Professional Documents
Culture Documents
J, o RePo,,
.............
/" Volume !!1, )
L Juno lh Earth Satellites _9/
(Title Unclassified)
j _ OR TMX OR AD NUMBER}
ET PROPULSION LABORATORY
CALIFORNIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
PASADENA, CALIFORNIA
c. F. Mohl
Charles W. Cole
Juno Project Director
003,1"2
Copy No.
PASADENA_ CALIFORNIA
Copyright © 1963
Jet Propulsion Laboratory
California Institute of Technology
/
This document cord,s informati_..affecting the national
defense of the Unite_Lates,,_thin the meaning of the
Espionage Laws, Title 1_C., Sections 793 and 79.4,
the transmission or revelati_l_f which in any manner to
an unauthorized person is_:>roffl_j_d by law.
!1 ..... .,--_kl"r'. A I J
Ilm_ v _wJ
CONTENTS
I. Introduction .................... 1
V. Conclusions .................... 25
References ....................... 26
TABLES
FIGURES
IV
JPL TECHNICAL REPORTNO. 32-31
VOLUME Ill
FIGURES (Cont'd)
............ II I
-- V
JPL TECHNICAL REPORTNO. 32-31
VOLUME111
PREFACE
Volume III is concerned with the final phase of the ]uno program;
it summarizes the entire program, and describes in detail eight
launchings.
Vi
JPL TECHNICAL REPORT NO. 32-3t
VOLUME III
ABSTRACT
This report is the third and final volume of a series of reports cover-
ing the ]uno program, which had for its objective the launching of
Earth satellites and space probes. Basically, the vehicle consisted of
a booster of either a modified Redstone or a modified 1upiter and
upper stages of scaled-down Sergeant solid-propellant motors. A total
of 19 launchings were involved in the ]uno program; Volume III of
this series describes eight of these launchings and covers the period
between March 1959 and May 1961. The six different payloads used
are described, as are each of the eight firings. _4-_'_ i_z_v "
I. INTRODUCTION
This report is the third of a three-volume series cover- missile laboratories at Redstone Arsenal were in the
ing the Juno program (see Ref. 1 and 2) and the Jet process of developing a modified high-performance ver-
Propulsion Laboratory's participation in early spacecraft sion of the Redstone missile. This modified missile, as
activities. This volume covers the ]uno II Earth satellite the first stage booster for a three-stage solid propellant
launchings that followed the ]uno II space probes (]uno cluster (JPL), became the basis for the Army proposal
Final Report, Volume II). This series of launchings for a satellite vehicle. As part of the feasibility study for
involved eight very similar 1uno II vehicles and six dif- the development of an orbiting missile, JPL also con-
ferent types of payloads (as shown in Table 1) and cov- ducted an investigation into the problem of instrument-
ered the period between March 1959 and May 1961. ing such a missile. This investigation culminated in a
JPL proposal to determine the trajectory of an orbiting
Aside from some early studies on satellite trajectories missile using radar techniques.
carried out for the Navy in 1945 and 1946, the first direct
participation of JPL's space-flight activities occurred in Actual development of the orbiting vehicle, as described
the joint Army-Navy Project Orbiter studies in 1954 and in the feasibility studies was never authorized as Project
1955 when Army Ordnance Corps asked JPL to assist in Orbiter was cancelled in August 1955 when the Vanguard
the preparation of a feasibility study for a rocket vehicle Project was established. However, the need for obtaining
capable of orbiting a small payload around the Earth. re-entry test data still remained, and Redstone Arsenal
Also at that time, as part of a re-entry test program, tile (Army Ordnance) continued work toward this objective.
JPL TECHNICAL REPORT NO. 32-31
VOLUME III
Table 1. Description of Juno II Earth satellite launchings in the RTV and ]uru) I series, and these are tabulated
below (Table 2).
Round Date Stages Payload
Volume II (Hcf. 2) of this series of reports covered
16 7116159 IGY
the space probes (Pioneers llI and IV) launched on the
19B 8114159 Inflatable sphere initial ]uno II vehicles. Volume II also gives detailed
19A 10/13159 IGY
description of the payh)ads (space probes) and of tile
Van Allen
19C 3/23/60 basic launching vehicles The launching vehicle used for
Ion probe
19D 11/3/60 the space probes is very similar to the vehicle used for
19F 2/24/61 Ionosphere beacon the Juno lI Earth satellite launchings described in this
19E 4/27/61 Gamma Ray astronomy report. The results of the space probe launehings are tabu-
19G 5/24/61 Ionosphere beacon lated in Table 3.
2
,L_,..nkl c-i,-,,--,_,- r. ._.
Juno I Round 49, Jupiter-C Deal Ill Earth satellite Foiled to orbit
10/22/58 Beacon
3. To test communications
to extended ranges.
4. To test engineering
devices that would be
useful on later rounds.
Maximum communication
distance--407,000 miles.
Information obtained on
radiation levels in cis-lunor
space as well as in the
Van A/len belts.
De-spin mechanism tested
successfully.
3
JPL TECHNICAL REPORT NO. 32-31
VOLUME [11
B. First Stage
The modified ]upiter booster used in this series con-
sisted of the main body section with its propulsion system
and the instrument compartment which housed the guid-
ance spatial attitude control, the events programmer,
tracking devices, the cluster drive motors, the cluster
tube or rotational launcher, and the shroud. Fig. 3. Cluster roller assembly
4
-.2--.,_, .. i .-..- t ._ i ....
E. Second Stage
section has been elongated 36 in. for increased burning transverse bulkheads. On the base of this center tube
time. The power plant used is a NAAS-3D liquid pro- is a carefully machined ring which is mated to a similar
pulsion engine which develops 150,000 lb sea-level thrust ring at the base of the rotational launcher. The axial load
using RP-1 fuel and LOX (liquid oxygen). The engine is carried by this center tube, while transverse support
is equipped with a gimbal mechanism operating in two for the cluster is provided by a ring on the forward sec-
planes to control the missile in pitch and yaw. Hinged tion of the rotational launcher having guides that engage
turbine exhaust nozzles control roll. mating surfaces on the forward bulkhead of stage 2.
explosive bolts used to fasten the main body to the instru- The third stage (Fig. 7) also utilizes scaled-down
ment compartment. Retrorockets located in the aft Sergeant motors; however, the propellant is a higher per-
section of the main body are then fired to provide a formance polysulfide JPL 136. The igniter is identical to
substantial velocity difference between the two bodies that used in stage 2.
to preclude any possibility of bumping.
._... _E.I 5
JPL TECHNICAL REPORT NO. 32-31
VOLUME III
_ _ _ PAYLOAD
SECOND STAGE_
_ FOURTH STAGE
/
_THI_ IMAGE
NOSE CONE--
--INSTRUMENT
AND GUIDANCE
COM PARTM ENT
JUPITER BOOSTER
The ignition of stage 3 is controlled by a motor-driven the other stages and, unlike the Pioneer space probe
20-sec timer located near the base of the fourth-stage series, it is made of 410 steel rather than titanium. The
launch cone. The timer is started by the closure of either propellant in this motor is JPL 532A, a high-performance
one of two pressure switches (mounted on two of the polyurethane propellant.
..... r ..... i i i
-- -- 7
JPL TECHNICAL REPORT NO. 32-31
VOLUME III
Of the four attempts to launch Earth satellites in the The possibility of insta]lling a telemetry system capable
Juno II program, three (AM-16, AM-19B, and AM-19C) of providing engineering information on the separation
failed to achieve orbital conditions. Two of these failures and flight dynamics was considered. It was found that
were attributed to the launch vehicle system and one to the vehicle's limited weight capability precluded the
the cluster system. Accordingly, in the summer and fall installation in the payload or cluster of any really worth-
of 1960 a thorough review of all elements of the Juno II while telemetry. The use of booster telemetry to monitor
system was conducted. The JPL portion of this review stage 2 ignition was rejected on the grounds that pro-
consisted of a detailed engineering analysis of the 1uno II pulsion ignition malfunction could be determined from
cluster in an effort to provide the largest probability of tracking data and that coupling the ignition system and
success for the remaining vehicles. This analysis, made the telemetry system at this late date would decrease
in September and October 1960, consisted of a review of ignition reliability.
the following four areas:
possibility of introducing new and unexpected sources bility between the most probable dispersion and a dis-
of failure. persion factor of 1._ to 2 different is extremely small.
8
JPL TECHNICAL REPORT NO. 32-31
VOLUME III
A range of possible, probable dispersions (0 to 6 deg) of specific rounds. The overall conclusion is that the
was computed and all (non-aborted) flights fell within flight dispersions observed to date are representative of
this range. The small number of flights compared to the the magnitudes of similar future rounds and that these
number of random variables precludes any correlation dispersions are normal for this vehicle.
Successful, but with a. Final dispersion, 5-7 deg 24 750 4.8 3.3
high dispersion
b. Dispersion per stage, high AM-I I 405 4.7 7.9
c. Stage 4 roll rate dropped 25%
on one flight; no record on others AM.14 560 4.6 4.3
Failures a. Electrical or ignition malfunction
AM-19 (heavy payload) a. Final deviation less than 2 deg AM-19A 428 0.76 0.38
b. Dispersion per stage, small
c. Stiffened structure
Tile field operations during May-October 1959 were with payload 2 on the ehlster showed an undesirably
concerned with the preparation and firing of rounds large runout, necessitating a shim between the payload
AM-16 and AM-19B whose missions were to orbit a and the separation joint:. Final runout on the payload
was 0.0025 in. The two cluster vibration accelerometers
multipurpose scientific payload (Fig. 9) and a 12-ft diam-
eter inflatable sphere, respectively. Neither effort was were again added to tlnis cluster. The basic system as
successful. used on AM-14 was modified to improve frequency
response and to reduce the interference previously
encountered.
1. RF Spin Test
The cluster was moved to the pad (Fig. 10) at 0700 EST
on July 9, 1959, and after an hour's delay, necessitated
Fig. 9. Multipurpose payload, AM-16
by minor mating problems, was satisfactorily mated with
the booster. Prior to installing the payload, wiring errors
The Laboratory's efforts in preparing cluster 14 of were discuvered in the payload simulator. These errors
the high-speed stage for the AM-16 launch and ehlster 15 had to be corrected before a satisfactory check of the
and the payload for the AM-19B launch are described payload control system could be made. During the actual
below. spin test no difficulties were encountered with the cluster
system. Tile two cluster accelerometers' signals were
monitored at the telemetry ground station, and although
A. IGY Satellite fRound AM-161 a cyclic variation similar to that found on the AM-14
spinnp was noticed, the level was only 4_ of full band-
Cluster 14 was received at the Cape on May 16, 1959,
width.
and was stored until May 20 when it was unpacked,
inspected, and the launcher drive motor gear system
2. Flight Test
changed to a ratio of 17.7:1. Chlster assembly, alignment
and balancing through assembly IV proceeded in a nor- The additional complexity of the payload and necessity
mal manner with no serious difficulties. Alignment cheeks of having 99_ of the payload and cluster work completed
IO
JPL TECHNICAL REPORT NO. 32-31
VOLUME III
4. Launch
11
..... "-- I " L,
12
,JPL TECHNICAL REPORT NO. 32-31
VOLUME III
3. Flight Operations
13
JPL TECHNICAL REPORT NO. 32-31
VOLUME Ill
units were fabricated. However, only two flight units event is teletnetered through channel 4 by the current-
were readied for the launch date (August 14, 1959). controlled oscillator sensing the electrical impulse which
fires the squibs.) The pressure vessel valve then permits
a. Beacon assembly. The beacon assembly (Fig. 16) the pressurized nitrogen to expand the belh)ws, forcing
consisted of a beacon rf transmitter assembly, a telemetry the belh)ws piston to expel the packaged sphere. The
subcarrier oscillator assembly, a battery pack, and an extreme forward travel of the piston is then stopped by
antenna assembly. The power of the beacon exceeded 50 a wire rope attached to tile inflation and release valve
mw and utilized a battery, pack containing 12 Mallory (position 2). The valve spring, then free to release part
RM12-RT2 mercury cells. of its compression, draws the valve stem forward, open-
14
i d"T_ - -- _._l_,,,_s,_
qTENNA GAP
BATTERY
SHIELD
SUBCARRIER
OSCI LLATOR
t
TRANSM ITTER
t
L
I.
5. Dispersion Study
15
JPL TECHNICAL REPORT NO. 32-31
VOLUME Ill
PART ATTACHED
PISTON
TO BELLOWS
DETENT BALLS -_
_ VALVE STEM
VALVE
FIRST INTERNAL
MOVEMENT
OF VALUE
POSITION 2
FLOW OF NITROGEN
THROUGH VALUE
STEM BEGINS
POSITION 5
POSITION 4
Evaluation of this data (Fig. 19) indicated an initial (AM-19A) when 1upiter round AM-23 (launched Septem-
ignition shock in the vicinity of motor 10, and a satura- ber 16, 1959) was destroyed shortly after liftoff. Work
tion level bump in the vicinity of motor 2. The bump was suspended on the cluster while awaiting word as to
with a duration of approximately 30 millisec started when the damage could be repaired. Pre-flight opera-
shortly after the machined-surface release and ended tions were started again on September 28 upon receiv-
shortly before the mid-bulkhead passed the lip of the ing word that the launching had been rescheduled for
tube. The data from this point until trailing-wire break- October 13. Payload integration and final preparation
age (approximately the time tile aft bulkhead passed prior to moving to the pad were satisfactorily completed.
the lip of the tube) indicated a vibration which was
difficult to evaluate because of the noise level. This 1. Preflight Preparation
vibration level, however, stayed within the measurement
range of ±50 g peak. Cluster 13, used for this flight, had been in storage
at AMR since April. It was scheduled for use with a
lighter payload and hence was not capable of support-
ing this heavier payload. It was determined that the
C. Juno II (Round AM-19A)
cluster could most easily be modified by stiffening the
On October 13, 1959, ]uno II Round AM-16A (19A) fourth-stage motor case. However, it was desired that
was launched successfully and resulted in placing a the modification not be directly attached to the fourth
9:2.5-1t) multi-experiment satellite (Fig. 20) into a satis- stage since this would subtract directly from payload
factory orbit. This launching represented the second weight. It was therefore decided to rivet a stiffening
attempt to achieve this mission, the first attempt (AM-16) cylinder (Fig. 21) to the third-stage cone which would
in July 1959, ending in failure because of a malfunction support the forward end of the fourth-stage motor case.
in the booster electrical system. Launching was delayed An adapter (Fig. 22) on the fourth-stage motor case
12 days because of damage sustained by the booster could then transfer the radial support to the head end
IGNITION AFT-BULKHEAD
(647.8 sec)
50
L_
CHANNEL t3
Z 330 cps FILTER
0 WlRE BROKE
I-- 500 cps GALVO
-50
E}
>
50 I AA^
oIl_,Jl,...,,,/Vl
.... JV_A ]V 600 cps FILTER
I /---WIRE BROKE
17
JPL TECHNICAL REPORT NO. 32-31
VOLUME III
COSMIC-RAY DETECTOR
(Dr Van Allen)
ANTENNA
(ZO-mc)--_ f,,.
- "T_
HEATDETECTOR
BALANCE ('_=_____ \ _ _
SOLAR CELLS
SEPARATION DEVICE
0 2 4 6
SCALE, inches
FOURTH STAGE
The modification successfully accomplished, final as- was mated with the booster and preparation made for the
rf interference test. This test performed with all rf equip-
sembly and checkout of the cluster started on August 28,
1959 at AMR. Visual inspection and pressure check of ment operating, and the cluster spinning did not show up
the motors gave no indication of any damages due to any interference difficulties. Upon examination of the
telemetering records it was noticed, however, that the
shipping or the long storage period. After the installa-
armature current on one of the cluster drive motors was
tion of each assembly in the launcher, alignment and
balance were checked and reduced to a minimum. After excessive during cluster acceleration periods. This con-
the entire cluster was balanced and shear-pinned, the dition was improved by deliberately unbalancing the field
runouts taken on the head end of the fourth-stage motor currents of the two motors. During the spin test, satis-
Fig. 21. Modified third stage the early orbit determination at ABMA. Information,
based upon injection conditions that were obtained by fit-
factory operation of tile cluster accelerometers was also
ting all doppler data available from launch and the first
indicated.
two orbital passes, Goldstone angle data from the second
pass, and optical sighting from San Fernando, Spain,
b. Flight test. The final countdown commenced at 2150
and Woomera, Australia, is shown in Table 20 of Ref. 5.
hr, October 12 at X - 700 rain. In addition, a 1-hr hold
was scheduled at X - 31 min in order to assure launching
2. Dispersion Study
during the allotted 2-hr firing window. The countdown
operations progressed with only minor difficulties al- The first stage performed normally as expected, pro-
though the presence of several lightning storms in the viding a greater signal strength than that of the previous
general area caused considerable apprehension as to round. However, commencing at second-stage ignition
whether it would be necessary to stop work. F<)rtunately, and for the duration of the measurement, signal strength
the disturbances did not move in closer than the 1.5-kin dropped slowly from 1400 to 350 /_v. About the time
safety radius, and countdown operations continued. At the aft bulkhead passed the lip of the tube, signal
X 45 rain, 4 rain of the built-in hold were utilized in strength jumped to a level of 1100 j_v where it remained
order to clear the pad area prior to turning on all rf for about 90 millisec before dropping to 350 t_v. This
again. The remainder of the hold was used at the sehed- malfunction was apparently caused by the flame around
tded time of X -- 31 min. No further holds were necessary the telemetering antennas located on the sides of the
and liftoff occurred at 10:30:14.25 EST on October 13, guidance compartment.
1959.
The data (Fig. 23) from this round indicates an initial
c. Results. Preliminary information indicated that all shock in the vicinity of motor 5 and a saturation level
flight operations were snccessfid with only minor devia- bump (approximately 50-millisec duration) in the vicinity
tions in velocity and angle. This was later confirmed by of motor 2. This bump started shortly after the machined-
19
JPL TECHNICAL REPORT NO. 32-31
VOLUME III
CHANNEL 13
FILTER
1500 cps GALVO
i
O
n._
rn
5O
CHANNEL 17
2364 cps FILTER
3500 cps GALVO
-50
TIME--P,.-
surface release and ended shortly before the mid- Booster performance was essentially nominal; however,
bulkhead passed the tube lip, with the trailing wires stage 2 fired under a mean angle of 19 deg down and 5
breaking shortly after this point. deg right from nominal with approximately correct per-
formance. This large angle of the second stage is very
unusual and exceeded all other observed stage 2 devia-
tions on previous rounds. From this performance it was
D. Round AM-19C Launching concluded that there was a cluster malfunction.
On March 23, 1960, Juno II round AM-19C was
launched in an unsuccessful attempt to place the S-46, JPL cluster 16 was used on this round, and its con-
22.5-1b Van Allen payload (Fig. 24) into a highly elliptical figuration was essentially that of early Juno II rounds
orbit. (AM-11 and AM-14 used on the Pioneer series; see Fig.
25). It did not have the stage 3 cylindrical support that
The payload for round AM-19C was designed to moni- was flown on rounds 19A and 16A. There were two
tor the radiation intensity distribution of the two Van reasons for this: first, the payload was very light (22.5 lb),
Allen radiation zones over an extended period of time and therefore the cluster did not require the additional
with the objective of establishing the origins, including structural stiffening; second, the orbit requirements were
buildup and decay of radiation, in the two zones and such that the extra 10 lb of cylindrical support weight
correlating this with solar activity. In addition, the experi- on stage 3 could not be afforded.
ment was designed to study the composition of radiation
in the two zones, to determine the nature of penetrating This cluster was delivered to Cape Canaveral on De-
components and the energy spectrum of the less pene- cember 3, 1959, and stored until February 16, 1960, when
trating components, and to measure the total energy flux it was sent to the JPL spin building for flight preparation.
throughout the region of trapped radiation with special Initial spin tests for AM-19C were accomplished satisfac-
interest placed on the outer reaches. torily 6n March 15, 1960.
2O
I"3-_"'- " _..
II
21
v i,.,w i,i !
395 370
Perigee, km
2375 2341
Apogee, km
0.1276 0.1275
Eccentricity, km
50.33 49.9
Inclination, deg
113.3 112.7
Period, mln
i
Fig. 26. Cluster configuration, AM-19D
a potting compound) and interfered with the rotation of Fig. 28. Payload, AM-19F, ionosphere beacon
22
..... -- ,, i
movement of vehicle) 0 0 1913:13 facility; however, netither stage 3 nor stage 4 was ob-
Booster: cutoff 179.3 178.5 1916:11.5 served to fire, supporting the theory that the timer was
8ooster: separation 186.3 186.5 1916:19.5
destroyed.
reference) D
stages. The criteria governing shear pin strength and
190.3
!i
Fig. 29. Shroud, AM-19F Fig. 30. Second stage ignition characteristics
........... 23
mi _(-- lmF _ " -
Apogee, km 1832 1793 that power. The cluster ignition signal was dependent
on this power supply and as a conseqnence, stage 2
Inclination, deg 28.307 28.49
of the missile never received ignition current and so
108.06 108.1
Period failed to fire.
V. CONCLUSIONS
A. Vehicle Performance 4. Two of the nine failures in the RTV, ]uno l, and
]uno II programs are attributable to malfunction of
1. There were nineteen launchings in the RTV and
the high-speed stages. On ]uno I round 26, the
Juno programs. Out of these nineteen launchings,
fourth stage failed to fire and on the ]uno II round
there were eighteen opportunities for the three-stage
AM-19C, one motor in the second stage probably
high-speed cluster system to function. Of these
failed to ignite. Examination of mode of failure on
opportunities to function, sixteen unquestionably
round 26 led to a component redesign on the fourth-
performed successfully; six of these performing suc-
stage motor igniter support, and this type of failure
cessfully failed to achieve mission objectives because
never recurred. The failure of the second stage motor
of unfavorable initial conditions caused by malfunc-
on round AM-19C was never exactly understood,
tions of the booster or instrument compartment.
and no corrective design action was undertaken.
These launchings resulted in eight significant satel-
However, this failure did motivate everyone con-
lites and two space probes as shown in Table 8.
cerned to review the system (power supply, wiring,
2. A total of 296 Sergeant scale motors were cast for voltage level at the stage 2 igniters, etc.). Again
flight purposes (including space stage 4 motors), this particular mode of failure never recurred.
and 180 of these motors were properly positioned
in space and supplied an ignition signal. As stated B. Mission Accomplishmenf
before, two of these motors failed to function, re-
Essentially the ]uno program accomplished all its
suiting in the loss of two missions. major objectives. First, it successfully completed its re-
3. In addition to the 296 flight motors, approximately entry nose cone testing mission. Second, the ]uno I pro-
450 additional research and development units were gram placed Explorer I and other significant satellites
produced. These motor units were used to evaluate (18-to-30-1b class) into orbit. Thirdly, tile ]uno II space
hardware components, ignition systems, various probe program boosted the first U.S. space probe in
propellant compositions, simulated flight loads, and an orbit around the Sun, obtaining valuable trajectory
propellant aging characteristics. No failures or detri- and communication data, and lastly, in, the ]uno II Earth
mental effects of any type were encountered during satellite program, it successfully completed 3 of 6
the final flight motor evaluation phase. assigned missions.
Juno I Round 24, Jupiter C Explorer Ill Earth satellite Successfully orbited
LA--_ 25
y ....
REFERENCES
1. Wolfe, Allen E., and William J. Truscott, Juno Final Report. Volume I. Juno I:
Re-entry Test Vehicles and Explorer Satellites, Technical Report No. 32-31, Jet
Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California, September 6, 1960 (CONFIDENTIAL).
2. Wolfe, Allen E., Juno Final Report. Volume II. Juno I1: Space Probes, Technical
Report No. 32-31, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California, September
12, 1960 (CONFIDENTIAL).
26