san marco-c press kit

8/7/2019 San Marco-C Press Kit

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NATIONAL MRONAUTKS AND SPACE ADMINISRATlON (m)-41WASHINGTON,Dx. i46 TEIS: (a)63-6-

* m a acLEASE:N.7 1 2 4 3 3 6. (ACCMSION NUMB^) (THRU)

e-3(NASA CR OR TMX OR AD NUMBER)

37)(CATEGORY)SUNDAYApr i l 18, 1971

The t h i r d spacecra f t i n a j o i n t I t a l i an -Uni tedS t a t e s cooperative space program i s scheduled t o b e launchedby a four-s tage Scout rocket from an I t a l i a n platform i nt h e Indian Ocean t h r e e miles off t h e coas t of Kenya, Africa,no e a r l i e r than Apr i l 24 .

Called San Marco-f, t h e 360-pound (164 Ki logram)s c i e n t i f i c spacecra f t , b u i l t i n I t a l y , c a r r i e s t h r e e s p ec i a l ldesigned ics t ruments -- one I t a l i a n and two U . S . -- t o

- -s tudy t h e environment of th e upper atmosphere i n th e equa-t o r i a l region.

The o r b i t planned for San Marc3-C i s eq u a to r i a l , i n c l i n eonly t h r e e degrees, with an apogee of about 500 s t a t u t e miles(800 Kilometers), and a per igee of 130 s t a t u t e miles (214 KmIt w i l l c i r c l e t h e Earth once every 95 minutes. The launch-ing w i l l be conducted ,by an I t a l i a n crew.


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-2 -The San Marco prog ram i s J o i n t l y m anaged by t h e C e n t r o

R i c er c he A e r o s p a z i a l i d e l l v U n i v e r s i t a D e gl i S t u d i d i Roma(Aer ospac e Rese arch Cen ter of t h e U ni ve rs i t y of Rome)--CRA--of I t a l y a nd t h e N a t i o n a l A e r on a u ti c s a n d Sp ac e A d m i n i s t r a t i o n ' sG od da rd S pa c e F l i g h t C e n t e r , G r e e n b e l t , MD.

Under t e rms o f t h e ag reemen t s i g ne d i n Nov. 1967 ,r e s p o n s i b i l i t i e s f o r t h e pro gra m were d i v i d e d a s f o l l o w s :I t a l y d es ig ne d and b u i l t t h e s p a c e c r a f t , i n t e g r a t e d f l i g h te x p e r i m e n t s a n d w i l l c o n du c t l a u n c h o p e r a t i o n s . The U.S,,u n d er t h e a gr e e me n t , h a s p r o v i d e d t h e S co u t l a u n c h r o c k e t ,two e x p e r i m en t s , t e c h n i c a l c o n s u l t a t i o n , l au n ch crew t r a i n -i n g . B o t h c o u n t r i e s v f a c i l i t i e s a r e i n vo lv ed i n s p a c e c r a f tt r a c k i n g a nd d a t a a c q u i s i t i o n ,

The f i r s t phas e of th e program--under an agreement signedMay 1 96 2- -i nv ol ve d t r a i n i n g I t a l i a n e n g i n e e r s a nd t e c h n i c i a n sa t t l ie NASA Wallops S t a t i o n , VA , A s e r i e s of s o un d in g r o c k e tl a u n c h i n g s p r e c e d e d t h e f i r s t San Marco la un ch from WallopsDc?. 15 , 1964 . Meanwhi l e, t he San Marco p l a t fo rm was b u i l tand San Marco 2 was l aunched by an I t a l i a n crew u s i n g a NASA-p r o v i d ed S c ou t r o c k e t A p r i l 26, 1 9 6 7- Both s a t e l l i t e s p r o vi d e de x c e l l e n t d a t a r e l a t i n g t o a tm os ph er ic d e n s i t i e s i n t h e d p p e ra tmosphe re .


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-3-Sara Marco-C w i l l be t h e t h i r d s a t e l l i t e lam ehied from

t h e San Mareo p l a t fo rm , The sec ond s a t e l l i t e , t he U , E ,E xp l o re r 42 ( t h e Smal l Astronomy Sate l l i te -A) , w a s s u c c e s s f ul au nc he d i n t o o r b i t , by an I t a l i a n crew, on Dee. 1 2 , 1970, thf i s s t U.S. s a t e P l L t e t o be launekned by a f o r e i g n C C I W ~ P : ~ .

The launch f a c i l i t y , ea l l ed San Mareo, i s a lar3gep l a t f o r m o f a type developed by t h e U.S. Armed Porees 2s anocean dock. A s ec on d s m a l l e r p l at f o r m e a l l e d t h e S m t a Ritawhich Hooks l i k e a "Texas Tower" o f f- s ho r e c i l d r i l l i n g rlg,i s l o c a t e d a b o u t 580 yards f rom the Sari Mareo platform, I tc o n t ai n s t h e c o n t r o l and o p e r a t i o n s c e n t e r , range equipmentand t e s t rooms. The two p la t f orm s a r e connec ted b y undele:qatec a b l e s .

The pr imary se ient i f' i e ob jec t iv es o f San Mareo-C are t oo b t a i n atmospheric drhg, d e n s i t y , n e u t r a l c o m p o s i t i o n andt e r n p e ~ a t w e at a on t h e tapper atmospkmere.

Three d i s t i n c t i n st r u m e nt s a r e c a r p i e d b y t h e satellite,t h e pr im a sy one b u i l t by t h e I t a l i a n e n g in e er s and two-a d d i t i on a l i n s t rum e n t s p rov i ded by t he U niked States, I n f a r -m a ti on ob t a i ne d f rom t he se shou l d e na b l e se i e n t i s k s to mdey-s t a nd b e t t e r t h e c om plex m ee ha nisns a f f e c t i n g t h e upper a tno-sphere and develop a mope ae e w a t e model of t he u p p e r atmosph


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Much r em a ins t o be l e a r n ed ab ou t t h e E a r th ' s u pp eratmosphere. I t i s a r e g i o n where v a r i o u s t y p e s o f p a r t i c l e s ,such as n e u t r a l atoms an d m ol e cu le s, i o n s , f r e e r a d i c a l s ande l e c t r o n s , i n t e r a c t w i t h e ac h o t h e r . S o l a r h e a t i n g and otherphenomena such as e l e c t ro m a gn e t i c d i s t u rb a n c e s , c r e a t e ehernicr e a c t i o n s und er c on d it i on s t h a t a r e d i f f i c u l t , i f n o t impos-s i b l e , t o reproduce i n a t e r r e s t r i a l l ab or at or y .

The ad ve nt o f s a t e l l i t e s h a s e na bl ed s c i e n t i s t s t c carr:,o u t an in t en s i v e an d s y s t em a t i c pr og ram of d i r e c t a t r r .o s ~ne r 4s t u d i e s n o t p o s s i b l e e a r l i e r . While t h e s e s t u d i e s have areatbroadened ou r under s tand ing o f a tmospher ic behav io r and com-p o s i t i o n , t h e y h av e a l s o p o i n te d t o l i t t l e - u n d e r s t o o d c hange sw hich a r e o ccu r r i n g , p e r h ap s as a r e s u l t o f a t mo sp he ri c tidalmot ions and g r av i t y waves.

Once i n i t s e qu a t o r i a l o r b i t , San Marco-C w i l l b et r a c k e d a nd d a t a a c q u i r e d b y two k ey s t a t i o n s , one Italian anone U.S. The I t a l i a n s t a t i o n c a l l e d Mobil e I t a l i a n Tele1,metrSta t ion (MITS) i s lo ca te d i n Kenya a t t he San Marco Base CanpI t s job w i l l be t o s e r v e t h e pr im ary s t a t i o n f o r s p a c e c r a f tc o n t r o l and d a t a a c q u i s i t i o n .

The U.S. s t a t i o n , l o c a t ed n ea r Q u i t o , Ecuado r, w i l l a c q ud a t a a n d s e r v e a s a backup t o t he ]!TITS f o r sp ac ec ra r t c on t ro lI t i s one of t h e s t a t i o n s of th e NASA-operated Space T r a c k i n gand Data Ac q u i s i t i o n Network (STADAN). A t h i r d s t a t i o n t o b eu se d f o r a d d i t i o n a l t r a c k l- n g s u p po r t i s t h e F re nc h N,ztlor:a L Cf o r S p ace S tu d ie s ( C N E S ) a t Kourou, i n French Guiana,

-more-


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-5 -A f t e r e v a l u a t i o n b y t h e p r i n c i p a l i n v e s t i g a t o r s , the

s c i e n t i f i c r e s u l t s f ro m San Marco-C, w i l l b e d e p o s i t e d int h e N a t i o n a l S pa ce S c i e n c e D a t a C e n t e r , G r e e n b e l t , MD , f o pu se b y t h e workd s c i e n t i f i c community.

San Marco-C was b u i l t under au sp ic es of t h e CRA inRome. The Sco ut la un ch r o c k e t i s managed f o r NASA b y theLang ley Resea rch Cen te r , Ham~ton ,VA. The rocket i s b u i l tby ~ing-Temco-Vought, Aerospace Corp ., D a l l a s .


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N E W S1 L

NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION WOWASHINGTON, D .C ,20546 TE LS

FOR RELEASE: SUNDAYApril 18, 1971RELEASE NO: 71-63

contents

GENERAL RELEASE---------------------------------------- 1 -5THE SAN MARCO SPACECRAFT------------------------------- 6INSTRUMENTATION---------------------------------------- 7Neutral Atmospheric Composition Experiment----------- 8San Marco-C Experiments and Investigators------------ 8SCOUT LAUNCH VEHICLE-----------------------------------Launch Facility-------------------------------------- 99-10LAUNCH AND ORBIT SEQUENCE OF EVENTS-------------------- 11SAN MARCO-C FACT SHEET--------------------------------- 12SAN MARCO-C PROJECT OFFICIALS AND CONTRACTORS---------- 1 3


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-2-The San Marco program i s j o in t l y managed by t h e Cent ro

R i c e r A e r o s p a z i a l i d e l l 1 U n i v e r s i t a D e g l i S t u d i d i Roma ( Aero -spac e Research Center of t h e Un iv er s i ty of Rome)--CRA--of I t a l yand t h e Na t ion a l Ae r ona u t i c s a nd S pa ce Ad m in i s t r a t i on t s GoddardS pa ce F l i g h t C e n t e r , Gr e e nbe l t , MD.

Under t e rms of t h e l a t e s t agreement s igne d i n May 1969 ,r e s p o n s i b i l i t i e s f o r t h e program were d i v i d e d a s f o l l o w s :I t a l y d es ig ne d and b u i l t t h e s p a c e c r a f t , and c on du ct s l a u n c ho p e r a t i o n s . T h e U.S., unde r t h e a gr e em e nt , p r ov ide s t he Scoutl a u n ch r o c k e t , two e x p e r i m e n t s , t e c h n i c a l c o n s u l t a t i o n , l a u n chcrew t r a i n i n g , and s p a c e c r a f t t r a c k i n g and d a t a a c q u i s i t i o n ,

The f i r s t phas e of t h e program--under an agreeme:nt s i gn edMay 1962 -- involve d t r a in in g I t a l i a n e ng ine e r s and t e c hn i c i a nsa t t h e NASA Wallops S t a t i o n , VA. A s e r i e s o f s ou n di ng r o c k e tl a unc h ing s p r e c e ded t h e f i r s t S an Marco l a unc h f r om Wa llops Dee15 , 1 9 6 4 . Meanwhile , t h e San Marco pla t f or m was b u i l t and SanMarco 2 was launched by an I t a l i a n crew us in g a NASA-providedS c ou t r oc ke t Apr i l 26 , 1 9 6 7 . Both s a t e l l i t e s p r o vi de d e x c e l le nd a t a r e l a t i n g t o a t mo sp he ri c d e n s i t i e s i n t h e u pp er a tm os ph er e,


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-3 -San Marco-C w i l l be t h e t h i r d s a t e l l i t e l au nc he d from

t h e S an Marco p l a t f o r m . The s ec on d s a t e l l i t e , t h e U . S . E x p l o r42 ( t h e S m a l l A stro no my S a t e l l i t e - A ) , was s u c c e s s f u l l y l a u n c h e di n t o o r b i t , by a n I t a l i a n c re w, on Dec. 1 2 , 1 97 0.

The l a u n c h f a c i l i t y , c a l l e d Sa n Marco, i s a l a r g e p l a t f or mdeve loped by t h e U.S. Armed Forces as an ocean dock . A seconds m a l le r p l a t f o rm c a l l e d t h e S a n t a R i t a w h ic h l o o k s l i k e a " Te xTower" o f f- sh o re o i l d r i l l i n g r i g , i s l o c a t e d a b o u t 5 0 0 y a r d sf r o m t h e S a n M a r c o p l a t f o r m . I t c o n t a i n s t h e c o n t r o l- and o p e rc e n t e r , r a n g e e qu i pm e nt a nd t e s t r oo ms . The two p l a t f o r m s a r ec o n n e c t e d by u n d e r w at e r c a b l e s .

The p r i ma r y s c i e n t i f i c o b j e c t i v e s o f S an Marco-C a r e t oo b t a i n at m o s p h e ri c d r a g , d e n s i t y , n e u t r e l c o m p o s i ti o n and tern-p e r a t u r e d a t a o n t h e u p p er a t m os p he r e.

T hree d i s t i n c t i n s tr um e nt s a r e c a r r i e d by t h e s a t e l l i t e ,t h e p ri ma ry o n e b u i l t by t h e I t a l i a n e n gi n e e r s and two a d d i t i o ni n s t r u m e n t s p r o vi d e d by t h e U n i te d S t a t e s . I n f o r m at i o n o b t a i n ef r om t h e s e s h ou ld e na b le s c i e n t i s t s t o u nd e rs ta n d b e t t e r t h ecomplex mechani sms a f f e c t i n g t h e uppe r a tmosphe re and deve lop am ore a c c u r a t e m od el o f t h e u p p e r a t m o s p he r e .


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Much r em a in s t o b e l e a r n e d a b o u t t h e E a r t h ' s u p pe ra tmosphere . I t i s a r e g i o n where v a r io u s t y p e s o f p a r t i c l e s ,s u ch a s n e u t r a l atom s and m o l e cu l e s, i o n s , f r e e r a d i c a l s and

e l e c t r o n s , i n t e r a c t w i th e ac h o t h e r . S o l a r h e a t i n g and o t h e rphenomena s u c h a s e l e c t r o m a g n e t i c d i s t u r b a n c e s , c r e a t e c h e m ic ar e a c t i o n s u nd er c o n di t io n s t h a t a r e d i f f i c u l t , i f n o t im p os s ibt o r e p ro d u c e i n a t e r r e s t r i a l l a b o r a t o ry .

The ad ve nt of s a t e l l i t e s h as e n a bl e s c i e n t i s t s t o c a r r yo u t a n i n t e n s i v e and s y s t e m a t i c pro gra m of d i r e c t a t m o sp h e r ics t u d i e s no t p o s s i b l e e a r l i e r . While t h e s e s t u d i e s have g r e a t lb r o a d en e d o u r u n d e r s t a n d i n g o f a t m o s p h e r i c b e h a v i o r a nd c o m p ot h e y have a l s o p o i n t ed t o l i t t l e - u n d e r s t o o d c ha ng es which a r eo c c u r r i n g , p e rh a ps a s a r e s u l t o f a tm o sp h er ic t i d a l m o t io n s , ag r a v i t y w av es .

Once i n i t s e q u a t o r i a l o r b i t , San Marco-C w i l l bet r a c k e d and d a t a a c q u i r e d by two key s t a t i o n s , o ne I t a l i a n andone U.S. The I t a l i a n s t a t i o n c a l l e d M obile I t a l i a n T ele me tr yS t a t i o n ( M I T S ) i s l o c a t e d i n Kenya a t t h e S an Marco Base Camp.I t s j o b w i l l be t o s e r v e t h e pr im ar y s t a t i o n f o r s p a c e c r a f tc o n t r o l and d a t a a c q u i s i t i o n .

The U . S . l s t a t i o n , l o c a t e d n e a r Q u i t o , E cu ad or , will a c q u id a t a an d s e r v e a s a back up t o t h e MITS f o r s p a c e c r a f t c o n t r o l ,I t i s one o f t h e s t a t i o n s o f t h e NASA-operated Space T rack ingand Data A c q u i s it io n Network (STADAN). A t h i r d s t a t i o n may b eu se d f o r a d d i t i o n a l t r a c k i n g s u p p o rt . I t i s o p e r a t e d by F r a n ca t K ourou , i n F r e nc h G u ia n a. -more-


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San Marc o Range Locat ion


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THE SAN MARC0 SPACECRAFT

The 360-pound, Italian-built San Marco-C spacecraft i s a30-inch-diameter sphere with four 19-inch antennas for commandand telemetry transmissions protruding from its top. It is quisimilar in construction to San Marcos I and 11.

The spacecraft is unique i n that the payload configurationconsists of two masses separated by triaxial drag balance.One of these--the inner mass, containing all of the instrurnenttion, is heavier than the lighter, outer shell. The two Rassesare connected by triaxial flexing members.When the spacecraft moves i n orbit around the Earth, theouter sphere encounters the thin upper atmosphere and is retardby this drag slightly. The heavier inner masses, however,continue moving unaffected by the drag working on the outer

shell except for the forces transmittea by the llexible connec-tions. This causes the distances between the outer shell andthe "floating" inner core to change, depending on the amount ofdrag experienced.Similar changes take place in the three flexible arms thatconnect the core and the shell. The precise degree of move-ment--actually the atmospheric drag--is measured by sensingdevices and transmitted to ground stations on command by means telemetry. A pneumatic caging system protects the drag balancemechanisms from excess loads during handling and launch.The sensors for direct measurements of the neutral atmo-

sphere are mounted 180 degrees apart on the middle inner structof the spacecraft.The spacecraft has a passive thermal control system to maitain a safe temperature ranging from about 32 degrees F to abou100 degrees F. Unlike earlier San Marco spacecraft, San Marco-employs an attitude control system, a spin rate control system solar panels mounted equatorially on the inner structure,


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INSTRUMENTATION

Data obtained from the three especially designed instrumenon San Marco-C should greatly enhance man's knowledge of theupper atmosphere and the dynamic changes which occur there asa result of seasonal, solar, magnetic and other effects.The Drag Balance

This balance, an integral part of the satellite, wasprovided by the CRA. It will continue the drag force balanceinvestigation carried by the first two San Marco spacecraft,Its operating technique is described on page 4,Because of the sensitivity of the balance, precise measurements of short-period variations--such as daily density variatican be obtained.. Such measurements made in conjunction with

the direct measurements, will help to determine the moleculartemperature of the upper atmosphere and to determine molecularweights .A critical factor in .successful operation of the dragbalance is that a stabilized spin rate of six rpm must bemaintained. It will use three telemetry data channels.

Omegatron

This instrument provided by the NASA Goddard Space FlightCenter and the University of Michigan, will make directmeasurements of the temperature and distribution of molecularnitrogen in the path of the spacecraft orbit.This unique 32-pound (15 kilograms) device operateson a principle similar to that of a cyclotron. It is auto-matically tuned to measure molecular nitrogen using sensorelements enclosed in a spherical chamber with a center linelocated in the equatorial plane of the satellite.The motion of the chamber during satellite roll resultsin a variation of pressure in the chamber permitting measuremenof nitrogen concentration and particle energy distribution to

be made. Changes in the output current provide signals whichare proportional to the temperature of the gas. The omegatronwill be operated by six different ground commands. It willuse three telemetry channels--one of which it shares withsatellite housekeeping data.


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Neutral Atmospheric Composition Experiment

The Goddard-provided Neutral Atmospheric CompositionExperiment (NACE), a mass spectrometer device, which will makdirect measurements of the density of constituents of theupper atmosphere--molecular nitrogen, molecular oxygen, atomioxygen, argon and helium. The information obtained willprovide insights into the complex mechanisms controlling theupper atmosphere.The device, which weighs 32 pounds (15 kilograms) issimilar to mass spectrometers flown on NASA Explorer satellit17 and 32--the Atmosphere Explorers--the first spacecraftdevoted exclusively to the study of the neutral upper atc.ospThe operating principle of the NACE employs the double-focusing technique - it will provide nearly simultaneousmeasurement of the major components of the upper atmosphere,

Its measurement capability is extremely precise.The NACE is operated by seven commands and uses threetelemetry data channels.

San Marco-C Experiments and Investigators

1. Drag Balance: Professor Luigi Broglio, PrincipalInvestigator, Centro Ricerche Aerospaziali (Centerfor ~ e r o s ~ a c eesea rch), Rome.2. Omegatron: Nelson W. Spenser, Principal Investigator,NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD, andCo-investigator, George Carignan, University of Michigan,Ann Arbor.3. Neutral Atmosphere Composition Experiment (NACE):George P. Newton, Principal Investigator, and David T,Pelz, Co-investigator, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center,


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S iW MARCO-B LAUNCH. Apri l 26, 1967 -more-


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SCOUT LAUNCH VEHICLE

Scout i s NASA's o n l y s o l i d p r o p e l l a n t l au n ch v e h i c l e w i t ho r b i t a l c ap ac i t y . The f i r s t - d ev e l o p m en t S co ut was l au n ch edJ u l y 1, 19 60 . The SM-C m i s s i o n i s e xp ec te d t o be t h e 7 3rd S cl a un c h. S i n c e t h e Sc ou t was r e c e r t i f i e d i n 19 63 , t h e la u n c hv e h i c l e h a s a t t a i n e d a 94-per c e n t s u c c e s s r e c o r d .

Scout B i s a f o u r -s t a g e s o l i d p r o p e l l a n t r o c k e t s ys te m,Scout No. S-173 and t h e sp a c e c ra f t w i l l be s e t on a n i n i t i a ll au n ch az i m u t h o f 90 d eg r ee s t o o b t a i n a 2 14 x8 00 -k il om et ero r b i t w i t h 2 .9 d e g r e e s i n c l i n a t i o n a nd 9 4 .8 m i n u te s t o c om pl eo n e r e v o l u t i o n .The four Scout motors -- A l g o l 11, C a s t o r 11, A n t a r e s I1a n d A l t a i r I11 -- a r e i n t e r l o c ke d wi th t r a n s i t i o n s e c t i on s t hc o n t a i n g u id a nc e , c o n t r o l , i g n i t i o n , a nd i n s t r u m e n t a t i o n s ys t es e p a r a t i o n s ys te m s a nd t h e s p i n m ot or s ne ed ed t o s t a b i l i z e t h

f o u r t h s t a g e . C o nt r ol i s ach ieve d by ae rodynamic su r f ac es ,j e t v a ne s a nd h yd ro ge n pe r o x i d e j e t s .The l aunch ve h i c l e i s a p p r ox i m a te l y 73 f e e t ( 2 2 , 2 5 m e t e r slon g and weighs abou t 40 ,000 pounds (17 ,144 k i l ogr am s) a t l i fo f f ,

The Scout program i s managed by NASA's L an gl ey Ze s ea r chCenter , Hampton, VA. The l au n ch v e h i c l e i s b u i l t by LTVAerospace Corp. , D a ll a s . The San Marco la unc h complex i sowned an d o p e r a t e d by t h e I t a l i a n go ve rn ment an d t h i s S cou tw i l l b e l a u nc h ed by a n I t a l i a n l a u n c h cr ew .

L a u n c h F a c i l i t yThe S an Marco l au n ch f a c i l i t y i s owned and operated byt h e I t a l i a n g ove rnme nt. I t i s composed of two of ' f-sho re p l a tf or ms s t a t i o n e d i n Formosa Bay t h r e e m i l e s o f f t h e c o a s t o fKenya 2.9 deg re es sou th o f th e Equa to r . The l aunch p la t fo rmSan Marco, i s l o c a t e d 5 70 m e t e r s f r om t h e S a n t a R i t a p l a t f o r mw hic h h o us e s t h e c o n t r o l an d o p e r a t i o n s c e n t e r a nd s u p p o r t i n grang e equ ipmen t . The p la t fo rms a r e connec ted by submar ineco n t r o l an d pow er ca b l i n g .


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The l a u n c h p l a t f o r m h a s 2 0 s t e e l l e g s f i r m l y embeddedi n t h e s an dy s e a be d a t l a t i t u d e 2 d e gr ee s 56 m i n u t e s 4 0 seconS o u t h , l o n g i t u d e 4 0 d e g r e e s 1 2 m i n u t e s 47 s e c o n d s E a s t - -i d e a l f o r e q u a t o r i a l s pa ce l a u n c h i n g ~ . A 1 2 0 - f o o t ( 3 6 . 5 3 - e t es h e l t e r , w hic h h o us es t h e S co ut v e h i c l e d u r i n g v e h i c l e ch eck -o u t p r i o r t o l au n ch , p r o v i d es a n a i r c o n d i t i o n e d e n v i r o n m e n tf o r t h e v e h i c l e w h i l e on t h e l a u n c h er . A l a r g e p i t on t h e l ap l a t f or m , open t o t h e s e a , w i l l a b s or b t h e r o c k e t e x h au s tof t h e Sc ou t f i r s t - s t a g e m ot or .

The Santa Ri t a p l a t f o r m , a LeTourneau o i l d r i l l i n g p l a t -f or m m o d if i ed by t h e I t a l i a n f i r m Nuovo P ignone , co n t a i ns t h en e r ve c e n t e r o f t h e p r o j e c t , t h e c o n t r o l room, a nd h o us es t h et r a c k i n g a nd i n s t r u m e n t a t i o n r e q u i r e d t o l a u nc h an d t r a c k t h eS c o u t .T h e r e a r e 2 3 c a b l e s , l i n k i n g t h e S an Marco l a u n c h c om plew i t h i t s s i s t e r p l a t f o r m . Some i d e a o f t h e c o m pl e x it y o f t h eo p e r a t i o n c a n b e g ai ne d f ro m t h e f a c t t h a t t h e r e a r e more t h a3 ,0 00 c o n n e c ti o n s of v a r i o u s k i n d s l i n k i n g t h e two p l a t f o r m s ,I n d e p e n d e n t g e n e r a t o r s a t t h e two l o c a t i o n s p ro duc e e l e c t r i c ia t two v o l t a g e s t o meet t h e r e q u ir e m en t s o f t h e s c i e n t i f i ceq uip men t an d t h e h o u si n g a nd o t h e r f a c i l i t i e s .


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DECdIUD PUP OF SAN YiRCO RANGE F A C I L I T ~

San 1krco Platform - Scout Launch Faci l i tySa.nta R i t a Platform - liange and Communications Control


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LAUNC H AND ORBIT SEQUENCE OF EVENTS

The se qu en ce of e v e n t s fr om l i f t o f f u n t i l t h e s p a c e c r a f ti s f u l l y o p e r a t i o n a l i s as f o l l o w s :Launch Sequence

Event

L i f t o f fF i r s t s t a g e bu rn ou tSecond s t a g e i g n i t i o nSecond s t a g e b u r n o u tT h ir d s t a g e i g n i t i o nT h i r d s t a ge bu rnou t

T h i r d s t a g e s e p a r a t i o nF o u r t h s t a g e i g n i t i o nF o u r t h s t a g e b ur n o u t a nd

o r b i t a l i n j e c t i o nS p a c e c r af t s e p a r a t i o n

Time (seconds )


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SAN MARCO -C FACT SHEET

L au nc h: From t h e I t a l i a n E q u a t o r i a l R an ge , S a n M arco P l a t f o r mi n I n d i a n O cean t h r e e m i l e s o f f t h e c o a s t o f K enya.Launch Rocket : Four - s tage Scout B rocke t , Number S-173C-O r b i t : Apogee: 500 s t a t u t e m i l e s . ( 80 0 K m )P e r t w e e : 1 30 s t a t u t e m i l e s . ( 21 4 Km)P e r i o d : 95 m i n u t e sI n c l i n a t i o n : 3 d eg r ee s t o t h e E q u a to r .S p a c e c r a f t W e i g h t : 360 pounds ( 1 6 4 k i l o g r a m s )Main S t r u c t u r e : S p h er e , 30 i n c h e s i n d i a m et e rA pp en da ge s: F o u r a n t e n n a s , 1 9 i n c h e s l o n g .Power S y st em : 32 p a n e l s o f s o l a r c e l l s m ou nte d o n o u t s i d eo f s p a c e c r a f t s p h e r e t o p ro v i d e power t o c h a rg etw o n ic k el -c a dm i um b a t t e r i e s p l u s a s ta n d b ym e rc u r ic o x i d e b a t t e r y .Communications and Data Handl ing Sys tem: A 10-channe l ,p u ls e am pl i t ude modul -at ion (PAM)/f requency modu la t ion (FM)/phase modu la t i on (PMj sys t em. Sys tem in c l ud es t h r e e subcom-m u t at e d c h a n n e ls an d two re d u nd a n t t e l e m e t r y t r a n s m i t t e r s ,T r a n s m i t t i n g f r e q u e n c y i s 13 6.7 4 MHz. Tr an sm is si on i s by commo n l y .Command Sy st em : 43 command c a p a c i t y .T r a c k i n g a nd D a t a A c q u i s i t i o n : M ob il e I t a l i a n T e l em e t ryS t a t i o n (M IT S) , K enya. Q u i t o , E c ua d or s t a t i o n o f t h e G oddardS pa ce F l i g h t C e n t e r ' s S pa ce T r a ck i n g an d D a t a A c q u i s i t i o nNetwork (STA DA N) i t h a d d i t i o n a l t ~ a c k i n g u p p o r t f ro m t h eCNES s t a t i o n a t Kourou, Fren ch Guia na.O p e r a t i n g L i f e t i m e : More t h a n s i x m on th s.


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SAN MARCO-C PROJECT OFFICIALS AND CONTRACTORS

N a t i o n a l A e r o n a u t i c s a n d S p ac e A d m i n i s t r a t i o nProgram Manager J o h n R . H o l t zDeputy Program Manager Raymond M i l l e rP rogram S c i e n t i s t D r . Erwin R . S c h m e r l i n gSco ut Program Manager Paul Goozh

NASA/Goddard Spac e F l i g h t Ce nt er

Pro e c t Manager Anthony J . C a p o r a l eP r o j e c t S c i e n t i s t G eo rg e P . NewtonP r o j e c t C o o r d i n a to r M . . HandegardT r a c k i n g a n d D a t a S y s t e m sManage r Thomas RyanNASA/Langley R es ea rc h Cen te r

P r o j e c t Manager Ro land D . E n g l i s hHead Scou t Te ch n i ca lO p e r at i o n s S . J . A i l o rHead Scou t Ope ra t ion s L . R . F o s t e rLaunch Opera t ions C . W . W i n t e r s

C e n t r o R i c e r c h e A e r o s p a z i a l (CRA)

P r o f . L u i g i B r og l i o D i r e c t o r CRAP r o f . C a r l o B u on gi or no P r o j e c t C o o r d i na t o rP r o f . G i o rg i o R a v e l l i S p a c e c r a f t M a n a g e rP r o f . M i c h e l e S i r i n i a n R ange M an ag er

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