NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND

SPACE ADMINISTRATION
'Washington, D. C. 20546
202-755-8370
FOR RELEASE:
December 12, 1974

POEL2ASE
NO:PROJECT:
74-316 SYMPHONIE/DELTA 106

contents

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LEASE 1-4
GENERAL RE
DELTA 2914 LAUNCH VEHICLE ...................... 5

SEQUENCE OF EVENTS ............................. 6

.. 7
MAJOR DELTA 106 SYM1PHONIE FLIGHT EVENTS........
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LAUNCH OPERATIONS
8-9
SYMPIHONIE/DELTA 106 TEAM. ......................

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 NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND
SPACE ADMINISTRATION
Washington, D. C. 20546
(Phone: 202/755-8370)

FOR RELEASE:
December 12, 1974
Nicholas Panagakos
Headquarters, Washington, D.C.
(Phone: 202/755-3680)

Joseph McRoberts
Goddard Space Fliqht Center, Greenbelt, Md.
(Phone: 301/982-4955)

RELEASE NO: 74-316

SYMPHONIE SET FOR DECEMBER 17 LAUNCH

NASA will launch the first French/German communications

satellite aboard a Delta rocket from Kennedy Space Center, Fla,
about Dec. 17.

The launch marks the 44th time that a non-NASA group has
purchased a Delta and complete launch services from the space
agency.

Called Symphonie, the experimental satellite will test and

demonstrate communications equipment for television, radio, tele-
phone, telegraph and data transmission. The spacecraft will

provide the equivalent of two channels of color television

transmission and eigit voice channels, or 1,200 telephone circuits.
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Traveling at a speed that maintains its position in

relation to the Earth's surface, Symphonie will be located
35,900 kilometers (22, 300 miles) over the equator at
11.5
degrees west longitude.

The satellite will be capable of transmitting between

ground stations in portions of North and South America,
Europe,
Africa and the Middle East.

Weighing 402 kg (886 lbs.), the spacecraft has a diameter

of 1.85 m (6.06 ft.) and a height of 0.5 m (1.64 ft.).
The
apogee motor engine and nozzle, super high frequency
antenna
feed and reflectors, and the reception horn and solar
sensors
are mounted on top. The VHF antennas are on the underside.
Three attached solar panels extend outward 2.57 m (8.3
ft.)
from the spacecraft.

Power is generated by the solar panels; two batteries

supply power for spacecraft housekeeping during eclipses,
when
transmitting equipment cannot be operated.

Liquid fuel is used for Symphonie's apogee motor, which

will be ignited by ground command to place the satellite
into
its final synchronous orbit. This marks the first use of
liquid fuel for the apogee motor of a spacecraft planned
for
synchronous orbit.

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The Spaceflight Tracking and Data Network (STDN) and

minitrack tracking stations of NASA's Goddard Space Flight

Center, Greenbelt, Md., hill track Svmphonie during the trans-

fer orbit (launch-through-apogee motor firing) in cooperation

with French and German ground stations. Data will go via the

NASA station in Madrid to the Operations Control Centers at

Oberpfaffenhofen near Munich, Gerniany, and at Toulouse, France.

The French-German Svmphonie organization consists of the

French space agency, Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales (CNES),

and the German counterpart, Gesellschaft fur Weltraumforschung

(GFW). A Franco-German industrial consortium, Consortium

Industriel Franco-Allerand pour Synphonie (CIFAS), is the

prime contractor. Three German and three French companies

make up the consortium. The French firms are Societe Nationale

Aerospatiale, Societe Anonyme de m-Ipcommunications (S.A.T.)

and Thomson-CSF. Germanv's are AEG-Telefunken, Messerschmitt-

4
BoelkowBlohm (I3BB) and Siemens, A. .

The Goddard Center manages Delta projects and the prime

contractor is McDonnell Douglas Astronautics Co., Huntington

Beach, Calif.

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Delta Project Manager is Robert Baumann, GSFC. Peter

Eaton, Office of Space Science, NASA Headquarters, is Delta

Program Manager.

The Symphonie Project is managed by a Franco-German

Executive Committee. The French executive secretary is Bernard

Deloffre and the German executive secretary is Dr. George Moesl.

Dr. Buck Pfeiffer is Sytphonie Satellite Group Manager. Pierre

Madon is CIFAS Project Group Manager.

The Symphonie launch window extends from 9:38 p.m. to

10:09 p.m. EST.

(END OF GENERAL RELEASE. BACKGROUND INFORMATION FOLLOWS.)

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DELIT. 2914 LAUNCH VEIIICLI:

The spacecraft will be launched by a three-stage Delta

launch vehicle, which has an overall length of approximately
35 meters (116 feet), and a maximum body diameter of 2.4 meters
(8 feet). The Delta launch vehicle has a success-to-launch
ratio of 90 percent for the past 14 years.

First Stage

The first stage is a McDonnell-Douglas modified Thor

booster incorporating nine strap-on Thiokol solid-fuel rocket
motors. The booster is powured bi a Rocketdyne engine using
liquid oxygen (LOX) aind liquid hydrocarbon propellants.
The main engine is gimbal-mounted to provide pitch ai.3 yaw
control from liftoff to main-engine cutoff (MECO). Two liquid-
propellant vernier engines provide roll control throughout
first stage operation and pitch and yaw control from MECO to
separation of the first and second stages.

Second Stage

The second stage is powered by a TRWP liquid-fuel pressure-

fed engine that also is gimbal-mounted to provide pitch and
yaw control through second-stage burn. .. nitrogen gas system
using eight fixed nozzles provides -oll control during powered
and coast flight as well as pitch and yaw control during coast
and after second-stage cutoff (Sl:CO).Two fixed nozzles, fed
by the propellant-tank helium-pressurization system, provide
retro-thrust after third-stage scLaration.

Third Stage

The third stage is the TE-364-4 spin-stabilized solid- X

propellant Thiokol motor. The tniird-stagje motor is secured
in a spin table mounted to the second stage. The firing of
eight solid propellant rockets fixed to the spin table
accomplishes spinup of the third ;tage assembly.

Injection into Synchronous Orbit

The spacecraft apogee motor will bh fired at the fourth

apogee, about 40 hours after launch. This maneuver will place
the spacecraft in circular orbit at synchronous altitude above
the equator. The spacecraft will be moved from the apogee
firing location to its final station of 11.5 degrees west longi-
tude. About a month after launch, following checkout of the
onboard communications systems, the spacecraft will become
operational.

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SEQUENCE OF EVENTS

TIME (SEC) EVENT

0.00 Stage 1 liftoff

38.190 (6) Solid Motors Burnout

39.000 (3) Solid Motor Igaition
87.000 Jettison (9) solid motor gasings
227.612 Main engine cutoff
233.617 Vernier engine cutoff

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 MAJOR DELTA 106 SYMPHONIE FLIGHT EVENTS

EVENT TIME ALTITUDE (Mi.) VELOCITY (Feet P,±r

Second)

Liftoff 0 seconds 0

Six solid motor burncut 38 seconds 4 2150

Throe solia motor ignition 39 seconds 4 2150

Thre'- solid motor burnout- I min. 17 sec. 14 3600

N!n.o solid motor Jetlison I nin. 27 isec. 16 4'110

Main engine cut-off (i',ECU) 3 min. 48 sec. 57 17,700

First/secornd stage separation 3 min. 56 sec. 60 17,700

Second staCci ignition 4 min. 1 sec. 62 17,700

Fairing jettison 4 min. A0 sec. 78 18,t50

Second stage first cut-off (SECO1) 8 min. 50 sec. 105 26,100

Second stage restart 24 min. 5 sec. 231 25,350

Second stage second cut-off

(SECO2) 24 min. 22 sec. 234 25,800

Third stage spin up 25 min. 14 sec. 244 25,700

Second/third stage separation 25 min. 16 sec. 244 25,700

Third stage ignition 25 min. 57 sec. 252 25,650

Third stage burnout 26 min. 40 sec. 263 33,100

Third stage/spacecraft separation 27 min. 54 sec. 298 32,900

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LAUNCH OPERATIONS

The John F. Kennedy Space Center's Unmanned Launch

Operations Directorate plays a key role in the preparation
and launch of the three-stage, thrust-augmented Delta rocket
carrying the Symphonie-A spacecraft.
TI.a Delta 106 first stage was erected on Pad B at Com-
plex 17 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station on Nov. 24. Four
of the nine solid strap-on rocket motors were mated with the
first stage on Nov. 24 and the remaining five were mated on
Nov. 25. The Delta second stage was erected on Nov. 26. The
Symphonie spacecraft was received at KSC on Oct. 15, checked
out in Hangar S at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station and moved
to the pad for mating with Delta. The payload fairing which
will protect Symphonie during its flight through the atmos-
phere will be placed atop Delta 106 four ddys before launch.
The three-day countdown leading to launch is conducted
by a joint NASA/industry team.

SYMPHONIE/DELTA 106 TEAM

NASA Headquarters
Dr. Noel Hinners Associate Administrator
for Space Science
John Thole Deputy Associate Administrator
for Space Science
Joseph Mahon Director, Launch Vehicles
and Propulsion
Peter Eaton Manager, Delta Program

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Kennedy Space Center

Acting Director
Miles Ross
Director, Unmanned Launch
John J. Neilon Operations

Manager, Delta Launch

Operations
Hugh HuhA.WTn
A. Weston, r.
-r.

Manager, Delta Spacecraft

William R. Fletcher, Jr. operations

Goddard Space Flight Center

Director
Dr. John F. Clark
Delta Project Manager
Robert Baumann

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