N EWS R ELEASE

NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION

400 MARYLAND AVENUE, SW, WASHINGTON 25, D.C.
TELEPHONES WORTH 2-4155-WORTH 3-1110
FOR RELEASE: THURSDAY PM's
August 16, 1962
RELEASE NO. 62-184

SCOUT TO FLY NASA REENTRY EXPERIMENT

A flight experiment to make direct measurements of
radiative heating during atmosphere entry will be launched
no earlier than August 19 by the National Aeronautics and
Space Administration from NASA's Wallops Station, Wallops
Island, Virginia. The heating experiment, devised by
scientists of the NASA Langley Research Center, will be
flown on a Scout launch vehicle.
Much additional research information is required
for efficient design of future spacecraft intended to
reenter the atmosphere at spends above the 17,500 mph
typical of earth orbits. Lunar vehicles of the Apollo
type will return to earth at speeds near 25,000 mph,
and the radiative heating information to be gathered in
the forthcoming flight will contribute knowledge needed
for correct heat shield design. The Scout flight will
attempt to reach a reentry speed of more than 18,000 miles
per hour, and future experiments at even higher speeds
are being planned.
This heat transfer experiment is part of the NASA
Supercircular Reentry Research Project to study reentry
heating and its effect on selected materials for spacecraft
reentering the atmosphere at speeds of about 20,000 miles
per hour. A separate research program -- Project Fire --
will provide information for shielding of spacecraft for
reentry speeds of 25,000 miles per hour.

In the forthcoming Langley experiment, the payload

will contain instruments to measure total radiant energy;
the energy as related to the wavelength spectrum of air
in equilibrium; and if possible, determine whether the
radiation is from air in non-equilibrium.
Total Scout payload weight to be flown will be about
375 pounds; the reentry payload weight at the start of
reentry is about 160 pounds. Including the adapter link-
ing it to the Scout's fourth stage, the payload is Ju
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 -2-
over four feet long. It tapers from slightly less than
12 inches at the blunt nose cap to 20 1/4 inches at its
widest point.

After launch from Wallops Island, the first two Scout

stages propel the remaining sections to an altitude of about
135 miles. Near the peak of the trajectory, the Scout
control system tilts the vehicle slightly downward and the
remaining stages fire in quick succession. Trajectory
and speed conditions are carefully selected to submit the
instrumented payload to radiative heating conditions in
non-equilibrium air.

Reentry will occur nearly 800 miles downrange from

Wallops Island. The payload and burned out fifth stage
will drop into the Atlantic Ocean south and slightly east
of Bermuda about nine and one-half minutes after launch.
The flight will take place during maximum darkness and a
faint meteor-like trail will be visible during the entry
phase. Top speed is expected to occur at 70 miles altitude.
As reentry speeds increase, important changes in
aerodynamic heating occur. Further experiments in the lab-
oratory and in flight are required for a precise under-
standing of the nature and extent of such changes. The
Langley experiment is one of numerous NASA efforts to
gather the needed knowledge.
Energies present at reentry speeds typical of a lunar
mission return cause significant chemical and physical
changes in the air. One such change is known as ionization,
and it occurs when energy levels are high enough to strip
electrons away from the atoms of gas of which air is
composed. Air ionized by an entering spacecraft becomes
luminous, and during the brief time that elapses before it
returns to its normal condition, it is said to be in a
chemical non-equilibrium state.
The non-equilibrium condition is of special interest
because laboratory experiments indicate that radiative heat-
ing under such conditions may be many times that of the
equilibrium value. It is important to distinguish between
the two main types of heating present during atmosphere
entry. Convective heating, predominant at lower speeds,
occurs when heat passes directly from the air into the vehicle
flying through it. It may be likened to the heat one feels
when lifting a hot cup of coffee. Radiative heating does
not depend on direct contact, but is analogous to the heat
emitted from the burner of an electric stove which can be
felt several feet away. In the reentry situation, the layer
of hot, incandescent air piled up ahead of the spacecraft
can radiate heat in significantly large amounts without
directly touching the vehicle.
 TRACKING AND TELEMETRY
Radar, telemetry and optical coverage will all be used
to gather information on the reentry experiment. Radar
tracking stations at Wallops Island, and in Bermuda will
follow the course of the flight. Photogr'aphs of the pay-
load entry will be made by ballistic cameras placed at
two points on Bermuda, while a spectrographic record of
the event will be made from a Texas Tower station near
Bermuda.

Telemetered data broadcast from the payload and the

launch vehicle will be received at Wallops Island at Bermuda
and on a range telemetry ship operated by Wallops Station.
About seven minutes after launch, the payload experiment will
enter a region where ionization in the atmosphere surrounding
the reentry package will block off telemetry signals. The
radio "blackout" may last as much as 45 seconds and a special
on-board recorder with a delayed playback is provided to
assure that no flight data is lost. There will be no attempt
to recover the payload.

The ballistic cameras which will photograph the reentry

use extremely sensitive film. The flight, therefore, will
(4 be made at a time when there is the least possible light and
no cloud cover. Possible launch times have been selected
to avoid twilight and moonlight hours.
Because accurate data on atmospheric conditions are
needed to evaluate the results of the experiment, a series
of at least six ARCAS sounding rockets will be launched from
Bermuda before and after the Scout flight. Air temperatures
and densities in the reeentry area will be measured by the
sounding rockets.

(Over)
 LAUNCH VEHICLE
The basic four-stage Scout was developed by the NASA
Langley Research Center and became operational earlier this
year. In the course of its development it became the first
solid-fueled launch vehicle to place a satellite in orbit--
Explorer IX on February 16, 1961. It has previously flown
a reentry experiment utilizing a 17-inch spherical rocket
motor in the payload section as a fifth stage to add the
velocity needed for the required test conditions.

The 72-foot, 36 ,600-pound Scout is designed to place

a 240-pound satellite into a 300-mile orbit or to send a
100-pound scientific package nearly 7,000 miles in a probe
shot.
Scout's four rocket motors, plus necessary transition
sections and guidance and control equipment, are assembled
into a complete vehicle by the Astronautics Division of
Chance Vought Corporation, aerospace subsidiary of Ling-
Temco-Vought, Incorporated, prime vehicle contractor for
Scout.
Data on Scout's four stages -- Algol, Castor, Antares
and Altair (named for stars in the constellation) -- include:
Algol II - Thirty feet long, 40 inches in diameter,
developing 100,000 pounds of thrust, It is loaded with an
improved propellant. This motor is fin stabilized and
controlled in flight by Jet vanes. Developed by Aerojet-
General Corporation, a subsidiary of General Tire and Rubber
Company.
Castor - Twenty feet long, 30 inches in diameter and
developiingmore than 50,000 pounds of thrust. Stabilized
and controlled by hydrogen peroxide jets. This motor has
also been used in a cluster in NASA's Little Joe program
in support of Project Mercury. Developed by the Redstone
Division of Thiokol Chemical Corporation.
Antares - Ten feet long, 30 inches in diameter and more
than 13,600 pounds of thrust. Lightweight plastic con-
struction. Stabilized and controlled by hydrogen peroxide
Jets. Developed by the Allegany Ballistics Laboratory of
Hercules Powder Company.
Altair - Six feet long, 18 inches in diameter and 3 000
pounds of-Thrust. This motor, formerly known as the X-248
and developed for the Vanguard third stage, is spin stabilized.
It is the third stage on the Delta launch vehicle and was
the first fully developed rocket to utilize lightweight -

plastic construction. Also developed by ABL.

 -5-
17-Inch Rocket - This spherical rocket is not a part of
the Scout vehicle, but is attached to the payload as a part
of the reentry package to add approximately 1,300 miles an
hour to the reentry speed. The 160-pound rocket provides
about 800 pounds of thrust. Developed by Naval Ordnance
Test Station, China Lake, California.

Guidance and control system for the Scout was developed

by the Aeronautical Division of Minneapolis-Honeywell Regulator
Company. (Hydrogen-peroxide controls were subcontracted to
Walter Kidde, Clifton, New Jersey.)

PROJECT PARTICIPANTS
Langley Research Center has complete responsibility for
NASA's Supercircular Reentry Research Project of which the
present heat transfer experiment is a part. Project Manager
is Andrew G. Swanson. For the heat transfer experiment,
payload manager is Charles Husson. Kenneth S. Bush is system
engineer and Charles E. Feller is instrumentation engineer.
About 40 members of the Langley Research Center staff will
be involved in the experiment.
(j Lt. Colonel G. R. Rupp is the Head of the Scout Project
Group which developed and operates the Scout launch vehicle.
Robert Duffy is representing Wallops Station as Test Director.
The Supercircular Reentry Research Project, for which Charles
D'Aiutolo of NASA Headquarters is Project Officer, is a part
of the program of NASA's Office of Advanced Research and
Technology.

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