probe was not

- named.

The second t e s t , conducted by AFBMD unde r NASA d i r e c t i o n , tookp l a c e on October 11, 1958. The probe, chr i s t en ed P ioneer I, t r a v e l e d71,300 m i l e s i n t o s p a c e , a n d was deemed a q u a l i f i e d s u c c e s s .

The next AFBMD-NASA moon probe at tempt ended i n f a i l u r e onNovember

8,1958 when t h e c a r r i e r ro cke t ' s t h i r d s tage f a i l e d t o

i g n i t e . This was Pioneer 11.

The fo ur th t e s t was a deep space probe on December 6, 1958 byNASA w i t h t h e a s s i s t a n c e of t h e Army. A four -s tage Juno I1 rocke tp r o p e l l e d a probe 63,580 miles i n t o s pace . P i onee r I11 revea ledv a l u a b l e r a d i a t i o n da ta and, l i k e Pioneer I, w a s cons idered a q u a l i -f i e d success .

T h i s in format ion p lan concerns t h e f i f t h and f i na l t e s t i n t h i ss e r i e s planned as p a r t of t h i s c o u n t r y ' s c o n t r i bu t i o n t o t h e IGY .(There w i l l be l a t e r non-IGY moon' and space probe a t tempts . ) Thist e s t w i l l be conducted by NASA w i t h t h e a s s i s t a n c e of th e A r m y . I f

the exper iment i s cons idered a success , th e probe w i l l be namedPioneer IV .

b e r 6 experiment; namely, t o achieve an ear th-moon t ra je ct or y; t oprobe the phys ic a l l i m i t s of th e Grea t Radia t io n B e l t (made up of t h etwo s o -ca l l ed Nan A ll en r a d i a t i o n b e l t s ) ; t o de te rm in e t h e e x t e n t ,i f any, of ra d i a t io n i n t h e v i c i n i t y of t h e moon; and f i n a l l y , t o

The o b j e c t i v e s o f t h i s t e 3 t are s i m i l a r to those of t h e Decem-



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t e s t aw i t h i nf o r anf u t u r e

p h o t o e l e c t r i c s e n s o r which w i l l be act iva ted when i t g e t sabout 20,0,00 mile s of t h e moon. Thi ,s device i s a pro to typeo p t i c h l t r i g g e r t o co nt ro l p ic tur e- t aki ng mechanisms i nspace probe experiments. T h i s devi ce, however, do es no t tak e

p i c t u r e s of any kind; i t s imply reac ts to the moon ' s li

r e p o r t s t h i s f a c t to e a r t h . (See press k i t f o r d e t a i l s

TI. Po l i c y

While non-secur i ty s c i e n t i f i c experiments are c a r r i e d o u tp u b li c l y, c e r t a i n r u l e s f o r d i ss em i na ti o n of information must beobserved. Care should be exe rc i sed t o ass ure t h a t the volume ofin format ion re leased i s n o t i n e x ce s s of t h a t warranted by an exper i-m e n t' s s i g n i f i c a n c e o r d eg re e of suc ces s. There should be an avoid-ance of c om p et i ti v e p u b l i c i t y e f f o r t s re g ar d in g s pa ce a c t i v i t i e s t ha thave t h e o b j e c t of bui ld ing up , w i t h th e publ ic and t h e Congress, theagency carrying ou t th e exper iment . Fi na l ly , space exper iments shouldbe s t r e s s e d as United Sta t e s e f f o r t s .

IIJ R e s p o n s i b i l i t i e s

NASA w i l l conduct t h i s experiment w i t h t h e a s s i s t a n c e o f th eA r m y . NA SA ' s J e t Propulsion Laboratory developed the second, t h i r da d o u r t h s t a g e s of the Juno I1 rocke t , the s c i e n t i f i c pay load a ndpr e pa r e d t r a j e c to r y data . The f i r s t stage, an Army Jupiter, wasdeveloped by t h e Army B a l l i s t i c Missi le Agency, Huntsville, Alabania.ARMA is also res pon sib le f o r assembling and launching Juno I1 andfo;? c a r r y ing ou t t h e e a r l y t r a c k ing phase. JPL d i r e c t s t h e l on g-m r . y ~ r a c k ing phase.

Phase I, P r e p o s i t i o n i n g

Yewsmern w i l l be br ie fed by t h e Direc tor o f Publ ic In formation ,NASA, on an off - the-record basis a t 2 p .m, on Wednesday, Fe br ua ry -2 5,three days before th e sc he du le d f i r i ng t i m e -- lO:l3 p.m. on Febru-am 28, 1959. The br ief ing w i l l acquaint newsmen w i t h t h e n a t u r e oft h e forthcomlng experiment, i t s complexi ty , and adm in is t ra t ive ar range-ments f o r pre ss coverage . A s imi lar b r i e f i n g w i l l be conducted byt h e Commander of t h e A t l a n t i c Missi le Range a t about t h e same time.

Press k i t s conta in ing a b r i e f summary of t he t e s t s c onductedt h u s f a r , a d e s c r i p t i o n of t he l aunch ing r ocke t and the s c i e n t i f i cpayload w i l l be d is t r ibu ted s imul taneous ly by NASA, Washington, D . C .and by AMR, Cape Canaveral, Fl a. , on Febr uary 27, one day p r i o r t oI aunch.

Press k i t material , including photographs, w i l l be marked HOLDFOR RELEASE UNTIL LAUNCHED OR INDEFINITELY DELAYED.

For purposes of t h i s plan , t h e f o l low ing de f in i t i o ns and in t e r -p r e t a t i o n s w i l l apply:



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. Launch

A l i f t - o f f and f i r i n g of a l l s tages , o r a l i f t - o f f which a b o r t sf o r any cause , incl udin g misfire, f a i l u r e i n f l i g h t , or d e l i b e r a t ed e s t r u c t i o n . I f a c u t o ff o c c u rs p r i o r t o l i f t - o f f , t h i s would n o t be

cons idered a lau nc h and th e postponement announcement (see below)w i l l be used.

.. Hold-temporary de lay i n th e launchi ng count-down which may extendf o r s e v e r a l h o ur s. For purpose s o f t h i s p lan , -old w i l l not ex tendbeyond such time as the assembled press a r e t o l d t o l e a v e t h e launchsite and r e t u r n the next day.

...Postpone

A delay beyond a Hold period which, f o r t e c h n i c al o r o t h e r r ea so ns

w i l l cont inue up t o but no t beyond t he per io d scheduled f o r th e exp er i -ment. I n ot he r words, a postponement w i l l be announced when and i ft h e assembled press a r e t o l d t o l e a v e th e launch s i t e and re turn a t al a t e r da te . The postponement announcement does not release t h e p r e s sk i t m a t e r i a l .

. Inde f i n i t e D e l ay

A de l ay l onge r t han a postponement, requiring a reschedul ing oft4he experiment.

These def in i t ions and condi t ions w i l l be i nc lu de d i n t h e pressk i t and w i l l be s p e l l e d o u t a t the pre- launch press b r i e f i n g s a t AMR

and NA SA .

Phase 11, Launch

T h i s phase inc ludes t h e t i m e period from two hours before pro-grammed launch un t i l succ ess or f a i l u r e of same, i nc l ud i ng t h e f i r i n gof a l l s tages has been determin ed. During this per iod , AMR w i l l beprime sourc e of informa t ion.

s im ulta neo usly i n Washington and a t AMR -- using I tem C, Annex I ,Page 8 , w i t h i n one minut e o f l i f t - o f f .

O f f f c i a l con f i rma t i on o f the l aunch w i l l be made by NASA --

Off ic ia l s imul taneous conf i rmat ion of the f i r i n g of the second

Care w i l l be t aken not t o apply the t e rm "success fu l " to

and t h i r d and fou r t h s t ag es w i l l be made by NASA as soon as t e c h n i c a ldetermination has been made -- probably wi thin about 20 minutes a f t e rl i f t - o f f .t h e s ta g e f i r i n g s i n t h e i n i t i a l hours u n t i l da ta have been ca re fu l lyana lyze d. See Item D, Annex I , Page 8 .



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Technical failure in the launch phase will be swiftly confirmedIf it occurs later iny NASA if it occurs within sight of newsmen.

the flight, it will be announced as soon as possible.Annex I, Pagt 9

.(above) in Phase I. See Item G , Annex I, Page 10.

See Item F,

NASA will announce postponements simultaneously as indicated

For Indefinite Delay statement, see Item H, Annex I, Page10,

A brici' meeting with newsmen will be held in the press areanear the launch site at AMR as soon as practicable after launch ortechnical failure within the launch phase. Representatives of NASAand ABMA will take part in this meeting. Participants will avoidspeculation about the experiment's possible success,

This conference will end with the announcement that all furtherinformation about the experiment will emanate from NASA, Washington.

Phase 111, Tracking

This phase will be initiated with an NASA press conference inWashington about two to three hours after launch. By this time,"quick look" tracking data will have revealed whether or not thespace probe is flying according to plan.

and post-launch press conference.

mittee for the IGY will be represented along with NASA officials onthe press conference panel at NASA.

tracking, etc. and a position report of the probe.

f o r the benefit of the press there who will be able to relay questionsto NASA, Washington by teletype or telephone.

Periodic "quick look" progress reports, based upon the analyzeddata from J PL , will be posted on a plotting board at NASA.K and M, Annex 1,Pp 13-14for prepared statements. Progress reportswill be made on an after-the-fact basis, Speculation about possibleend results of the experiment will be avoided. However, if there ism y deviation from the programmed trajectory this will be acknow-ledged as circumstances dictate.

An early position report may be issued by NASA between launch

The A r m y Ballistic Missile Agency and the U. S, National Com-

The press conference will produce details of instrumentation,

This press conference will be transmitted to AMR by telephone

See Items

._ . . . .. . . .. " . _ I . . -



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During t h e t r a ck i ng phase , personne l opera t ing t h e t r a ck i ngs t a t i o n s w i l l be au thor ized t o acknowledge whether o r n o t they arer ece i v i ng t e l eme t ry s i gn a l s from t he t e rmi na l veh i c l e b u t w i l l r e -f r a i n from amplifying such announcements , See Item N, Annex I ,Page 15.

The Ad min is tr at or of NASA w i l l announce the act ivat ion oft h e p h o t o e l e c t r i c s e n s o r as soon as t h i s has been confirmed --about 20 hours a f t e r l aunch. See I t e m 0, Annex 1, Page 15,

The t r a ck i ng phase w i l l t e rmina te wi th a press conferencea t N A S A when suff ic ient data a r e a v a i l a b l e t o p r e s e n t c o nc l us io n sas t o r e s u l t s of t h e experiment. Again, all i n t e r e s te d p a r t i e sw i l l be represented .

Phase N Post-Event

A l l informat ion concerning t h e s c i e n t i f i c r e s u l t s of t h e

experiment w i l l be r e l ea s e d by NASA, Washington, D. C . i n coord in -a t i o n w i t h t h e U.S . - IGY orga niza t ion which w i l l make such fi nd in g sa v a i l a b l e t o t h e 66 o r i g i n a l p a r t i c i p a t i n g n a t i o n s i n t h e I CY pro-grams. (See Annex4 f o r d e t a i l s of s t i l l photographs , te levis ionand f i l m coverage of t he ev ent . )

Phase V, Communications

A t e l ephone and t e le type confe rence w i l l be e s t ab l i s hedbetween th e Direc tor , Off ic e o f Pu b li c In fo rm at io n, NASA, and h i sr e p r e s e n t a t i v e a t t h e Atl an t ic Miss i l e Range sev era l hours beforeprogrammed launch time.through fo ur th s ta ge i g ni t i o n and announcement thereof by NASA.Frov launch time onward, a t e l ephone and TWX conference w i l l bemaintained between NASA and JPL, Pasadena. Commercial te le ph on ew i l l connect NASA and ABMA .

The t e l econfe rence w i l l be maintained

Phase V I , Release Clearance Pol icy

Prepared s ta te ment s included i n the Annexes t o t h i s plan ,as w e , l l as press k i t mater ial , are c l e a r e d f o r r e l e a s e a t t h etimes i nd i ca t ed unde r t h e cond i t i ons des c r ibed i n S ec t i on IV,Pr'ocedures. All o t h e r s t a tement s , releases and information mustbe c l ea red w i t h NASA.

(See Attached AnnexesI

t h r u4 )

.~. ... . - .. . .. .." . ". t _. ".. ~ . ..-_I-. .._ ... . I



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PIONEER IV INPORMATION PLAN

ANNEX I

February 25, 1959

ITEM ABriefing Guide: Prepositioning

A. Introduction:

Plans are underway for the launching of a Juno I1 rocketcontaining a space probe similar to the December 6 , 1958experiment.the assistance of the U. S. Army. This experiment is the fifthand last of a series of lunar and space probes planned as partof this country's contribution to the International GeophysicalYear.

experiments carried out to date -- three lunar probes and theDecember 6 space probe.

The purpose of this meeting today is to inform you of theadministrative and logistical arrangements which have been made totransmit Information about the test to you,

The forthcoming test will be conducted by NASA with

(There will be later non-IGY firings.)

The press kits will contain a brief review of the four

Since considerable information about the program has alreadybeen released, there is little need for protracted discusston orquestion and answer session here today.

B. The following information is off-the-record.

ITEM B

Logistical Briefing for the Press

in the lunar and space probe series planned for the IGY willgenerally follow the plan used in the December 6, 1958 attempt.

sile Range. NASA will confirm the launch and staging as itoccurs.within an hour after successful launch.and the Army Ballistic Missile Agency will be present at thismeeting.

to NASA, Washington, D. C. and no further announcements w i l l be

The news reporting system f o r the fifth and last test vehicle

Newsmen are invited to witness the launch at the Atlantic Mis-

A press meeting will be arranged a t the AMR press s i t eRepresentatives qf NASA

After the AMR press conference, the source of news will shift



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provided from Cape Canaveral. ABMA w i l l a l s o be represen ted a tt h e NASA pr es s conference alon g w i t h JPL and NA$A o f f i c i a l s . T h i sconference w i l l be piped to AMR where repor ters w i l l be ab le tor e l a y q u e s t i o n s t o Washington.

During th e remaining trac ki ng phase, raw da ta will feed fromt h e t r a c k i n g s t a t i o n s t o JPL i n Pasadena, thence to NASA head-quar ters where i t w i l l be announced i n i t i a l l y . Pre l iminary t r ack ingi n f o m a t i o n b a s e d on "quick look" da ta w i l l be prov ided pe r iod ica l lyf o r newsmen.

ITEM c February 28, 1959

Sta tement by NASA

Time: T plus about one minute

The United Seates launched a four-s tage exper imenta l spacevqh ic l e a t t h e A t l a n t i c Missile Range, Cape Canavera l, F l o ri d aa t ( ) today.

The lau nch in g was accompli shed by the Nat ional Aeronaut icsand Space Administration with the a s s i s t a n c e of t h e U. S. Army.I t i s t h e f f f t h a nd f ina l f l i g h t t e s t i n a s e r i e s d e s i g n e d t o g a t h e rs c i e n t i f i c d a ta as p a r t of t h e U. S. c o n t r i b u t i o n t o t h e I n t e r -n a ti o n al Geophysical Year program. There w i l l be l a t e r non-IGYl u n a r and space probes.

a s t h e f i r $% t a ge , o r booster , and th re e upper s tages , Thev e h i c l e i s c a r r y ing an i n s t r u m e n t e d , s c i e n t i f i c "payload.

The vehicle i s c a l l e d Juno 11. I t c o n s i s t s o f id J u p i t e r PRBM

I 1

ITEM D

Sta tement by NASA

Timer T plus about 20 minutes

The second, t h i r d and four th s tages of t he U ni te d S t a t e s f ou r -

s t ag e exper imenta l space veh ic le launched a t t h e A t l a n t i c Nissi leRange, Cape Canaveral, Fl or id a a t ( ) today have beenf i r e d ,

Addi t iona l in format ion on the progress of th e te s t w i l l ber e p o rt e d a s t h e d a t a a r e t r a n s m i t t e d t o t h e t r a c k i n g s t a t i o n s andare, i n t u r n , t r a n s m i t t e d t o t h e d a t a r e d u ct i o n c e n t e r f o ra n a l y s i s



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All further information on the remaining phases of thisexperiment will be released by the National Aeronautics andSpace Administration at its Washington, D. C. headquarters.

ITEM E February 28, 1959

Statement by T. Keith Glennan, NAs,A Administrator

The NASA gave the name Pioneer IV today to the payload of

the U. S. space probe, the fifth and last in a series of probesplanned a s part of the U. S. contribution t o the InternationalGeophysical Year.

ITEM F February 28, 1959

Statement by NASA

T ime : A few minutes after event occurs

A , An experimental four-stage space vehicle designed tog a t h e r scientific. data as a part of the U. S. -1GY program ex-ploded OR its launch pad at ( ) today at the ATLANTICMISSILE RANGE, Cape Canaveral, Florida, during an attempted launch.The cause of the technical difficulty will not be determined untilall data have been collected and analyzed.

B. An experimental four-stage space vehicle designed tog a t h e r scientific data as a part of the U. S. -1GY program (was

destroyed) (exploded) at ( ) after (minutes-seconds) offlight today a t the ATLANTIC MISSILE RANGE, Cape Canveral, Florida.The cause of the technical difficulty will not be determineduntil all data have been collected and analyzed,

C. The (second, third, or fourth) stage of an experimentalfour-stage space vehicle designed t o gather scientific data as hl

part of the U. S. -1GY program (failed to ignite) (exploded) duringa launch attempt at ( ) today at the ATLANTIC MISSILE. ANGE,Cape Canaveral, Florida. The remaining portions of the vehiclecontinued upward for a short period of time before falling intothe Atlantic Ocean. The cause of the technical difficulty will notbe determined until all technical data have been collected andanalyzed

.NOTE: These should simply serve as guide lines and do not

necessarily have to be duplicated verbatim. Thereshould be some leeway t o a l l o w for unexpected action.



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ITEM 0

Sta tement by NASA

T e s t Postponement

T im e : As r e q u i r e d

Pr e pa r a t ions po in t ing toward an e a r l y f l i g h t of a U. S. space

probe launching vehi c l e were postponed today a t t he ATLANTICMISSILE RANGE. O f f i c i a l s a t th e range s a i d th e postponement wasdue t o . No irlformation on t h e next

f i r i n g d a t e i s a v a i l a b l e .

ITEM H

Sta tement by NASA

I nde f in i t e D e la y

Time: A s Required

Pr e pa r a t ions f o r t he f i r i n g of a U. S. space probe launchingve h i c l e were del a ye d in de f i n i t e ly today a t t h e ATLANTIC MISSILERANGE. O f f i c i a l s a t t h e Range sa id th e in de f i n i te de lay was dueto . No irkforna t ion about t he nex t launch-ivhg d a t e i s a v a i l a b l e .

ITEM I

Resume

T im e s

February 29, 1959

of Launch and Staging

For use a t NASA Pr ess Conference a t T p l u s two t o t h r e ehours

This i s a s ca l e model of t h e Juno I1 space probe v eh i c le ,It c o n s i s t s of t h e U. S. Amy J u p i t e r i n t e r m ed i a t e r an ge b a l l i s t i cm i s s i l e as t h e f i r s t o r boos te r s t a ge , and t h r e e high-speed upper

s t a g e s

The second s t a g e c on s i s t s of an annula r r ing of 11 sc a l e d -down, s o l i d p ro pe l l an t Se rgean ts ; t h e t h i r d s t a g e c o n s i s t s of aco nc ent r ic r i ng of th re e scaled-down Ser geants , and t h e f o u r t hs t a g e c o n s i s t s of a s i ng le sca led-down Sergean t . I n t h e uppers t a g e s , t h e c o n f i g u r a t i o n i s t h e same as t h a t us ed by t h e Armyto p l a c e t h r e e E x p lo re rs i n o r b i t .



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Before launch, whi le the Juno I1 v e h i c l e i s s t i l l on the pad,the uppe r stages are s e t sp inn ing on a r o t a t i o n a l l a un c he r b u i l ti n t o t h e Jup i t e r nose . This i s done to p r o v i d e d i r e c t i o n a ls t a b i l i t y i n f l i g h t . I n i t i a l l y , t h e v eh ic le rises v e r t i c a l l y ,s lowly t i l t i n g ove r i n t o its programmed bal4istic path . A non-

r o t a t i n g g ui da nc e s e c t i o n a t t h e rear of the h igh spe e d s t a ge sprograms the coast ing h i g h s pe ed s t a g e s i n t o t h e p lan ne d t r a j e c t o r y .A t imer i n s i d e t h e r o c k et i g n i t e s t h e s eco nd s t a g e s o l i d p ro -p e l l a n t r o c k e t c l u s t e r .

The t h i r d s t a ge i gn i t e s a f t e r th e second s ta ge burns ou t andf a l l s away and then t h e f o u r t h s tage f i r e s . A t four and one h a l fminutes a f t e r launch, t h e 13.40-pound payload se p a ra te s from t h eburned out f ou r t h s ta ge and t_ravelS a t varying Speeds on i t st r a j ec t o r y t o t h e moon. The payload -- Pioneer I V (of which t h i si s a f u l l s c a l e model) -- cont inues i t s f l i g h t i n s pa ce.

ITEM J

Space Probe I n s t r ume n ta t ion

(Ns: T h i s i s an abbrev ia ted ve r s ion of i n s t r u m e n t a t i o n r e l e a s ei n p r e s s k i t . )

The U. S . space probe is a gold-pl a ted, Conica l ins trum entpackage which weighs 13.40 pounds, measures approximately 20i n c h es i n l e n g t h and i s a l i t t l e more t h a n ni n e i n c h e s i n d i a -meter .

Here i s a b r i e f d e s c r i p t i o n of t he in s tnune n ta t ion :

1.) A bat te ry-powered rad i o t r an sm i t te r des igned t o sendcont inuously on a f requency o f 960.05 megacycles f o r about 90hours -- long a f t e r moon-intercept which should come about 34hours a f t e r launch.

The t r a n s m i t t e r r a d i a t e s 180 m i l l i w a t t s of power.

2 . ) Two Geiger-Mueller tub es t o measure r ad ia t i on .

Telemetry f rom t h e p r obe ' s r a d ia t io n expe rime nt w i l l be

broadcast i n i t i a l l y d ur in g t h e f i r s t five-and-one h a l f hours off l i gh t w he n i t i s pass ing th rough the Great Radia t ion Belt(made up of t h e two so- ca l l ed Van Allen ra di a t io n b e l t s ) .

A f te r t he p r obe ha s pa s se d th r ough the se in t e nse r a d ia t ionbands, one of t h e t ube s -- whi'ch re po r t& h igh- lev e l r a d i a t io n --*ill s h u t o f f . The o t h e r t u b e w i l l cont inue func t ion ing andreport on moon radiation.

. . ~ . . .._I.. - . . - . .-. ... . -. .. . . . . ._



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3.) A p h o t o e l e c t r i c s e n s or , shaped l i k e a p i s t o l , i smounted on t h e bottom of ' th e probe a t an a ng le t o command aview of t h e moon a s it passes i t .

Two small ap e r t u re s opening in t o two pho to e le c t r ic c e l l s

are mounted i n t h e ba r r e l of t he s e nso r. The a pe r tu r e s a r espaced so tha t on ly a compara t ive ly la rge l igh t image w i l lbe wide enough t o e n t e r b ot h a p e r t u r e s and t r i g g e r bo th c e l l s ,si mu lt an eo us ly . When a l i g h t image o f su f f i c i e n t s i z e i sencounte red , th e sensor w i l l r e po r t t h a t f a c t t o e a r t h w i t hp u l s a t i n g s i g n a l s .

A t about 20 hours a f t e r launch, when t h e probe should beabout 140,000 mile s from th e e a r t h , a hyd r a u l i c t ime r w i l l armt h e sensor's memory device which w i l l r e po r t subse que n t l i gh tima es. A t t h a t p o i n t , t h e e a r t h w i l l o f f e r too sm all an image t oa c tB a t e b o t h c e l l s , and th e on ly ob je c t c a pa b le of doing s o w i l lbe t h e moon. The se ns or experim ent w i l l provide a t e s t f o r a

t r ig ge r de v ice which c ou ld be u se d t o a c t iv a t e p i c tu r e - t a k ingmechanisms i n fu tu re space experiments, but t h i s se nso r w i l l no tproduce p ic tu re s of any kind.

4 * ) The de-spin mechanism i s an impor tant e lement i n th eexperim ent. The upper s t ag e s of Juno I1 a r e s p i r i - s t a b i l i z e dbefore and dur ing launch so t h a t t h e pr obe i n spa ce c on t inuest o r o t a t e on i t s long ax is a t approximately 600 r e v o l u t i o n s p e rminute. A t t h i s speed, th e s enso r da ta would be meaningless,s o a method had t o b e f o u n d t o s l o w t h e s p i n r a t e down a f t e r t heprobe i s i n spa ce. The answer was found t o be a sirpple ap pl ic a-tion of an elementary p r in c i p l e of phy sics . Two small weights,about seven grams e ac h, a r e f a s t e ne d t o the pay load a t t h e e nds

of wires 60 inches long , During and a f t e r launch, th e wires andweights ar e wrapped around the payload and ar e secured i n plac e.A t about 10 hour s a f t e r l aunc h, a hyd r a u l i c t ime r w i l l f r e e t h ew eigh ts and c e n t r i f uga l f o r c e w i l l make them s p i n w i t h the pay-l o a d a t t h e e nds of t h e i r wi r es . After a few r e v o l u t i o n s , t h e yw i l l be re leased t o f l y o f f i n to spa c e . T h i s w i l l be enough,however, t o cause th e payload t o slow down t o about nine revo-lu t i on s p e r minute i n one qu ar te r of a second.



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ITEM K February 28-29, 1959

Proposed NASA Statement

Post-launch NASA press confe rence a t T p l u s two t o t h r e e h o u rs

A t ( E . S . T . ) , Pioneer IV, t he U n i t ed S t a t e s s pacepmbe , was l a t i t u d e , l o n g i tu d e and wass t a t u t e mi l e s above t h e s u r f a c e o f the ear th .

This i s an approximate p os i t io n determined as a r e s u l t of"quick look" da ta ana l ys i s and i s s ub j ec t t o change .

I

ITEM L

Tracking S ta t ion Schedules

Time: T h i s i s an abbrev i a t ed v e r s i on of a re lease which w i l l bei nc l uded i n t h e press k i t on a Hold f o r Release Un t i l Launched o rInde f i n i t e l y D e l ayed ba s i s .

The t r a c k i n g of t h e U.S. space probe to be launched by a Juno I1rocke t co ns i s t s o f two p r i n c i p a l phases -- powered f l i g h t and spacef l i g h t .

The U.S. Army B a l l i s t i c Missi le Agency, Huntsville, A l a . ,(an agency of the Army Ordnance Missile Command) i s charged w i t ht h e f i r s t phase. NASA! s J e t P ropu ls i on Laborat ory a t Ca l i fo rn i ai n s t i t u t e of Technology, Pasadena, C a l i f . , i s r e sp o n si b le f o r t h e

second phase.

The f i r s t phase ends about four-and-one h a lf minute s a f t e rlaunch when -- a l l stages having f i r e d -- propuls ion ceases andt h e probe becomes a body moving on a t r a j ec t o ry t hrough space.

During t h e i n i t i a l pe r i od, Army t r ack i n g s t a t i o ns a t CapeCanaveral and M i a m i , Fla . , For t S tewar t , Ga . , and t h e B a l l i s t i cResear ch Labor atory, Aberdeen, Md., fo l l ow t h e probe. The d a tea r e f e d d i r e c t l y i n t o th e Computat ions Laboratory a t ABMA, Hunts-v i l l e , where they a r e reduced and fed in to a computer.

The computer t he n determine s th e pay load ve l oc i t y ; t he vec t o r

angle ( a n g l e a t which the payload i s t r a v e l l i n g w i t h r e l a t i o n t ot h e e a r t h ' s s u r f ace ) and t h e r e l a t i o n o f the a c tu a l f l i g h t p a t h t ot h e p l a n n e d f l i g h t p a t h . These d a t a a r e s e n t t o JPL, Pasadena.

The second phase begins between about four and f ive minutesa f te r l aunch when a 10-foot diameter J P L t r a c k i n g antenna a tMayaguez, Pu er to Rico, pi ck s up t h e probe and holds i t f o r t h en e x t f i v e o r s i x h ou rs by which time t h e probe should have t ra ve le dabout 50,000 mi l e s -- t h e l i m i t of i t s t r a c k i n g c a p a c i t y .

. . . . .. . - ,-. - . . ., . . . .. . ..I..,.-... .. .... . .



- 14-

Before Puerto Rico has l o s t t h e probe below i t s hor izon, J P L ' s85-foot d iamete r space t r ac k ing ra d io te le scop e a t Goldstone DryLake i n Camp Irw in, Ca li f . , will a c qu i r e t he s ig na l and loc k on toi t f o r th e next n ine to t e n hou r s .

The g i a n t p a r a b o l i c an te nn a, b u i l t s p e c i f i c a l l y f o r sp ac et rack ing , should be ab l e t o r e c e i v e t h e p r o b e ' s r a d io s i g n a l a tlu na r dis ta nc es and beyond -- poss ib ly up t o 400,000 mile s fromt h e e a r t h . It i s mounted on a 110-foot tower.

The G o l d s t o n e f a c i l i t y w i l l funne l t r ack ing and te lemet ryinformatio n back t o th e computing ce nt er a t J PL , Pasadena, whichw i l l a lso have da ta from t h e e a r l i e r t r a c k i n g phases. Tr a je c to r ye v a l u a t i o n w i l l be relayed from the J PL d a t a r e d u c t i o n c e n t e r toNASA, Washington, D. C.

A t the end of i t s f i r s t a c q u i s i t i on pe r iod , t he G olds tone

antenna w i l l l o s e th e p robe f o r abou t 1 4 hours .it w i l l be t r a i ne d on the hor izon poi nt where th e probe w i l l re-appear a t t h e end of t h a t t i m e .

During t h i s per iod

After t h e antenna picks up the probe the second time, i t w i l lhold i t f o r a n o th e r n i ne t o t e n h o ur s.

T h i s se cond a c q u i s i t i on pe r iod by Goldstone i s a cruci a l . one;dur ing t h i s t i m e the p robe should in te rc ep t t h e pa th o f t h e moon,i t s c l os es t approach t o t h e moon coming about 34 hours a f t e r 1.aunch.At t h i s po in t t h e moon and probe a re ov er Goldstone.

ITEM M

Posit:ion Report

T ime : T p l u s s i x hours or l a t e r

The p o s i t i o n of t h e U. S . space probe, Pio neer IV , a t E .S .T .was l a t i t u d e l o n g it u d e and was milesabove t h e s u r f a c e o f t h e ear th .

Pioneer IV's r a d i o t r a n s m i t t e r i s f unc t ion ing p r ope r ly (and i ti s proceeding approximately on programmed course through space or

(and it has devia ted f rom pre-planned t r a jec tory -- with e x p l a n a t i o n ) .

.. . . , . .I_ . . ... ._ ._I_. . . . ~



- 15 -

ITEM N

Tracking Station Announcements

Time: T plus about three hours

1.) Affirmative Statement:

''Iam receiving signals from the U. S. Pioneer IV SpaceProbe. I am tracking it now. I am not able t o give more infor-mation because the telemetry data I have are in the raw stateand must be analyzed before they become meaningful. I

2.) Negative Statements:

(1) "I am not receiving signals from the U. S. Pioneer IVSpace Probe. I do not expect to be receiving at this time,"

(2) "1 am not receiving signals from the U. S. Pioneer IVSpace Probe, I am now inspecting and checking my equipnent tofind out why.

I

ITEM 0 February- 1959

Activation of Photoelectric Sensor

Release at about T plus 20 hours

The photoelectric sensing device in Pioneer IV was suces-sfully activated by a hydraulic timer at T plus 20 hours, atwhich time the speeding probe was 140,000 miles from the earth.

The photoelectric sensor, mounted on the bottom of the probeat an angle commanding a view of the moon as the probe movesbeyond it, will start to send radio signals in the form of audiblepulsations when the probe is within 22,000 miles of the moon. Itwill continue to send back information until it is on the farside of the moon on its way out into space.

The sensing device, activated by the light received throughtwo apertures in the pistol-shaped mounting on the bottom of theprobe, provides information on proximity of' Pioneer IV to themoon. This device is a prototype for an optical trigger whichmight be used to control picture-taking mechanisms in futurespace probe experiments. This mechanism, however, does not takepictures of any kind.



- 16 -

ITEM P

Time: T p l u s 33 hours

Proposed NASA-IGY Announcement

P r o j e ct s c i e n t i s t s have r e p o r t e d t h a t P io n ee r I V i s nowi n o r b i t arou nd t h e sun . I t i s t o o e a r l y t o s t a t e t h e p r ec i sep a t h of t h e o r b i t , b u t t e le m e t r y r e c e iv e d by t r a c ki n g s t a t i o n si nd i ca t e s t h a t t h e pe rformance of t h e pho t oe l ec t r i c s ens o r , a sw e l l a s t h e pos i t i o n , ve l oc i t y and d i r e c t i on o f P ioneer I V a tth e t ime of f i r in g , as s ur es achievement of a s a t i s f a c t o r y o r b i t .

A l t e rna t e s t a t emen t i f above not confirmed

P r o j e c t s c i e n t i s t s have r e p or t ed t h a t t h e Pioneer I V i s con-t i n u i n g t o r e t u r n t e l em e tr y d a t a t o t r a c k i n g s t a t i o n s . I t s

ps o t i on i s , ( i f known).

I . .



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ANNEX 2

COMMUNICATIONS:

1. This plan will be supported by continuous communicationsbetween the sites of the test activity and sources of evaluationand information.

2. In essence, the communications network required for thisproject will consist of two major integrated nets. Each have a

specific purpose as follows:

A. The Amy-NASA Tracking Network:

(See Item L)

B. Public Information Network:

This network provides direct telephone and teletype com-munications between NASA, Washington, D. C. and AMR, Florida;telephone and TWX communications between NASA, Washington and JPL,Pasadena; and commercial telephone between NASA, Washington andABMA, Huntsville, Ala. (See Phase V, for: details).



- 18 -

PIONEER I V INFORlvlATION PLAN

ANNEX 3

Pi c t o r ia l , Radio and TV Requirements

1.) Motion Picture Ffim Coverage:

Motion pi ct ur e s to ck foo tage of pre-launch and launcha c t i v i t i e s w i l l be programmed by Walter Hering, NASA PhotographicCoorc$inator, Atlantic Missile Range.

Respon s ib i l i ty f o r accompli shing mot ion p ic tu r e f i l m coverage:,

The RCA f i l m group a t the At lan t i c Miss i l e Range w i l l accomplisht h e f i l m coverage i n 35mm black and white and color 16m c o lo r f o rpre- launch and l aunch a c t i v i t i e s .

Process ing and d i spos i t ion of motion picture f i l m footage:

The pre-launch footage w i l l be re leased t o t h e n a t i o n a l TVand newsreel pool members on a h o l d f o r r e l e a s e u n t i l l aun ch ed ori n d e f i n i t e l y d e l a y e d b a s i s , via Defense Department processing andand s ec ur i t y rev iew, The launch footage w i l l be flown t o Wash-ington by t h e Air ,Fo rce and r e lease d t o t h e n a t i o n a l TV andnewsreel pool members.,

2 , ) 28-Minute National re le as e f i l m on Probe

The f i lm sec t ion o f JPL i s preparing a 28-minute motionp i c t u r e i n co l o r and sound. T h i s f i l m w i l l inc lude a h i s t o r y of

the Juno projects as wel l as photography of t h e scheduled February28 launch. T h i s f i l m w i l l be given na t iona l re le ase i n the weeksa f t e r t h e la un ch .

A 20-minute, ed i t ed ve rsi on of t h i s f i l m ( d e l e t i n g f o ot a geof th e l aunch) i n b lack and whi te w i l l b e r el e as e d t o t h e t e l e -vision and newsreel pool members on a h ol d f o r r e l ea s e u n t i llaunched or in de f i n i t e ly delayed ba s i s on February 24, 195g0

3 . ) TV-Radio Coverage:

TV coverage a t AMR w i l l be accomplished on a pool bas i s bythe pool member designated. T h i s coverage may be released upon

launch according t o t h e d e f i n i t i o n s e s t a b l i s h e d p r e v i o u s l y i nt h i s p l an ,

Post-launch announcements and pr es s br ie f i ng w i l l be covered

I t w i l l a l s o be a v a i l a b l e to motion picture news-by radio-TV a t NASA, Washington.

not be pooled,r e e l s . L i a i s o n w i t h radio and TV a t NASA, Washington w i l l be pro-vided by Dick Mittauer.

This coverage may be live and w i l l



- 19 -


ANNEX 4

February 28, 1959

I. Policy:

Civilian contractors particlpathng in the development, manu-facture or test of equipment used in the space probe experiment,and with the conduct of the experiment itself; will be givenappropriate public recognition, Contractors will be authorizedto conduct advergising and public relations activities in supportof the program, within the limitations of NASA regulations andsubject to the clearance and approval in advance by NASA throughnormal operating channels,, This release will not be made earlierthan determination of a successful launch and trajectory betweentwo t o three hours after launch,,

I1 Procedure

A . Principal point of contact for information for all con-tractors participating in the space probe experiment will be NASA,

I Washington (Paul Haney). I

B e Upon approval of this plan NASA will provide implementinginstructions to all contractors,,

C, Companies participating in the experiments will beauthorized to prepare and submit for clearance brief releases des-cribing the company's participation in the program and 8 x 10glossy photographs with negatives of the item o r activity withwhich the company is concerned. When cleared through NASA, thismaterial will be incorporated in a Contractor Press Kit" to bereleased after a successful launch at NASA, Washington and AMR.

'1

D. Participating companies w i l l be authorized to preparehometown releases on members of their organizations directlyinvolved in development, manufacture and test of equipment and theconduct of the experiments. These releases may take either writtenor audio-visual form. Releases will be submitted to NASA, forreview and clearance prior to release.

and to the contractors' participation therein may be prepared aheadof time by contractors for release after determination of a success-ful launch and trajectory,mitted to NASA for review prior t o release.

E. Institutional advertising, giving recognition to the program

Proposed advertisements will be sub-

- END -- FOE OFFICIAL USE ONLY -

pioneer iv press kit

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