ranger vii press kit

8/8/2019 Ranger VII Press Kit

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NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AN D SPACE ADMINISTRATION TELS WO 2-4155N 3WASH1NGTCOi4D.C/20546 WO 3-6925FOR RELEASE: THURSDAY AM' sJuly 23, 1964RELEASE NO: 64-176SEVENTH RANGER

READY FOR LAUNCHON MOON PHOTO FLIGHT

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration isplanning to launch from Cape Kennedy, the seventh Rangerspacecraft, designated Ranger-B, on a mission to obtain close-up photographs of the Moon during the six-day period beginningJuly 27.

During this-time the Moon will be in its third quarterwhen lighting conditions are satisfactory on desirable targetQ areas.

An Atlas-Agena will be the launch vehicle.The primary objective of this mission is to obtain pictures

of the Moon which will identify features one/tenth as large asare visible with the best Earth-based photography.

If all goes well, television cameras aboard Ranger willphotograph the lunar surface during the final minutes of flightbefore the spacecraft hits the Moon. The TV signals will betransmitted to Earth tracking stations and recorded on magnetictape and 35mm film. Photographs will be released 24 to 48 hoursafter impact.

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A successful mission will provide information ofscientific value concerning the Moon's surface. This data Qwill support the Surveyor unmanned soft lander program andthe Apollo manned landing program.

The single experiment carried by the 806-pound Ranger-Bwill consist of six television cameras. In about 10 to 15minutes of operation before impact, they could provide severalthousand pictures. Not all of the photographs are expected tobe useful because the cameras are set to cover a broad rangeof uncertain lighting conditions on the Moon.

The 'irst of the current series of Rangers -- Ranger VI --hit the Moon Feb. 2, within 20 miles of its target point in theSea of Tranquility. The television cameras did not go to fullpower, however, and no pictures were returned to Earth.

After an intensive failure analysis, modifications weremade in the Ranger-B television system to insure as nearly aspossible that this failure could not be repeated.

Although this is the seventh Ranger, it is the second inthe series entirely devoted to lunar photography and is designatedRanger-B. If the launch is successful, the spacecraft will benamed Ranger VII.

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TRAJECTORY LIUTQ-JATIONS ON RANGER Q-2' PHOTOGRt&I-{IC MISSIONS

SUNNEW SHADED REGIONS UNSATISFACTORY BECAUSEMOON SPACECRAFT'S EARTH AND SUN SENSORS CANNOTC>ADEQUATELY CRIENT SPACECRAFT

IN THIS REGION LUNAR LIGHTINGCONDITIONS AND CHOICE OF TARGET . THIS REGION MOST SATISFACTORYAREAS ARE LIMITED FOR LUNAR LIGHTING CONDITIONS.... AND CHOICE OF TARGET AREAS/b ...... \

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FIRST THIRDQUARTER a - QUARTERMOON / MOON

RANGERTRAJECTORY

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Ranger-B arrived at Cape Kennedy June 21, after a four-dayvan trip cross-country.

Durinc -ach of the six days of the launch period, thereis a launch window which varies from about 21 hours on the firstday to about 12 hours on the last day. The window opens as earlyas 11:54 a.m. EDT at the beginning of the period and, slippinga few minutes a day, opens about 2;19 p.m. EDT on the last dayof the period.

Flight time to the Moon will be about 68 hours dependingon the day of launch. The most desirable impact area will be anarea 30 degrees above to 15 degrees below the lunar equator onthe leading edge of the Moon and within 10 to 40 degrees of theshadow line or terminator.

The Ranger program is directed by NASA's Office of SpaceScienoe and Applications. It has assigned project managementto the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., which isoperated by the California Institute of Technology. NASA'sLewis Research Center, Cleveland, has project management for theAtlas-Agena launch vehicle and Goddard Space Flight Center'sLaunch Operations will supervise the launch at Cape Kennedy.Tracking and communication with Ranger-B will be by the NASA/JPLDeep Space Network (DSN) under control of JPL's Space FlightOperations Facility (SFOF) at Pasadena.

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Five scientific investigators will evaluate Ranger-B'sphotographs to determine characteristics of lunar topography. Q

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-5-U ^>W4*T*^Et- I'IROU;M TECHNICAL INFORMATION

CONTENTS

Title PaeINTRODUCTION ............ 6Modifications in A-i.. 7RANGER SPACECRAFT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8Midcourse Motor . . . . . . . ... 10Communications . . . . . . .. . . . . . 9 11Stabilization System . . . . . . . . . . . 13Television System . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14RANGER FACT SHEET . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19Previous Ranger Missions . . . . . . . . . 20LAUNCH V:EHICLE . .. . . . . . . .. 22Liftoff Weight . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23Liftoff Height . . . . 23Atlas D Booster . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23Agena B Second Stage . . . . . . . . . . . 24Countdown Sequence . . . . . . . . . . . . 25I s-) Postlaunch Sequence . . . . . . . . . . . . 25RANGERTRAJECTORY ..... ........... 28MISSION DESCRIPTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32Acquisition Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34Midcourse Maneuver . . . . . . . . . . . .7Terminal Sequence . . . . . . . . . . . . 40Television System Operation . . . . . . . . 42Photograph Recording . . . . . . . . . . . 44DEEP SPACE NETWORK . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45RANGER TEAM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50

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-6-INTRODUCTION

Ranger-B is the second in the current series of fourRangers devoted entirely to lunar photography.

The first in the serie3, Ranger VI, was launched Jan. 30carrying six television cameras tQ obtain high resolutionphotographs of the lunar surface. The basic spacecraft pir-formance was excellent and Ran2ge- Lrmpacted the Moon in the Seaof Tranquility within about 20 miles of the target point.

The television cameras, however, failed to function.Warmn-up of the cameras was achieved, but the systems did not goto full power.

The conclusion reached by a failure analysis team of per- Csonnel from NASA, JPL and Radio Corp. of America was that themost probable cause of failure was high voltage electric arcingdurirg launch which destroyed portions of the transmitter andthe TV camera electronics. It is believed that the televisionsystem was turned on during launch resulting in arcing in the lowpressure region of the Earth's atmosphere between 150,000 and250,000 feet. The switch-on of the TV system could have beencaused by a short circuit, a discharge of static electricity orby a transient electrical pulse but it is not possible to deter-mine precisely the cause.

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-7-MODIFICATIONS IN RA-B

On that basis, a decision was made to modify Ranger tocover a number of possible causes of premature turn-on of thetelevision system. These include redesign of the command controllogic and circuitry; i.e., removal from the umbilical of a num-ber of lines utilized for checkout of the television systemduring tests on the launch pad; lockout of the command circuituntil after spacecraft separation from the Agena second stage;and desensitizing of portir,-s of the command circuitry.

The television telemetry system was modified to provide 90points of telemetry over the bus transmitter at turn-on (warm-up)of either television channel. In Ranger VI the 90 points weretransmitted over the high power video transmitter only at fullpower operation. The 15 point telemetry system will functionfrom launch to impact instead of from spacecraft separation toimpact, as in Ranger VI. Changes also have been made in thepoints covered by the telemetry system and the measurement rangehas been modified for a number of points.

Additional preventative measures were taken in the areas ofthermal control, packaging, parts usage, quality assurance andtesting.

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RANGER SPACECRAFT

The Ranger spacecraft was designed and built by theJet Propulsion Laboratvory. irtduztral contractors provideda number of subsystems and ccmponents.

Ranger contInues the design concept used in earlierRangers and in tile Mariner I Venus fly-by spacecraft, of abasic unit capable of carrying varying payloads. This unit, orbus, provides power, communication, attitude control, commandfunctions, trajectory correction and a 3tabilized platform formounting scientific instruments.

The bus is a hexagon framework constructed of aluminum andmagnesium tubing and structural members. Electronics cases areattached to the six sides and a high-gain, dish-shaped antenna ihinged to the bottom. The midcourse motor is set inside thehexagonal structure with the rocket nozzle facing down. The busalso includes a hat-shaped, omni-directional antenna which is

mounted at the peak of the conical television system stra.cture.

Ranger is five feet in diameter at the base of the lixagonand 8- feet high. With the solar panels extended and the higL-gain antenna deployed, the spacecraft is 15 feet across and 10.4fee'v high.

Two solar panels are hinged to the base of the hexarcn andare folded up like butterfly wings during launch. The panels

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S w SOM-'I ANTENNARANGER ANTENNASPACECRAFT

l g CAMERA APERTURETV SUB SYSTEM

AND SHROUD PIIATTITUD CONTRO SOLAR PANEL LATCH

ATTITUDE CONTROL u v 6tELECTRONICS 0`7HIGH-GAIN ANTENNA

SOLAR PANELBATTERIES

- *ATTITUDE CONTROLGAS-STORAGE BOTTLE

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-9-provide 24.4 square feet of solar cell area and will deliver200 watts of raw power to the spacecraft. There are 4,896 solarcells in each panel. 0

Two silver zinc batteries will provide power for the busduring launch, prior to opening the solar panels, and during themlidcourse and terminal maneuvers when the panels do not pointtowards the Sun. The batteries each have a capacity for ninehours of spacecraft operation and provide 26.5 volts each. Asingle battery is capable of providing power for launch, midcourseand terminal maneuvers.

The TV system will carry two batteries to operate thecameras for one hour and to provide a nominal 33 volts.

The six cases girdling the spacecraft house the following:case 1, Central Computer and Sequencer and command subsystem; Qcase 2, radio receiver and transmitter; case 3, data encoder(telemetry); case 4, attitude control, (command switching and logic,gyros, autopilot); case 5, spacecraft launch and maneuver battery;case 6A, power booster regulator, power switching logic and squibfiring assembly; case 6B, second spacecraft launch and maneuverbattery.

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Two antennas are employed on the spacecraft. The low-C Hgain, o-ni-directional a:itenna transmits during the launchsequence and the midcourse maneuver only. It functions at allother times throughout the flight as a receiving antenna forcommands radioed from Earth.

A dish-shaped, high gain directional antenna is employedin she cruiso and terminal modes. The hinged, directionalantenna is equipped with a drive mechanism allowing it to beset at appropriate angles. An Earth sensor is mounted on theantenna yoke near the rim of the dish-shaped antenna to Iceep theantenna pointed at Earth. During midcourse maneuver thedirectional antenna is moved out of the path of the rocket exhaustO and transmission is switched to the omni-antenna.

Midcourse Motor

The midcourse rocket motor is a liquid monopropellant engine-weighfng 46 pounds with fuel and n.crogen pressure gas system.Hydrazine fuel is held in a rubber bladder contained inside adoorknob-,haped container caller. the pressure dome. On the commaLndto fire, nitrogen under 300 pounds of pressure per square inch isadmtted inside the pressure dcme and sq.,eezes the rubber bladdercontaining the fuel,,

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The hydrazine is thus forced into the combustion chamber, butQbecause it is a monopropellant, it needs a starting fluid to ini-tiate combustion and a catalyst to maintain combustion. The 1starting fluid, nitrogen tetroxide, is admitted into the combustionchamber by means of a pressurized cartridge. The introduction ofthe nitrogen tetroxide causes ignition, and the burning in thecombustion chamber is maintained by the catalyst -- aluminum oxidepellets stored in the chamber. Burning stops when the valves turnoff nitrogen pressure and fuel flow.

At the bottom of the nozzle of the midcourse motor are fourjet vanes which protrude into the rocket exhaust for attitudecontrol of the spacecraft during the midcourse motor burn. Thevanes are controlled by an autopilot linked to gyros.

The midcourse motor can burn in increments of as little as 50milliseconds and can alter velocity int any direction in incrementsof 1.2 inches per second up to 190 feet per second. It has athrust of 50 pounds for a maximum burn time of 98.5 seconds.

Communications

Aboard the spacecraft are three radios: the three-wattreceiver/transmitter in the bus and two 60 watt transmitters inthe television section of the payload. The television transmitterswill transmit, during terminal sequence, the ianages recorded by

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-12-Q~ the six TV cameras. One transmitter will handle the two fullscan (wide angle) cameras; the second will transmit for the fourpartial scan (narrow angle) cameras.

During the cruise portion of the flight, before the camerasare switched on, the bus transmitter will transmit all the telemetry(engineering data) for the spacecraft including the TV system.At lunar encounter, with the television cameras turned on, theTV transmitters will send additional engineering data mixed withthe signals representing the television images.

Telemetry will provide 110 engineering measurements (tempera-tures, voltages pressures) on the spacecraft during the cruise por-tion of the flight. This will include 15 data points on the TVsystem. when the cameras are turned on, additional engineeringmeasurements on the TV system performance will be transmitted.

The communications system for the bus includes: data encoderswhich translate the engineering measurements for transmission toEarth and a detector and a decoder in the command system, whichtranslates incoming commands to the spacecraft from a binary forminto electrical impulses. Commands radioed to the spacecraft arerouted to the proper destination by the command system. A real-timecommand fror. Earth actuates the designated relay within the commanddecoder thus executing the command. Stored commands are relayed tothe CC&S in serial binary form to be held and acted upon at alater time.

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-13-The TV system includes separate encoders to condition

the television images for transmission in analog form.

Stabilization System

Stabilization and maneuvering of the spacecraft is providedby 12 cold gas Jets mounted in six locations and fed by twotitanium bottles containing a total of five pounds of nitrogengas pressurized at 3500 pounds per square inch. The Jets arelinked by logic circuitry to three gyros in the attitude controlsystem, to the Earth sensor on the directional antenna and to sixSun sensors mounted on the spacecraft frame and on the backs ofthe two solar panels. There are two complete gas jet systems ofsix Jets and one bottle each. Either system can handle the missionin the event the other system fails.

The four primary Sun sensors are mounted on four of the sixlegs of the hexagon and the two secondary sensors on the backs ofthe solar panels. These are light-sensitive diodes which informthe attitude control system when they see tne Sun. The attitudecontrol system responds to these signals by turning the spacecraftand pointing the longitudinal or roll axis toward the Sun. Thespacecraft is turned by the cold gas Jets fed .y the nitrogen gasregulated to 15 pounds per square inch pressure.

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Computation and the issuance of comgilands is the functionof 'the Central Computer and Sequencer. All events of the space-craft are contained in three CC&S sequences. The launch sequencecontrols events from launch through the cruise mode. The mid-course propulsion sequence controls the midcourse trajectorycorrection maneuver. The terminal sequence provides required |commands as Ranger-B nears the Moon.

The CC&S provides the basic timing for the spacecraft systems. iThis time-base will be supplied by a crystal control oscillator in Hthe CC&S operating at 307.2 kilocycles. The control oscillatorprovides the basic counting rate for the CC&S to determine issuanceof commands at the right time in the three CC&S sequences.

Television System

Although the Moon has been the object of astronomical studiesfor centuries, there has been a great deal of speculation about thetexture of its surface but little scientific proof. The best in-formation available comes from observations of the Moon throughlarge optical telescopes. Although these instruments providemany details about the Moon:s surface, their resolution, or abilityto detect objects, is limited to about a mile. Astronomers peeringthrough the thick layer of atmosphere around the Earth are not ableto detect craters in the Moon's surface that are much less than amile in diameter.

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The first Ranger pictures, to be taken about 1120 milesabove the lunar surface, will be roughly comparable in resolutionto t:-ose taken by large telescopes on Earth. The last fewpictures will be taken a fraction of a second before the Rangercrashes. These pictures, which will be telemetered approximately225,000 miles back to Earth, may be able to distinguish objectson the Noon which are the size of an automobile.

The 382-pound television package, designed and built byRadio Corporation of America's Astro-Electronics Division,Princeton, N.J., is shaped like a truncated cone 59 inches high,27 inches wide at the base, and 16 inches wide on top. It ismounted on the hexagonal base of the Ranger spacecraft bus. Itis covered by a shroud of polished aluminum with a 13-inch openinear the top for the television cameras. The shroud is circledby four one-inch-wide fins that are designed to supply properthermal balance by absorbing solar heat during the cruise mode.

The television system consists of two wide-angle and fournarrow-angle television cameras, camera sequencers, video combiners,telemetry system, transmitters, and power supplies.

The six cameras, which are located near the top of the tele-vision tower, are designated F (for full-scan) and P (for partial-scan) cameras. Of the two F cameras, one has a 25mm lens with a

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speed of f/l and field of view of 25 degrees. The othercamera has a 75mm, f/2 lens with a field of 8.4 degrees.

Cameras P-1 and P-2 have 75mm f/2 lenses with 2.1 degreefields of view, while P-3 and P-4 have 25mm, f/li lenses with6.3 degree fields.

All cameras have high-quality lenses with five elements andmetallic focal plane or slit-type shutters. This shutter isnot cocked as in conventional cameras, but moves from one sideof the lens to the other each time a picture is taken. Theexposure time is 1/500 of a second for the P cameras, 1/200 ofa second for the F cameras.

The entire six-camera assembly weighs 59 pounds. It ismounted so that the cameras are pointed at an angle of 38 degreesfrom the roll axis of the spacecraft.

All the cameras have a fixed focus but will be able to takepictures from about 1100 miles to within one-half mile from theMoon's surface.

One reason for having several cameras with different lensapertures is that the locai g'tinQ conditions on the Mooncannot be accurately determined from Earth. The different lensesprovide greater exposure latitude. They are set to take picturesfrom 2600 to 30 foot lamberts. Thlis corresponds roughly tolightin-g conditions on Earth from noon to dusk.. A foot lambertis a measure of brightness.

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Behind each of the camera shutters is a vidicon tube oneinch in diameter and 4.5 inches long. The inside of the face 6>plate of the tubes are coated with a photo-conductive material KJthat acts in much the same way as tubes in commercial televisioncameras. When a picture is taken, the light and dark areas forman image on the face plate cf l what the lens gathered as theshutter was snapped. This image is rapidly scanned by a beamof electrons. The beam is capable of differentiating light anddark areas by their electrical resistance -- high resistancebeing a light area, low resistance, dark.

The image projected on the face plate of the F cameras is.44 inches square, while the P camera vidicon face plates useonly .11 inches square. The F camera pictures are scanned 115^times by the electron beam, but because they occupy a smallerarea, the P camera are scanned only 300 times.

The scan lines, each containin- information about some partof the picture, are converted into an electrical signal. Theyare sent through the cameras' amplifier where they are amplified1,000 times.

Once amplified, the signal is sent to one of two video com-biners in the television subsystem. There is one video combinerfor the F cameras and one for the P cameras. They sequentially

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combine the outout of the cameras to which they are mated. Theoutput of the video combiners are then converted to a frequencymodulated (FM) signal and sent to one of the two 60-watt trans-mitters. One transmitter sends pictures to Earth from the Fcameras on 959.52 me and the P pictures are sent on 960.58 mc.

Another vital component of the television subsystem are thecam.ea sequencers. The camera sequencer sends three types ofinstructions to the cameras: (1) snap shutter, (2) read-outvidicon face plate, (3) erase face plates and prepare for nextpicture.

The vidicon face plates are erased in the following manner:special lights built around the vidicon tubes are flashed tosaturate the face plate. The plate is then scanned twiice by theelectron beam at increased frequency to remove all traces of theprevious image.

Thus, in the case of the F cameras, the camera sequencer wouldsend instructions alternately to each camera at 2 .56-second inter-vals. While one camera is taking a picture, reading out, andtransmitting it, the other will be erasing its vidicon face plate.The camera sequencer for the P cameras sends instructions every .2seconds in the following order: P-1, P-3, P-2, and P-4.

The TV subsystem includes two batteries, one for each channel.Each battery weighs 43 pounds. They are made of 22 sealed silverzinc oxide cells and provide about 33 volts. The total powercapacity is 1,600 watt hours per battery.

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RANGER PACT SHEETLAUNCH VEHICLE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Atlas-Agena BDIMENSIONS LkUNTCH VEHICLE- '

Total height, with Ranger spacecraft,plus shroud . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100 feet plus 4Atlas ................ .... ...... 66 feetAgena B ............. ..... ...... 22 feetRanger with shroud . . . . . . . . . . 12 feet

DIMENSIONS RANGERIn launch positionDiameter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 feetHeight . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8.25 feetIn cruise positionSpan . ..... . . .. . . . . . . . . 15 feetHeight . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10.25 feet

WEIGHT RANGERSsructure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91.15 poundsCoim;.unications . . . . . . . . . . . . 38.71 poundsAttitude Control and Autopilot . . . . 59.05 poundsData Encoder....... . . . . . . . . 20.10 poundsCentral Computer and Sequencer . . . . 9.61 poundsPropulsion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45.22 poundsPower (Solar Panels, Launch Backup

Battery, Etc.) . . . . . . . . . . . 123.30 poundsMiscellaneous Equipment . . . . . . . . 37.85 poundsRanger Bus Total . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 424.99 pounds

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TIV SUBSYS'T*1--';Cameras . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37.95 poundsCamera Electronics . . . . . . . . . . 48.68 poundsVideo Combiner . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.17 poundsSequencer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13.92 poundsBatetri es. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86.24 poundsTrarns: .Itters and AssociatedEcuipment . . . . . . . . . ... . . . 70.24 pouindsStructure and Miscellaneous . . . . . . 121.30 poundsTV Subsystem Total . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 381.50 pounds

GROSS WEIGHT. . . . . . . ...... ...... ... 806.1'9 pounds

Previous Ranger Missions

.Earlier anger spacecraft had two assignments. Rangers Iand II were development launches with the mission of proving thespace flight concept (launch vehicle with parking orbit andattitude stabilized spacecraft) and making deep space scientificmeasurements. Although the launch vehicles did not place thespacecraft in the desired orbit, Rangers I and II were deemedsuccessful tests of the spacecraft concept.

Rangers -I-,IV nd V, had the mission of rough landing a cap-sule on the lunar surface to return seismic information, secr.ingmedium resolution TV pictures of the lunar surface and otherscientific measurements.

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Ranger III was given excessive velocity by the launch Nvehicle and crossed the Moon's orbital path too soon, Thespacecraft, however, achieved Earth and Sun lock and executeda midcourse maneuver and an attempt was made to obtain a longrange photograph of the Moon. During the terminal maneuver, inthe attempt to point the spacecraft's television camera at theMoon, a malfunction occurred in thq Spacecraft Central Computerand sequencer and the maneuver was unsuccessful.

Ranger IV failed shortly after injection. The failure wasbelieved to be in the spacecraft's control clock. The launchvehli.cle, however, performed excellently and tracking revealedthat the spacecraft crashed into the hidden portion of the leadingh--mTiphicre of the MoonI.

Aanvrr V als3o faied shortly after injection. The failurewas believed to be in the switching and logic circuitry of thepower system.

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LAUNCH VEHICLE

Ranger-B will be la'unhed by an Atlas D booster and anAguna B second stage combination. The Atlas will rise verticallyand pitch over to an azimuth angle determined by the launch time.The ground guidance system sends commands by radio which ct of'and jettison the Atlas' two booster engines, and shortly after-wards cut off its sustainer engine. After a vernier adjustmentof velocity, the Atlas and Agena separate.

The Agena engine then fires until orbital speed of approximately17,45O mph is reached. The engine outs-off and the Agena and theRanger coast over the Atlantic in a parking orbit at an altitudeof 115 statute miles. The Agena engine re-ignites at the pre-determined end of this coast period and burns until the injectionvelocity of approximately 24.,500 mph is reached. Shortly aftercut-off the Agena separates from the Ranger.

The NASA Lewis Research Center, Cleveland, Ohio, has tech-nical direction of the Agena program. Seymour C. Himmel is AgenaProject Manager at Lewis. George M. Bode is Ranger ProjectEngineer.

Lewis purchases the Agena-B vehicle and its equipment forparticular missions directly Crom LDckheed; the Atlas is pur-chased through the Space Systems Division of the U.S. Air ForceSystems Command.

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Lewis launchings for the Ranger program are conductedby the Goddard Space Flight Center's Launch Operations Branchat Cape Kennedy, Florida.

Laun h countdown begins approximately seven hours beforethe estimated liftoff. This countdown allows some time forrepair or replacement of equipment that malfunctions duringthese checks and still have the vehicle ready to meet the openingof the launch window.

Liftoff Weight

Atlas/Agena-B//Ranger About 277,000 pounds

Liftoff Height

Atlas/Agena-B/Ranger approx. 104 feet(including adapters)

Atlas D Booster

Propellants . . . . . . . . . Liquid oxygen and RP-1, a kerosene-type fuel.Thrust . . . . . . . . . . . Approx. 370,000 pounds at sea level.Height . . . . . . . . . . . Approx. 66 feet.Liftoff Weight . . . . . . . Approx. 260,000 pounds (fueled).Propulsion . . . . . . . . .Two booster engines, one sustainerengine arnd two vernier attitude androll control engines (built by

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Speed . . . . . . . . . . . Approx. 12,600 mph (at apogee forRanger flight).

.uidance . . . . . . . . . General Electric radio commandguidance equipment; Burroughs groundguidance computer.Contractor . . . . . . . . . General Dynamics/Astronautics, SanDiego, Calif.

Agena-B Second Stage

Propellants . . . . . . . . . Inhibited red fuming nitric acid(IRFNTA) and unsymmetrical dimethylhy-drazine (UDMIi).Thrust . . . . . . . . . .16,000 pounds in space.Height . . . . . . . . . . . 21 feet.Weight . . . . . . . . . . . 16,000 pounds (fueled).Propulsion . . . . . . . . . One engine (built by Bell Aerosystems

Co., Buffalo, N.Y.)./--Speed . . . . . . . . . . . . Approx. 17,500 mph after first burn*

Approx. 24,525 mph at spacecraftLnjection*Guidance . . . . . . . . . . A self-contained system made up oftiming devices, an inertial referencesystem, a velocity meter and an in-frared horizon sensing device.Contractor . . . . . . . . . Lockheed Missiles and Space Company,Sunnyvale, Calif.

* For ,Ranger flight.

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Countdown SequenceT minus time in minutes (approximate)

395 . . . . . . . . . . . . Deliver pyrotechniques to launchcomplex.155 . . . . . . . . . . . . . Start Agena UDMH tanking.135 . . . . . . . . . . . . . Complete UDMH tanking.130 . . . . . . . . . . . . . Remove service tower.90 . . . . . . . . . . . . . Start IRRFA tanking.65 . . . . . . . . . . . . . Complete IRFNA tanking.60 . . . . . . . . . . . . . Evaluate countdown (built-in hold;60 minutes maximum).455 . . . . . . . . . . . . IStart Atlas LOX tanking.7 . . . . . . . . . . . . . Built-in hold (10 minutes minimum)Go/No Go status check; optimize

launch time.2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . Secure LOX tanking.2 seconds . Engine full thrust.0 . . . . . . . . . . . . . Release/Lift-off

Postlaunch SeouenceT plus 'vime in seconds (approximate)

0 . . . . . . . . . . . . . Lift off.03 . . . . . . . . . . . . . Start programmed roll maneuver thataligns vehicle with the requiredtrajectory azimuth.

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15 . . . . . . . . . . . . . Vertical ascent ends, programmedpitch maneuver begins.) 136 . . . . . . . . . . . . BECO (booster engines cut off).143 . . . . . . . . . . . . Atlas booster thrust sectionjettisoned.288 . . . . . . . . . . . . SECO (sustainer engine cut off).306 . . . . . . . . . . . . VECO (vernier engine cut of>).307 . . . . . . . Shroud separates from Ranger.310 . . ..... . . . . . . Separation of Agena/Ranger from Atlas.345 . . . . . . . , . . . . Agena ullage rockets ignited toposition propellants at pump inletsfor . . .357 . . . . . . . . . . . . Start of lst burn that will last untilvelccity of Agena/Ranger reachesapproximately 17,500 mph.510 . . . . . . lst burn cut off, vehicle entersorbit at , an altitude of about 115miles. It will coast here for a timeperiod determined by the launch dayand hour.Variable . . ........ . 2,1d burn ullage rockets ignite to(depends on day and position propellants near pump inletshour of launch) for . . .Variable . . . . . . . . . . Start of 2nd burn which continues un-til vehicle velocity has been increased

to approximately 24,525 mph.154 seconds . . . . . . . . Ranger separates from Agena.after 2nd burn157 seconds . . . . . . . . Start maneuvers to re-position Agena.after 2nd burn

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5"4 seconds . . . . . . . . Fire Agena retrorock'ets.after 2nd burn

The launch vehicle has completed its part of the missionwhen the spacecraft is separated from the Agena. With Agenaretrofire, the second stage decelerates, passes behind the Moonand enters a solar orbit. Thus, Agena will be well out of theway wnea Ranger begins its programmed Sun and Earth acquisitionmaneuvers to orient the spacecraft for its long flight to theMoon.

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RANGER TRAJECTORYTo launch a Ranger spacecraft on a trajectory from Earth

that wvill put the craft on an acceptable course to the Moonrequires threading the vehicle through a 10 mile diameter tar-get 120 statute miles above the Barth's surface at a velocitywithin 16 mph of 24,470 miles per hour. If these accuraciesare achieved, then a midcourse maneuver is capable of adjus-ting the trajectory to yield an impact on the Moon in the de-sired area.

This circular target (injection point) remains relativelyfixed in space each day of the firing period. The Cape Kennedylaunch site, however, is continually moving eastward as theEarth rotates. Therefore, the firing angle (azimuth angle)

' from the launch site, and the length of time spent in a park-In- orbit, must change minute by minute to compensate for the-arth's rotation. Actually the trajectory engincer computesa set of lunar trajectories for each day of a launch period.

In calculating a trajectory for a Noon flight, the tra-jectory engineer must include the influence on the path ofthe spacecraft of the gravitation pull of the Earth, Moon, Sun,Venus, Mars and the giant planet Jupiter. At the same time hemust satisfy numerous constraints imposed by mechanical limi-tations of the spacecraft, a moving launch site, photographicrequirements and tracking and communication considerations.

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For example, Ranger can only be launched during a por-tion of the Moon's third quarter. For photographic purposesthe Ranger must impact the Moon on the sunlit side visiblefrom Earth and within 10 to 40 degrees of the terminator orshadow line for lighting angles that will provide good contrastand shadow detail in the pictures.

The new Moon and full Noon phases are not acceptable be-cause of attitude control requirements for the spacecraft.The spacecraft loc':s onto th- Sun and Earth for orientationand in these periods the orientation is insufficiently accurateto provide adequate nidcourse or terminal maneuvers.

Dn the fir3t quarter of the Noon the sunlit side is thetrailing half and there are technical limitations on targetareas and satisflctory lighting angles.

This leaves the third quarter as the only acceptable lunarphase for launching.

Knowing the days of the month in which he can launch, thetrajectory engineer must now determine which portion of eachday is acceptable. The answer is that only a few hours of eachday are useable. The fact that his launch site is moving east-ward and his launch angles are limited, means he can only fireat certain times and reach the injection area above the surfaceof the Earth.

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Other constraints imposed include the requirement thatthe Moon be visible to the Goldstone tracking station in theltojave desert at impact. The transit time to the Moon, con- 0trolled by the injection velocity, must conform to this require-

4ment. The injection velocity changes, from day to day, from24,,459 mph to 24,486 mph as the Moon's distance and declination jrelative to Earth changes.

Further, the trajectory selected must not place the space-craft in the Earth's shadow beyond specified amounts of time.Too much time in the Earth's shadow would chill spacecraft componentsand then subject them to too rapid heating when the spacecraftemerged into the glare of the Sun.

Assume that a set of trajectories for the launch periodhave now been computed that satisfy all the myriad constraintsthat are imposed. The launch vehicles will then impose errorsin the flight trajectories due to inherent limitations in theaccuracy of the guidance system. Guidance errors, within designlimits, can be corrected by the small rocket engine carried byRanger. This midcourse correction will be commanded at about16 hours after launch. Prior tracking of the spacecraft willhave revealed the extent of the correction required.

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TYPICAL RANGERQ&UNCIl TO MOON 0As% MOON

NORTH POLE 0 DMIDCOURSE MANEUVERCORRECTS INITIAL GUIDANCE/L ovAtERRORS OF POSITION

AILAS ) \ AND VELOCITYFIRING ' -. ,**Ist AGENA t3v rg\AFIRING FIRING DIRECTION

AGENA COASTSINCIRCULARAPARKING ORBITAT 17,500 MPH,ALTITUDE 115 Mi.MONCRIR RELATIVELY FIXEDFINAL ABOUT INSPACE FOR ANYAGENA FIRIIIG 1 MI. DIA. / ON E LAUUC1I DA Y

IF RANGER ENTERS 10-r,11LE-DIA1METERCIRCLE WIThUI 16 13PH OF DESIREDINJECTION VELOCITY, THEN MIDCOURSEMOTOR CAIN ADJUST TRAJECTORY FORLUNAR IMPACT. DESIRED INJECTIONVELOCITY VARIES FROM 24,463 TO 24,487MPH DEPENDING ON DATE OF LAUNCH


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Additional tracking of the spacecraft after the midcourseQ maneuver will verify and/or determine the final portion of thetrajectory and the resulting impact location. This will allowaccurate calculation of the terminal maneuver (changing ofattitude of spacecraft to yield desired pointing direction ofcamera) to be performed prior to impact.

The spacecraft will be accelerated as it nears the Moonby the lunar gravitational pull. This will slightly alter thetrajectory from the original elliptical path about the Earthand yield a lunar impact. Tile spacecraft will impact the Moonat about 5800 miles per hour.

The location of the impact can only be predetermined with-in a circle approximately 24 miles in diameter. This circleis defined by the effects of the uncertainties of: locationof the Moon in respect to Earth, evaluation of tracking data,influence of Sun, Moon and planets on the trajectory, locationof tracking stations, precise shape of Earth and Moon and otherfactors. Analysis of tracking data after the flight will con-siderably reduce this uncertainty of the impact location.

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LAUNCH

RANGER TRAJECTORY TO MOONI.S hrs

\Fi DCOU??sE10 hrs-'' M-ANEUVERMOON'S GRAVITY BEGINS TO16hrs-a PULL PANGER IN TOWARD MOON

20 hi's TERMINAL MANEUVEIR30 hrs 60 MIN. BEFORE IMPACT

40 hrs , /50 hi's , p

68 hfisG0 hrs

h 50 hs;ItC~: Np 1E;wSa0 hr.LAUCHi %30rsX 20 hrs10 hts

Qa . - l


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MISSION DISCRIPTIONThe Atlas-Agena launch vehicle will boost Ranger to an

J ltitude of 115 miles and an orbital speed of about 17,500miles an hour using the parking orbit technique pioneered in thefirst Ranger flights. Orbital speed will be achieved by thefirst burn of Agena after Atlas has sepa-'ated.

Some 23 minutes after launch, Ranger's Central Computerand Sequencer (CC&S) will give its first command, ordering theRanger transmitter to full three-watt power. Until this time,the transmitter had been kept at reduced power -- about 1.1 watts.This is required during the time the launch vehicle passes througha critical region between 150,000 and 2504000 feet altitude wherearcing can occur in high voltage devices and cause damage tocomponents.

Agena and Ranger now coast in the parking orbit over theAtlantic Ocean until they reach a point where the second firingof the Agena will aim the spacecraft at the target In space wherethe Moon will be approximately 68 hours later. The second firingof the Agena engine will accel rate the spacecraft to about 24,470miles an hour and inject Ranger on a lunar trajectory.

The length of the coast period is determined by the time ofday ard day of the month of launch, i.e., the changing distancebetween launch site, which is moving with the rotation of theEarth, and the point in space where Ranger must be injected.

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Spring-loaded explosive bolts then separate the Rangerfrom the Agena. The Agena will perform a 180-degree turn anda retro maneuver to remove it from the-spacecraft trajectory. QPropulsion for the retro maneuver is provided by a small solidfuel rocket motor. The retro maneuver insures that the Agenawill not impact the Moon and that it will not be in a positionto reflect light that could confuse the Ranger's optical sensorsand cause them to mistake the Agena for the Earth.

Separation from the Agena will cause the Ranger to begin aslow tumbling motion. The trembling continues until carcelledout by the attitude control s,3tem during Sun acquisition. Theyaw, pitch a;, roll gyros will generate signals to fire the coldgas Jets to counteract the tumbling motion.

Separation of the Agena will start the mechanical back-uptimer, the TV back-up clock, and release the CC&S for issuanceof flight commands. During launch the CC&S will be partiallyinhibited to insure that flight commands will not be given in-advertently.

The mechanical back-up timer will remove an inhibit on the TVsystem at separation plus 30 minutes. Until this time the TV sys-tem has been inhibited from being turned on. However, thetelevision back-up clock which is mechanized to turn on the TVat lunar encounter is still inhibited and remains so until launch

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plus 32 hours. About one hour after launch the CC&S willorder deployment of the solar panels., Explosive pin pullersholding the solar panels in their launch position will bedetonated to allow the spring-loaded solar panels to openand assume their cruise position.

Opening of the solar panels will trip a switch to releasethe inhibit on the TV system as a back-up to the same functionby the mechanical back-up timer.

Acquisition Modes

With the solar panels deployed, the CC&S will activate theSun sensor system, gas jet system and command the attitudecontrol system to seek the Sun. At the same time that the CC&SO rders Sun acquisition, it will order the high-gain directionalantenna extended. The drive motor then will extend the antennato a pre-set hinge angle that was determined before launch andstored in the antenna control module.

In the Sun acquisition mode, the Sun sensors will. providesignals to the gas jet system that maneuvers the spacecraftabout until its long axis is pointed at the Sun thus aligningthe solar panels with the Sun. A back-up command for Sunacquisition will also be given by the mechanical timer. Boththe Sun sensors and the gyros can activate the gas jet valves.

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In order to conserve gas, the atti.tude control systempermits.a pointing error toward the Sun of one degree, or ahalf-a-degree limit in each direction. It is calculated that 0the gas jets will fire one-fiftieth of a second each 60 minutesto keep the spacecraft's solar panels pointed at the Sun.

The Sun acquisition process is expected to take a maximumof 30 minutes. As soon as the solar panels are locked on theSun, the power system will begin drawing electric power fromthe panels. The batteries will now only sihpply power in theevent of a peak demand which the panels cannot handle andduring midcourse maneuver and terminal sequence.

The next event initiated by CC&S is the acquisition ofEarth by thG Earth sensor. This will occur at about three andone-half hours after launch. The CC&S will activate the EarthSensor, (turning off the secondary Sun sensors at this point)and order a roll search. The gas jets will fire to initiatethe roll. A radio command capability is provided to back upthe initiation of this event.

During Earth acquisition, the spacecraft will maintain itslock on the Sun, but with its high-gain directional antanaua poJ,'ftedat a preset angle, it rolls about its long axio and starts tolook for the Earth. It does this by means of 'Che three-section.,

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photomultiplier tube Perated Earth sensor mounted on andaligned with the high-gain antenna. During the roll, theEarth sensor will see the Earth and inform the gas Jets. Thejets will fire to keep the Earth in view of the sensor andthus lock onto the Earth. Earth acquisition requires a maximumof one-half hour.

The spacecraft now is stabilized on all three axes. Thereis some possibility that the Earth sensor, during its searchfor the Earth, may see the Moon and lock onto it, but the DeepSpace Network stations have the capability to send an overridecommand to the attitude control system to tell it to look againfor the Earth. If this is not sufficient, the stations canO end a hinge override command to change the hinge angle and thenorder another roll search. When the Earth is acquired, the trans-mitter is switched from the omni-antenna to the high-gain antennaby a command from Earth.

A rise in signal strength will be an indication that Earthacquisition has been achieved by the high-gain antenna.

With Sun and Earth acquisition achieved, Ranger now is in itscruise mode.

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Midcourse ManeuverThe cruise mode will continue until time for the mid- 0

course trajectory correction maneuver. After launch, most ofthe activity on the lunar mission will be centered at the DSNstations and at the Space Flight Operations Facility at JPL.

Tracking data collected by the DSN stations will be sentto JPL and fed into a large scale computer system. The computerwill compare the actual trajectory of Ranger with the course re-quired to yield the desired impact on the Moon. If guidanceerrors before injection have put Ranger off the optimum trajectory,the computer will provide the necessary figures to command thespacecraft to alter its trajectory. This involves commands forroll, pitch and motor burn. Roll and pitch orient the spacecraftand motor burn controls the velocity increment required to alterthe flight path and time of flight.

The first command from Goldstone will give the direction andamount of roll required, the second will give the direction andamount of pitch needed, and the third will give the velocitychange needed. This data is stored in the CC&S until Goldstonetransmits a "go" command.

Prior to the "go" command, Goldstone will have ordered theRanger transmitter to switch from the dish-shaped directionalantenna at the base of the craft, to the omni-directional antenna

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mounted at the peak of the superst-ucture. The directionalantonna will not remain Earth-oriented during the maneuver. A

Commands preprogrammed in the CC&S fo r the midcoursesequence initiate the following: the Earth sensor, mounted onthe dish-shaped antenna, is turned off; the hinge-mounteddirectional antenna itself is moved out of the path of the mid-course motor's exhaust; the autopilot and accelerometer arepowered and pitch and roll turns are initiated. During themaneuver the CC&S will inform the attitude control subsystemof the pitch and roll turns as they occur, for reference againstthe orders from Earth. An accelerometer will provide accelerationrates to the CC&S during motor burn to the CC&S. Each pulsefrom the accelerometer represents a velocity increment of 0.03meters per second. 0

The roll maneuver requires a maximum of 9.5 minutes of time,including two minutes of settling time, and the pitch maneuver re-quires a maXimum of 17 minutes including two minutes of settlingtime. When these are completed, the midcourse motor will beturned on and burn for the required time. As the attitude controlgas jets are not powerful enough to maintain the stability ofthe spacecraft during the propulsion phase of the midcourse maneuver,moveable jet vanes extending into the exhaust of the midcoursemotor control the attitude of the spacecraft in this period.

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cmc

-n: /7tE-Xe:

- 4 -'-'~


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39-The Jet vanes are controlled by an autopilot in the

attitude control subsystem that functions only during the rdld-course maneuver. The autopilot accepts information from thegyros to direct the thrust of the motor through the spacecraft's 4center of gravity to stabilize the craft.

After the midcourse maneuver has put Ranger on the desiredtrajectory, the spacecraft will again go through the Sun ant1Earth acquisition modes.

During midcourse, Ranger had been transmitting throurh theomni antenna. 'WhenEarth is acquired, the transirtter is wi'tchodto the high-gain directional antenna. This antenna will be usedfor the duration of the flight.

Ranger is again in the cruise mode. TI-is Will continueuntil time for the terminal maneuver.

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TLR14IiAL SEQUENCE 0 'In the following, the velocity, camera coverage, and

distance from the Moon numbers represent one possible trajectoryamong many. They are close, however, to expected velocitiesand distances.

It may be required, as the Ranger nears the Moon, to commanda maneuver that will aim the cameras at the lunar surface orchange the camera angle to provide higher quality or coverage ofa desireable area.

Whether or not this terminal maneuver will be required willdepend upon analysis of the orientation of Ranger to the surfaceof the Moon by personnel in the Flight Path Analysis Area of theapace Flight Operations Facility. This information will be con-veyed to the team of lunar scientists and Ranger project officialsin the SFOF who will malce a joint decision on the requirement fora maneuver.

A terminal maneuver was noG required in the Ranger VI missionas tne attitude of the spacecraft, and the camera angles, duringthe descent phase were satisfactory.

if it is decided to perform the terminal maneuver, a seriesof turn commands will be transmitted to the spacecraft from theGoldstone station at ; approximately 67 hours after launch. Thesecommnands will be stored in the 3pacecraft's central computer andsequencer. -more- 0


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A "go" command will be sent to Ranger from the DSN Goldstonstation at one hour from impact and the CC&S will switch theattitude control system from the primary Sun sensors to the gyrosand command the first pitch turn. The spacecraft's solar panelsmay now be turned partly away from the Sun and in that eventelectrical power for the bus is supplied by one of the two space-craft batteries.

The terminal maneuver, if performed, will require about 34minutes. It will begin when the spacecraft is approximately 3940miles from the Moon traveling at about 3400 miles an hour.

At impact minus approximately 15 minutes, the CC&S willsend a command to turn on the television system to allow it towarm-up. A radioed command for this event can be sent as a back 0up. The F chain can also be commanded into warm-up by the 'iback-up clock if the latter has not been inhibited.

The spacecraft will be approximately 1100 miles from theMoon and its velocity will have increased to about 4400 milesan hour due to the increasing effect of lunar gravity.

About a minute later, the camera sequencers turn the televisionsystem on to full power. This command will be backed up by anothercommand from the CC&S if necessary.

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-- twil

Z..F~~jf2

$,,P-9'

F C


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-42At this time, the cameras will start taking pictureis andtransmitting them to Earth by the two 60-watt transmitters.

Television System Operations

From this point until the Ranger crashes on the Moon'ssurface the two wide-angle cameras, ", hain, will take picturesat intervals ct 2.56 seconds

The four narrow angle cameras, P chain, will take picturesat intervals of .2 second.

Depending on the altitude of turn-on. 'he first picturestaken by the cameras could show areas of tl,- lunar surface thatare 180,000 and 19,000 square miles for the F cameras and 12,500and 1,200 squxare miles on the P cameras.

These first pictures should have a resolution comparable tothose taken by Earth-based telescopes. They will be vital,however, in identifying the r-eneral area being photographed.As the spacecraft approaches thie Moon thL pictures will decrease4I n area and Increase in resolution.

The !;wo F cameras are pointed at angles so that their r'c-tures overlap slightly. The .P cameras also provide additionaloverlapping p'ctures within the area ccversd by the F cameras.

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-43-The picture- with the best resolutio 1 will be taken a

few seconds prior to lunar impact.. In the case of the Fcameras a picture taken as impact minus 2.5 seconds the 25mmlens would record an area of approximately 32 square miles.The 75mm lens would cover about .38 square mile. At th's time,Ranger would be approximately four miles from impact.

The P camera could take the last complete picture at .2second before impact when the spacecraft is about 1750 feetfrom the Moon. The P cameras' 25mm lenses would provide apicture 37,500 square feet and the 75mm lenses would coveran area of 4,350 square feet.

It is impossible, however, to tell beforehand whichcamera will take the last picture. Because of this fact, plusthe unknown 2igting conditions, the resulting picture resolutioncannot be exactly predicted.

The pictures transmitted to Earth will be received by two85-foot-diameter parabolic antennas at the DSN Goldstone TrackingStation. The station. have special equipment to record thepictures on 35nmm film and on magnetic tape.

The recordlng equipment will use about 22 feet of film forthe pictures from the F cameras and about 68 feet of film for theP cameras.

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PHOTOGRAPH RECORDING

The lunar photographs transmitted to Earth from Rangerwill be recorded redundantly at the Echo and Pioneer sitesat the Goldstone station of the Deep Space Net.

Echo will be the prime recording site. The incoming datawill be recorded simultaneously on magnetic tape and on 35mmfilm. The pictures from the F channel and P channel cameraswill be recorded on separate films. Both channels will berecorded on each of two tapes.

Two tape recorders at Pioneer site will each record bothchannels. The Pioneer site will also record the P channel onfilm.

Magnetic tape duplicates and working film will be prepared 0from the original magnetic tapes. The film together with otherpertinent data such as gain settings and noise level measurements,will be delivered to the five membei scientific team In theSpace Flight Operations Facility at JPL.

The 35mm films from both sites will be stored and willnot be developed until the films prepared from magnetic tapes havebeen evaluated. A carefully controlled processing of the originalfilms will be based on the evaluation to insure the most satis-factory results.

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F( -

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40 *

'.. rr .. nust

- ,- -*},2 t

IT4 Nr X b{';I +,-At-h


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DEEP SPACE NETWORK

The Deep Space Network (DSN) consists of three permanentspace communications stations, a mobile station which can belocated to suit the purpose of a particular mission, a launchtracking station at Cape Kennedy, Space Flight OperationsFacility (SFOF) in Pasadena, Calif., and a communications net-work linking all locations.

The three permanent stations, located approximately 120degrees apart around the Earth, are at Goldstone, Calif.;Woomera, Australia; and near Johannesburg, South Africa. Sitesfor additional stations, now under construction, are near Madrid,Spain, and Canberra, Australia.

The DSN is under the technical direction of the CaliforniaInstitute of Technology Jet Propulsion Laboratory for the Na-tional Aeronautics and Space Administration.

Mission of the DSY is to track, receive telemetry fromand send conmand8 to unmann..d lunar and planetary spacecraftfrom the time they are injected into orbit until they completetheir missions.

Nerve center of the Net is the Space Flight OperationsFacility at JPL headquarters in Pasadena. The overseas stp-tions and Goldstone are linked by the conmunications network,allowing tracking and telemetry information to be sent to theSFOF for analysis.

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Since they are located approximately 120 degrees apart,the three DSN stations can provide 360 degree coverage aroundthe Earth so that one of the three always will be able to com- 0municate with a distant spacecraft.

For a Ranger mission, the mobile station is located at aposition approximately one mile east of the DSN station nearJohannesburg. It is used to provide early acquisi'ion for the85-foot-in-diameter antenna. It has a 10-foot-in-diamreterdish antenna with a seven-degree width--nine times as wide the85-foot dish--and it can track at a rate of 20 degrees persecond, better than 20 times as fast as the big dishes. Thusit is able to lock on to the spacecCft and provide pointinginformation for the 85-foot dish. Since its antenna is not aslarge as the big dishes, it cannot match them in communicationrange and consequently will be used only in the initial portionof certain flights.

All of the deep space stations of the DSN are equippedwith 85-foot-in-diameter antennas and receiving, data handling,and interstation communi-ation equipment. In addition, allthree stations have command capabi.ity. At the Goldstone sta-tLon redundant video recording capability is provided by theuse of a second 85-foot antenna and receiving and recordingequipment. A 210-foot parabolic antenna is under constructionat Guldstone.

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4-7-

The Australian station is 15 miles from Woomera Villagein South Austral:.a It consists of an 85-foot-in-diameter re-Q ceiving antenna and supporting equipmeht and buildings. TheWoomera station is operated by the Australian Department ofSupply, Waapons Research Establishment. Station manager isWilliam Mettyear.

The South African station, like the Woomera station, con-sists of an 85-foot-in-diameter receiving antenna and supportingequipment and buildings, and is located in a bowl-shaped valleyapproximately 40 miles northwest of Johannes:bwrg. The SouthAfrica station is operated bj the South African governmentthrough the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research.Dough HIoag is station manager. Paul Jones is DSN residentin Johannesburg.

0 Scientific and engineering measurements and tracking dataradioed from a spacecraft are received at one of the DSN sta-tions, recorded on magnetic tape and simultaneously transmittedto the SFOF via high speed data lines, teletype or microwaveradio. Incoming information is again recorded on magnetic tapeand entered into the SFOF's computer system fo r processing.

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-. - ----- -- . -.- .

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Scientists and engineers seated at consoles in the SFOFhave pushbutton control o0 the displayed information they re-quire either on TV screw' in the consoles, on television moni-tors or projections sc s and on automatic plotters andprinters. The process nformation also is stored in the com-puter system disc file and is available on command.

This major command center, designed for 24 -hour-a-dayfunctioning and equipped to handle two spaceflight missionsconcurrently, is manned by some 250 personnel during a missionsuch as Ranger.

In the SFOF's mission control area, stations are set upfor the operations director in charge of the mission, theoperations manager responsible for physical operation of theSFOF; the infornation coordinator and for representatives from 0Supporting technical areas.

Three technical teams support mission control personnel.Space Science An, is is responsible for evaluation of datafrom the scientif. tperimii:c;ts aboard the spacecraft and forgeneration of comm cornu'olling the experiments. In thecase of Ranger, th sot 1tific experiment will be lunarsurface photographs obtained by six 'IV cameras.

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Flight Path Analysis is responsible for evaluation oftracking datq, determination of flight path and generation ofcommands affecting the traei-ccory of the spacecraft. Space-craft Performance and Analysis evaluates the condition of thespacecraft from engineering data radioed to Earth and generatescommands to the spacecraft affecting its performance.

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RANGER TEAMThe National Aeronautics and Space Administration's pro-

grams for unmanned investigation of space are directed byDr. Homer E. Newell, Associate Adbministrator for Space Scienceand Applications. Oran W. Nicks is the Director of the Lunarand Planetary Programs Division and Newton W. Cunningham isthe Panger Program Manager.

Vincent L. Johnson is the Director of OSSA's Launch Vehicleand Propulsion Programs Division and Joseph B. Mahon is AgenaProgram Manager.

NASA has assigned Ranger project management to the JetlPropulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., which is operated bythe California Institute of Technology. Dr. William H. Pickeringis the Director of JPL and Assistant Director Robert J. Parksheads JPL's Lunar and Planetary projects.

H. M. Schurmeier is JPL's Ranger Project Manager.A.E. Wolfe is Spacecraft Systems Manager, P. J. Rygh is SpaceFlight Operations Director.

Five lunar scientists will evaluate Ranger photographsof the Moon to determine characteristics of the lunar topography.Principal investigator is Dr. Gerard P. Kuiper of the Lunar andPlanetary Laboratory of the University of Arizona at Tucson.Dr. Harold Urey of the University of California at La Jolla;Dr. Eugene Shoemaker of the United States Geological Survey at

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Flagstaff, Ariz.; Ewen A. Witaker of the Lunar and PlanetaryLaboratory of the University of Ariz.; and Raymond L. Heacockof the Jet Propulsion Laboratory are co-experimenters.

Tracking and communication with Ranger is the responsi-bility of the NASA/JPL Deep Space Network. Dr. EberhardtRechtin is JPLIs Assistant Director for Tracking and DataAcquisition and R. K. Mallis is DSN Operations Manager.

The Goldstone DSN station is operated for JPL by the Ben-dix Field Engineering Corporation. Walter Larkin is JPL'sengineer in charge.

The Woomera, Australia, station is operated by the WeaponsResearch Establishment of the Australian Departriant of Supplyrepresented by Dr. Frank Wood. Richard Fahnestock is JPL resi-dent engineer.

The Johannesburg, South Africa, station is operated bythe Council for Scientiftc and industrial Research directed byDr. Frank Hewitt. Paul Jones is JPL residernt engineer.

NASA's Lewis Research Center, Cleveland, has project manage-ment for the L.tlas-Agena launch vehicle. Dr. S. C. Himmel isAgena Project Manager.

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-52-The Atlas, designed and built by General Dynamics/Astro-

nautics, San Diego, Callf., is purchased through the SpaceSystems Division of the U. S. Air Forcq Systems Command. Roe-ketdyne Division of North American Aviation, Inc., of CanogaPark, Calif., builds the propulsion system. Radio commandguidance is by Defense Division of Geneial Electric Company andground guidance computer by the Burroughs Corporation.

The Agena B stage and its mission modifications are pur-chased directly by the Lewis Center from Lockheed Missiles andSpace Company, Sunnyvale, Calif., Bell Aerosystems Company,Buffalo, N. Y., provides the propulsion system.

Launchings for the Lewis Center are directed by the GoddardSpace Flight Center's Launch Operations at Cape Kennedy, di-rected by Robert H. Gray.

Thirty-seven subcontractors to the Jet Propulsion Labora-tory listed below, provide instruments and hardware for thisseries of Ranger lunar photography spacecraft. These contractsamounted to $32.5 million.

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C AstrodaCa, inc. Time Code Translators, TimeAnahe~nJ, Calif. Code Generators, Ground CommandRead-Write and Verify EquipmentAmpex Corp. Tape Recorder for VideoInstrumentation Div.Redwood City, Calif.Airite Products Midcourse Motor Fuel Tarks

Los AngelesBeckman Instruments, Inc. Data Monitoring Consoles forSystems Division Telemetry Operational SupportFullerton, Calif. Equipment, Digital Measuring/Recording for Power OperationalSupport EquipmentBarry Controls Hi-gain AntennaGlendale, Calif.Bell Aero Systems Co. Digital Accelerometer Modules

Cleveland, OhioConax Corp. Midcourse Propulsion ExplosiveBuffalo, New York Valves SquibsControlled Products Structural Supportsand ElectronicsHuntington Park, Calif.Dynamics Instrumentation Co. DO AmplifiersMonterey Park, Calif.Electro-Mechanical Subcarrier Discriminators forResearch Inc. Telemetry Operational SupportSarascta, Fla. Equipmentj Electro-Optical Systems Power SubsystemPasadena, Calif.Electronic Memorie.,, Inc. Magnetic Counter Modules for theLos Angeles, Ca'lf. CC&SFargo Rubber Corp. Midcourse Propulsion Fuel TankLos Angelcs, Calif. Bladdersh'eliotek Division Solar CellsTextron Electrontcs Inc.Sylmar, Calif.

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Instrument Machine Co. Pin PullersSo. El Monte, Calif0Link Division Video Processing Film ConverterGeneral Precision, Inc.Palo Alto, Calif.Mincom Division Tape Recorders for Ground Tele-Minnesota Mining and Flanu- metry Equipmentfacturing

Los Angeles, Calif.Motorola, Inc. Spacecraft Data Encoders, Trans-Military Electronics Div. ponder, and associated OperationalScottsdale, Ariz. Support EquipmentNortronics Spacecraft CC&S Subsystem, Atti-A Division of Northrop Corp. tude Control Subsystem, andPalos Verdes, Calif, associated Operational SupportEquipmentOptical Coating Laboratory, Solar Cell Cover SlipsInc.Santa Rosa, Calif.Ryan Aeronautical Co. Solar PanelsAerospace Div. o .an Diego, Calif.Radio Corporation of America Lunar Impact Television Subsys-Astro Electronic Division tem and associated OperationalPrinceton, New Jersey Support EquipmentRantec Corp. Directiqnal Couplers, Diplexers,Calabasas, Calif. and Circulators for the RF Sub-systemResdel Engineering Co. RF AmplifiersPasadena, Calif.G. T. Schjeldahl Co. Thermo ShieldNorthfield, Minn.Skarda Manufacturing Structural ComponentsEl Monte, Calif.Teb Inc. Structural ComponentsEl Monte, Calif.

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Te::az Inst'-umcnts, Inc. Spaceclaft Command SubsystemApparatus Div. and associated Operational Sup-Dallas, Texas port EquipmentTransonic Pacific TransducersLos Angeles, Calif. Voltage Controlled OscillatorsAce of Space, Inc. Electronic ChassisPasadena, Calif.Weber Metals and Supply Co. ForgingsParamount, Calif.Brockell Mfg. Co. Electronic ChassisCulver City, Calif.Dunlap and Whitehead Mfg. Co. Electronic ChassisVan Nuys, Calif.

Hodgson Mfg. Co. Electronic ChassisLa Crescenta, Calif.Milbore Co. Electronic ChassisGlendale, Calif.X-Cell Tool and Mfg. Co. Electronic ChassisHawthorne, Calif.Minneapolis-Honeywell GyroscopesRegulator Co.Aero DivisionMinneapolis, Minn.

In addition to these subcontractors, there were 1200 otherindustrial firms who contributed to this series of Rangers.

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ranger vii press kit

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