-NEWS RELEASE

NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION

400 MARYLAND AVENUE, SW, WASHINGTON 25, D.C.
TELEPHONES WORTH 2-4155--WORTH 3- 1110

FOR RELEASE: A.M':;, Tue-day

April 3, 3962
RELEASE- NO. 'a-s6

FIRST L'AUNCIIH OF CENTAUR '-JEHICLESCHEDULET)

The first Centaur launch vehicle will be test flown in

the next several days by the National. Aeronaut:ics and Space
Administration. The rocket wi:.ll be launched over a medium
range ballistic trajectory from Cape Canaveral, Florida, in
a preliminary to.-t to provide a broad range of information
needed for the further development and orbital testing of
the system.
This will be the first U. S. attempt to launch a vehicle
that uses high-energy liquid hydrogen fuel. The upper stage
of Centaur is powered by two RL-10 liquid hydrogen/liquid
oxygen engines, each developing 15,000 pounds of thrust.
Hydrogen offers more pounds of thrust per pound of pro-
pellant consumed per second than any other fuel possible in
chemical rockets. It provides approximately 4oo per cent more
thrust per pound of propellant flowr per second than hydro-
carbons such a.s kerosene which are used in some of' the
conventional rocket engines.
Centaur makes it possible for the U. S. to launch
spacecraft of much greater size and weight then ever before.
The Centaur is being developed by General Dynamics/
Astronautics under the technical. direction of the NASA
Marshall Space Flight Center. Centaur stage rocket engines
are produced by Pratt and Whitney Aircraft Division of United
Aircraft Corporation and Rocketdyne Division of North American
Aviation produces the rockets for the Atlas booster. Launching
will be under the direction of NASA'As Launch Operations Center.
In this first test, the Centaur will be launched over a
trajectory of about 1,175 miles in range and 300 miles in
C) altitude. The flight will take about 15 minutes.
.-1 (over)
 ItI; -I, C ;t ,(i t.hrnd. 20 -r i clnt rfX 11h1(' funct on.-a
t I tllmt1I Y ('<,pect,' d 'W bill C-LntOnur vQI1;cle : .1 me
att'mnfl., I n thi < exi rirnt, . Thie rockolt, .:i.11. not
carry', a paNloal.

The veli-lcie ':1ill be Ilavi ly and unil.qi ily instrumented

to provide mrc:i mom I.nformat i on on the perfomrance of both
stages and the behavior of 1 i arl d hydrogen in a gravity-
.free statc. This:; i.s in proparation for J.atcr research and
devel.oprment Cl.irghts, .in ih-ich ear;th orbits or flights into
deep ;space wi1.1 be the goal.

About 5410 channels of' information will be radioed from X

the rocket during flight, a record in U.S. rocketry. Four
hundred of them wrill be on the operation of the Centaur
second stage alone. The first known attempt Twill be made
to receive and record te)evizsion imaglee; of an internal
veh:I.cle function--a mrnall camera wrill be mounted on the
forwarl bulkhead of the second stage hydrogen tank to
observe hydrogen's reaction to zero gravity.
The hydrogen tank will be filled to about 40 per cent
capacity, which will be the approximate load level present
at the beginning of the second burning period in later
-flights.
Although second-stage engine operatio.n is not a primary
objective of this test, the engines are programmed to ignite
and burn for a short period during the vehicle's descent into
the atmosphere.

FLIGHT OBJECTIVES
Major test objectives are as follows:
1. Prove the design and function of the Centaur Launch
Complex 36 at Cape Canaveral, a multimillion dollar facility
which is being used for the first time.
2. Demonstrate the structural strength of the vehicle
to withstand the loads created during first stage powered
flight through the atmosphere. Measurements rill be radioed
to ground stations.
3., Study the behavior of liquid hydrogen under zero
gravity conditions. Of special interest will be the behavior
of the fluid daring steering naneuvers and coasting, as well
as propellant settling prior to ignition of the engines.
4. Function of mechanisms which separate the two stages.
First stage retrorockets and second stage ullage engines will
separate the two units. P
1-2
 5. The four insulation panels providing thermal protec-
tion to the second stage hydrogen tank during ascent through
the atmosphere are to be jettisoned on command from the first
stage autopilot during the powered flight of the Atlas. The
sequence is being studied to verify the operation of the
explosive bolts and separation springs.
6. A principal objective is to prove the ability of the
second stage autopilot to issue proper commands during re-
orientation, main-powered and coast phases. During coast
period, the second stage is oriented so that sun rays strike
the rear insulated bulkhead to lessen hydrogen boil-off during
the extended coasts. Prior to engine ignition, the vehicle
must reassume proper flight attitude. The autopilot provides
sequencing commands, executes guidance commands, and maintains
vehicle stabilization.
7. Other flight objectives include demonstration in
flight of Centaur's all-inertial guidance system; the
measurement of thermal environment and acceleration forces
in the payload area; determining satisfactory performance
of the telemetry system; evaluating beacon tracking perform-
ance and the study of skin temperatures on both stages.
8. The two RL-lO engines will be put through their
start cycle" during the coast phase after staging. The
cycle will be completed except that the engines will not
be ignited at that point. After other objectives have
been met and the vehicle has been reoriented to a reentry
position, the engine's start cycle will be repeated initiating
a short burning period.

FLIGHT SEQUENCE
The first stage portion of the Centaur flight is very
similar to that of a normal Atlas rocket. The booster's
three main engines and two verniers will be ignited on the
pad and the rocket will be released following a brief' hold-
down in which the proper burning condition is reached by
the booster powerplant. After about 15 seconds of flight,
the tilting of the vehicle will begin.
The booster powerplant operates for more than two minutes,
then the two main engines are dropped. The sustainer engine
continues to provide thrust and the first stage power ends
after about 42 minutes. About midway in this period, the
four insulating panels surrounding the upper stage hydrogen
tank will be jettisoned. The insulation serves to keep
liquid hydrogen boiloff at an acceptable level while on the
pad and during the peak aerodynamic heating of ascent. The
nose cone fairing, which would protect a payload from aero-
dynamic heating, is jettisoned about a minute before seperation
of stages.

1-3 (OVER)
 Approximately at the time of Atlas sustainer cutoff--
about 42 minutes--the second stare enng:lnes will enter a
start cycle. The cycle will be conplcted, except for
actual ignition.

Shortly after separation of the two stages, the second

stage orientation to the sun will begin. This occurs about
five minutes after liftoff. The engine end of the stage will
be so oriented that the sun will snine directly on it, sparing
the now uninsulated hydrogen tank sidewalls from the sun
radiation which would evaporate the hydrogen fuel at an
unacceptably fast rate.

About six minutes later, or 11 minutes after liftoff.

the second stage will begin reorienting to the proper
attitude for the firing of the engines and reentry.

The engine start cycle will again be repeated, with

ignition occurring at about 13 minutes after liftoff. At
this point the vehicle will be descending to earth at about
140 miles altitude. The two engines are programmed to burn
for about 25 seconds. The vehcile will impact about 15
minutes after liftoff in the Sargasso Sea.

INSTRUMENTATION

Of the 540 channels of data to be radioed from the -

Centaur, 400 are devoted to the upper stage. The 140
booster measurements are primarily to record the normal
functions of engines and guidance system, plus standard
vibration, bending and temperature measurements.

A majority of the instrumentation in the top stage will

gather data on engine sequencing, autopilot operation and
the reaction of a partial tank of hydrogen without the
influence of gravity.

There are two outstanding features of upper stage

instrumentation, a so-called "Christmas tree' which is
installed in the hydrogen tank, and a television camera
mounted at the top of the tank to monitor hydrogen
reaction.
The "tree" is a metal skeleton extending the length
of the tank to which many sensors are attached which will
indicate the movements of the fuel. Each limb is equipped
with sensors which will detect the presence of liquid
hydrogen.
The fuel tank will carry only 40 per cent of its normal
volume. A steel ballast plate is mounted in the forward end
to compensate in weight for the fuel shortage. )

1-I;
 The small, cylindrical TV camera is mounted in the
center of the forward hydrogen tank bulkhead. It will
take a picture every trio seconds. The resulting signal
will be transmitted to ground stations, recorded on tape
and reconverted to television pictures. A kinescope will
display the reconverted pictures for recording by a motion
picture camera to allow a more thorough study of the tank's
interior.
Providing light for the camera will be a 100,000 watt
strobe-light, which is activated a fraction of a second for
eaca exposure and thus uses a minute amount of electricity.

This is thought to be the first use of television for

observation of an internal function in a rocket.
1-5

I C.>.

4d4

I: .
 CENTAUR BACKGROUND AND VEHICLE FACT SHEET

The Centaur project was initiated in late 1958 by the

Advanced Research Projects Agency of the Department of
Defense. On July 1, 1959, the program was transferred to
the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. One
year later, NASA technical direction of the project was
assigned to the Marshall Space Flight Center.
Centaur's first assigned mission was one of the most
difficult missions--insertion of an active communications
satellite into an equatorial, stationary or 24-hour orbit
at an altitute of 22,300 miles. This required a capability
for long coast periods and multiple starts. As a result,
Centaur is a versatile vehicle capable of performing many
difficult space assignments.

The upper stage will have the capability of two engine

starts and the ability to coast in a parking orbit between
first and second burns.

At present, research and development flights are scheduled

for Centaur extending through 1963. Later flights will launch
a variety of spacecraft--the Department of Defense's Advent
communications satellite and NASA's Mariner interplanetary
(> probes and Surveyor lunar-soft landing craft.
Centaur will place some 8,500 pounds into a low earth
orbit, send some 2,300 pounds on an escape trajectory to
tr. moon, or about 1,300 pounds to Venus and Mars.
The vehicle stands about 105 feet, is ten feet in
diameter, and weighs about 300,000 pounds at liftoff.

FIRST STAGE

The Centaur first stage is a standard Series D Atlas

space booster similar to that used for Mercury and Agena
projects, except that the pointed nose has been eliminated,
To accommodate the second stage, the forwarc, conical section
of the liquid oxygen tank has been enlarged to a constant
10-foot diameter. A new 10-foot diameter interstage adapter
and separation system have been added.

Two booster engines and one sustainer engine are

powered by liquid oxygen and kerosene. The engines are
produced by the Rocketdyne Division of North American
Aviation.

2-1 (OVER)

)1
 Irn auu ttin to th r. ia.J enlgin e3s, ws1 sv.a i vr:'rv. r;
T)rovide coArL. A t'-.tai-t' ,bout 367,000 uounua z, !";t,
is acliA veu by uhe flrt; .-t.age.
Atl-as eq'i pm-r-t
C. ari.- if2Cbecai orj cnh2.,Q:- if
,nc
electrOnLc systefris, ar.c Jo trn e nte. est of '.leighTr rc u' ;. in,
Lhe standard Atias r'aidi guioarnce i.-;, irat. d--- c mo.,
new gulidance systerr being . tflC seconct .'.gt-
-'
1,rrJ:

The stage is approximac 4y 60 f'eec in heighnt, r; tjhich

c
is aaded tLhe 23-foot Jntersvage aciapuer £ ormea of .ilu, .
Fuieled, the urnit weighs some 260,000 pcunds.

SECOI!D STAGE
The second stage of tl;ht Cnrtaur is about 412 e ifn
n
length and 10 feet In d ameter. Tne weight of' the -- g
fueled, is about $2,000 povndsn, plus s;-veral riuncred
pounds of' irnsulationr which i .etzisoned early in fiighz .
T.he forward tank, much thc b-.gger of the two, can h:,; o; 'ut
4,800 pounds of hydrogen.
Tne basic constr1uc . ' 'ri tine upper tUage is miucn .;-ik
that of the Atlas--80 per crnu of tne Atlas tooinrig waas used
In this program. Most of' the ' nrew" elements in the develOp-
ment orogram relate to the pioneering use of hydrogen f'uel.
A rapid 1oss co hydrogen by boiloff' requires insuatl.un
of the hydrogen tank.through launch preparations anrd the early
phase of' the ascent where aerodynamic heating is at4 its peak.
This Is accomplished by four quarter panelP of inrsulationr
which surround the upper stage from the nose cone fei.rring L
to the inLerstage separation poont. The panel.s are st
5,t
of an inch thicic, consisVing of two fiberglass faces ene DS-
ing a foam in which fiberglass is embedded. The oarneli are
held in place by spring-loaded tenuion straps and :- cvcured
by explosive bolts which are blown by programmer conrmarnd
slightly after the midpoint of first stage powered f'light--
just before the vehicle leaves the atmosphere. The pane.l-s,
restr-ained at their bottom edges, fold ov.u into the afr-
stream from their forward ends and are peeled awiay.
A nose fa: ring wlil protect against aerodynamic heating
during early phases of the ascent and control the teat trans-
fer between the nose secticn and che super-cold hydroger. fuel.
Mounted on -he forward hydrogen buikhead beneath th-t f CaJr-Ing
will be the payload guidance and electronic packages.
The fairing consists of two half sections and a cap.
Tt stands 18 feet high and has a 10-foot ciameter at the
base where it loins the body (if thE upper srtage. Total
weight is 750 pounds. It must withstand pressure up cc
nearly 1,000 pounds per square foot, and -emperat-ures un
to 1,200 degrees F, WThen, about three niT.rnvces af'er 1 £@toL'f,
the signal is gitven to jettison the ccre, explosive bo;.tz-
release the halves and two mZmall nitrogen bot-Ller, f'crc?: th&!
away from the vehicle.
P-2
 A major insulation problem is the common bulkhead
between the hydrogen tank (-423 degrees F) and the rela-
tively "hot" liquid oxygen tank (-297 degrees F). This
is formed of two very thin steel bulkheads one quarter
of an inch apart. The space between is filled with
iatted fiberglass.
Hydrogen boiloff during the extended coast periods is
controlled by keeping the second stage's tail pointed directly
toward the sun, thus avoiding the exposure of the hydrogen
tank to the sun's rays. The liquid oxygen tank bulkhead to
which the engines are affixed has a fiberglass radiation
shielf.
During coast phases, the engine end is oriented to the
sun through the use of sun seekers, attached to the aft
oxygen tank bulkhead, and an attitude control system which
employs six small hydrogen-peroxide control rockets to move
the vehicle to the proper position with respect to the sun,
once the sensors have detected the sun's location.
The second stage also has four larger hydrogen peroxide
rockets, each developing 50 pounds of thrust, which, fired
just before ignition of tne main engines, provide accelera-
, tion to concentrate the floating fuel at the base of tankage
M for engine intake purposes. In addICtion to conserving
hydrogen, the sun-orientation of the stage serves the purpose
of keeping the engines warm during coast periods. The engines
must be relatively warm at the beginning of the engine start
sequence--the heat present causes the initial volume of liquid
hydrogen circulating through the engines to convert to gase-
ous hydrogen, which is used to drive the fuel and oxidizer
pumps. Once the process is begun, heat from the engine
operation continues it in a so-called "bootstrap cycle."
GUIDANCE
Centaur is controlled in flight by an all-inertial
(self-contained) guidance system. It was designed to
accomplish the difficult mission of establishing a 24-hour
ir stationary equatorial orbit. It -ill be able to perform
a number of less demanding missions with little or no
alteration.
The inertial guidance system consists primarily of a
four-gimbal platform stabilized by three gyros, plus a
general purpose digital computer.
The computer is a box 8 inches by 13 inches which
weighs 62 pounds. It has a membry drum with a 2,560-
C word capacity. It can handle 3,000 additions, 1,600
subtractions, 228 divisions or 236 multiplications per
second.
2-3 (OVER)
 The :System. , l~t2;Ct^~stz: i- jJt*bi..;
Con,- 'ar...........................
putin *icata on p),sion, V t-y enu
race. +-rc.arion,, am
comparting thea? data wfl h pxr-ca.tculatt mi .l-i
;.n r .qui rb>ml i'
Chan~ges in vehl,1t_. aftv
v~: nu ^-'. n gav.;i
C'L.;Gx;rtr by it~ni
avitopilot which gimbal ' fh- I--ngi.nrc. lih
T,,- au. to-*A
thea ehicnI vrti.l zautavir.der et . Ier±nn ma.tcbyf

Aft';*r firs~t s,>age scoararion, ;- 'i)ir'zI-: i l.'Or

for soconO st>age flight control. It .3igna L fr'm 'hc
tcccpt~
guidance sytewm ano Init1atet such iwv;rntl- al Fngin.r ti.:
~ &fn
payload separation, although the latt'vrr io,-is not Jcclir in t>
first test-0 1Durinz coast perlod:l thi-uidancl sy tesrm 's .
orff; except for a timer.
N.

*,1

...
 THE RL-10 ENGINE AND LIQUID HYDROGEN TECHNOLOGY

The RL-10 engine, two of which are used to power the

second stage of the Centaur launch vehicle, employs liquid
hydrogen and liquid oxygen as propellants. It is the first
such high-energy engine developed in the U. S. for space
vehicle application.
This first flight test of the engine, which develops
15,000 pounds of thrust, follows a three-year period in which
the engine was designed, developed and successfully tested
hundreds of times by Pratt & Whitney Aircraft Division of
United Aircraft Corp. at West Palm Beach, Florida.
The RL-10 is being developed for the NASA Centaur and
Saturn vehicles under the technical supervision of the
NASA Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Alabama.
In the Saturn program, six engines provide propulsion for
the second stage of the Saturn C-1 vehicle.
An entirely new technology has evolved in the develop-
ment of hydrogen engines. Liquid hydrogen in its natural
form is a gas--it liquefies when cooled to minus 423 degrees F.
Its atom is the lightest known.
Hydrogen-oxygen rocket engines provide a specific impulse
more than 40 per cent higher than engines using conventional
fuels. Specific impulses is the measure of an engine's
effiotency in producing thrust--the amount of thrust in
pounds per pound of fuel consumed per second.
Although liquid hydrogen requires increased tank volume
because of its lightness, its performance has brought the
fuel into prominence as a space vehicle propellant.
Less than seven months from the beginning date of the
RL-lO contract in 1958, the Pratt & Whitney testing facility
for the RL-10 was operational and the first engine thrust
chamber was actually tested. The RL-10 engine has now been
tested more than 700 times for an accumulated firing time
in excess of 60,000 seconds.
Outwardly, the RL-10 resembles other rocket engines.
Internally, the engine contains many advances in the state
of the art in engine design, among them the method by which
it obtains multiple utilization from its fuel. Most rocket
engine designs require gas generators burning propellants
to drive the pumps which move the main body oz propellants
to the thrust chamber. The RL-10 eliminates this cycle.
This is how the RL-10 works--
3-1 (OVER)
 The liquid hydrogen enters the cooling jacket surroundings
the thrust chamber at -423 0 F. The hydrogen burning with oxygerlI
inside the chamber is at 6000 0 F. The hydrogen in the jacket
cools the engine while it itself becomes sufficiently heated
to convert to a gas, the temperature of which is still more
than 100 degrees below zero. This hydrogen is then expanded
in a turbine which furnishes power to pump more liquid hydro-
gen into the combustion chamber. The turbine also furnishes
power to pump the liquid oxygen. Thus the cold hydrogen plays
two roles before it is burned. It cools the thrust chamber
and drives the pumps in a so-called "boot strap" system. It
is burned only in the thrust chamber where it produces useful
thrust.

The engine was designed to provide a capability of restarts

in space, with long coast periods between firings. The problems
associated with maintaining a conventional lubrication system
under conditions of coasting made it desirable to eliminate
oil lubrication in the gearbox. The gears and bearings In
the turbopurps of the RL-lO were developed to operate dry
with hydrogen cooling.

The RL-l0 has a nozzle expansion ratio of '40 to one--

meaning the area at the exhaust end of the thrust chamber is
40 times as large as the engineds throat. It operates at a
nominal chamber pressure of 300 pounds per square inch.
HYDROGEN BACKGROUND
The development of the RL-1O rocket engine was based upon
the mastery of a powerful but temperamental fuel, hydrogen.
The Swiss scientist Paracelsue identified the element
in the 16th century and the French genius Antoine Lavoisier
in the 18th century gave it a name--hydrogen, from the Greek,
meaning "water forming."

Konstantir Tsiolkovsky, the Russian theoretical pioneer

of space projects, foresaw the use of hydrogen fuel in the
19th century and Dr. Robert Goddard selected this fuel as
the most promising rocket fuel. But as recently as 1950
hydrogen as a rocket propellant remained a laboratory
curiosity.
At the advent of ih.c space age, scientists recognized
that no chemical fuel substance equaled the energy output
of hydrogen.
If hydrogen could be leashed for use in rocket engines,
the accomplishment would make possible substantial payload
increases in upper stages of space vehicles, scientists knew.

3-2
 But hydrogen was a tricky fiuel. Br'crv%;e of .1its, 1o-
boi 1ing point (-423 0 F) It i: hnrd to lv-Tp .In li.cju 1ci form.
LIquid hydrogen I., co]or.Ine-s, ororl'-.s nnd oc v:'ry 1 ight
weiglht, only one-f'ourtcenth as. heavy a., water.

New techniques had to be n.;tabl:i shed before hydrogen

could become a practical. fuel.

The experience of Pratt & Whitney, dating back to 195'5,

helped pro~;3 that liquid hydrogen can be transported and
stored practicably and that, in many ways, the siiper-.cold
liquid Is less dangerous than gn.-olinc. Other companien S
have also done pioneering .rork with the frigid Cluid.
So long as ignition In avoided, liquid hydrogen is
chemically inert :In the presence of common materials
,ncluding air, oil and oxygen. It is non-toxic, non-
irritating and non-corrosive. It does not deteriorate
or decompose from long-timc storage.
The fuel. is stored in de*rar tanlcs, which are double-
walled containers with a vacuilm between the walls, s.milar
to a thermos bottle. Portable dewar tanks follow the same
pattern of construction. T'oda, it Is possible to keep
liquid hydrogen just as "ready' as liquid oxygen wrlth ]I tt)e*
loss due to evaporation.

Large-scale tenting of liquid hydrogen fuel became

posslble In 1956, with the opcning of the Pratt & Whitney
Florida Reoearch and Developmcnt Center In W.ecst Palm Bcach.
Adjacent to the plant, the A:ir Force built the first tonnage
production facility for liquid hydrogen. It is operated by
Air Products and Chemicals Inc.
The facility takes crude oil and natural. gas, breaks it
down into hydrogen gas, carbon dioxide and other products.
and then refrigerates and purifies the hydrogen. The purity
of the liquid hydrogen produced there is thought to be about
99.99999 per cent, among the purest materials knowrn to man.
More powerful liquid hydrogen rocket engines will be
built as the space program progresses. For instance, NASA
is having developed at Rocketdyne Divioion of North American
Aviation a new hydrogen engine, the 200,000 pound thrust J-2,
which will be used in advanced Saturn upper stages. And NASA
is negotiating a contract with Aerojet-General Corporatio.n to
develop a 1.2 million pound thrust hydrogen engine kno:wn as
the M-1.
() As space missions develop, requiring higher power
performance than that attainable with hydrogen combustion,

3-3 (OVER)
nitclear rockc t r)lrom1:;ij Cm .r 1 1 valve, nI ill thi: Li Li
2.i (I1p1(I yd l)rogn 0 Ufoi'. a e I1Nc
l Ic ." ) :;I'p (:"ce (dro; thles
oi' any other 'rorkLngv tlULi
In the simple nucleor rocket deig;-ns now envi;Tioricrl
the reactor will serve merely to r'al-e the temnuratiire of
the hydrogen and expel. it through tho nozzvl. At probable
reactor operating temperatures, the ;specific impulse of
-nuclear rockets using hydrogen as expelled gas can be
expected to be thrice that of the be;t chemical systems.

Hydrogen may give an additional bonus in space probes-

that require landing on and returning from a distant planet.
The vehicle weight could be reduced considerably if the
vehicle could be refueled at its destination. Since water
may exist on some of the other planets, scIentists speculate
that hydrogen could be extracted at the destination, using
power from the rocket's nuclear reactor.
This planetary "gas station" would lead to enormous
savings in vehicle weight or corresponding increases in
payload capability.

3-46
 PARTWTCPANT', Aii) F'1AC I IJTT'rE

Centaur is a progrrar of the lqational Aeronautics and

Space Administration. At NASA Jleadquartcrs. Centaur is
directed by the Office of Space Sciences, headed by
Dr. Homer E. Newell, whose deputy is Edgar M. Cortright.
Colonel Donald Heaton is director of launch vehicles and
propulsion. Commander Wi]liam Schubert is chief of the
Centaur vehicle program.
Technical direction of the program is provided by
NASA's George C. Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville,
Alabama, Dr. Wernher von Braun, director. MSFC's Light
and Medium Vehicles Office is headed by Hans Hueter who
also is acting as Centaur project manager.
The Centaur launch will be directed by the NASA
Launch Operations Center, Cocoa Beach, Florida. Dr. Kurt
H. Debus is LOC director and the chief of the Light/Medium
Vehicle Systems Office is Ed Matthews.
Prime contractor for Centaur is General Dynamics/
Astronautics, San Diego, California. Vice president of
GD/A and Centaur program director is Grant L. Hansen and
K. W. Jeremiah is deputy program director. Special con-
sultant for Centaur is Krafft A. Ehricke who originated
the Centaur concept and who is now director of advanced
studies for GD/A.
GD/A designed and assembled the Centaur at its
facilities in San Di.ego. Wlith the exception of some
engine testing, GD/A tests most systems and components
at its facilities in the San Diego area--Point LToma.
Sycamore Canyon and at the main plant on Kearny Mesa.
At Point Loma, testing Ancludez liquid hydrogen trans-
fer, simulated propellant loading and tests of the second
stage dynamic characterlstics. Components, subsystems and
systems are subjected to environmental testing at GD/A's
main plant including vibrations, acceleration, temperature
extremes, and humidity.
At the Sycamore Canyon facility. Ctentaur main engines
can be fired in a near-vacuum atmosphere simulating the space
environment.
GD/A also is prime contractor on the booster stage--a
modified Atlas D--conceived and developed by the U. S. Air
Force.
The RL-lO engines were designed, built, and tested by
the Pratt and Whitney Aircraft Division of United Aircraft
Corp. at its West Palm Beach, Florida, Research and Develop-
ment Center. Its general manager is W. L. Gorton. R. J. Coar
is chief engineer. Bruce Torell is RL-lO program manager,
and R. C. Mulready is assistant program manager.
4-1 (OVER)
 The P'esco Products DTviL.lon of Borg Warner Corp. bui]t
the boost pump; which are used to Supply propellant to the
engines. Liquid hydrogen used in testing and flight opera-
tions Is supplied by Air Products and Chemicals, Inc.
The three engines which power the first stage Atlas
were built and tested by Rocketdync division of North
American Aviation, Inc., Canoga Park, Callfornia.
Minneapolis-Honeywell Regulator Company designed the
inertial guidance system and built the system's stabilized
platform. The guidance computer was provided by Librascope.
Bell Aerospace Corp. furnished the upper stage hydrogen
peroxide attitude control system.
The second stage insulation panels were provided by
the H. I. Thompson Company, while General Dynamics/Ft. Worth
built the nose fairing.
Under direction of the NASA Launch Operations Center,
Centaur will be launched from Complex 36 at Cape Canaveral
by a General Dynamics/Astronautic3 launch team. The complex--
being used for the first time--was built under direction of
the Jacksonville District of the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers
following a GD/A design.

The service structure standing 173 feet high rolls on

heavy double rails over the launch pedestal. Located 800
feet from the launch pad is the t;wno-story blockhouse with
concrete walls and dome roof ranging from six to 15 feet
in thickness topped by up to ten feet of carthfill. All
necessary equipment for controlling and monitoring the
vehicle's preparation and flight are contained in the
structure including closed circuit television to permit
the crew to observe pad operations and vehicle flight.

4-2 (END)

1)