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. NASA FACTS (A-62) Page 1
N63 1670 1
The MOON-America's space goal of the 60 ' s: a manned landing. Yet today more is unknown than is known
about that satellite.
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Page 2 NASA FACTS (A-62) j
ica's first attempt to obtain close-up and detailed ment in November 1958, but the actual means
photographs of the moon and its topography, of propulsion were not then available. Instru-
to secure scientific data on the composition of mented lunar landings were an integral part of
the lunar surface, and to learn more about lunar NASA's first planning. In 1960 the execution
origin, history and structure from an instru- of the Ranger program was assigned to the
mented capsule, designed to survive a "rough Jet Propulsion laboratory (JPl), a NASA facil-
landing" on the moon. ity operated by the California Institute of
Technology.
Initially the Ranger program proposed five
DEVELOPMENT OF PROJECT RANGER flights of instrumented packages during 1961
and 1962, but four additional Ranger flights
Interest in the propulsion of scientific instru- were added for 1963, to insure more and better
ments to the moon antedates NASA's establish- data about the moon.
/ OMNIDIRECTIONAL
/ ANTENNA
HIGH-GAIN
ANTENNA - - - - - ,
MID-COURSE
MOTOR I
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TV CAMERA
RANGER SPACECRAFT
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II1 . NASA FACTS (A-62) Page 3
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I1 RANGER LAUNCH-TO- INJECTION SEQUENCE
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1. LAUN C H
2. B OOS T ER S H U T O FF AN D SE P ARA TI ON
3. SU S T A IN E R S HU TO F F /I AG EN A SE P ARATION
4. SHRO U D E J EC T ION
INJECTION
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5. FI RST A G ENA I G NI T IO N
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6. F I RST AGENA SHUTOFF /I START OF COAS T
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7. SECOND AG E NA IGN I TIO N
The pri mary missi on of the first two Ranger craft would execute commands received from
flights, on August 23, and November 18, 1961, the earth stations as well as its preass igned
was to provide engineering tests of the many tasks.
elements of the spacecraft system and NASA's Ranger 3 was the first test a i med at i mpact-
world-wide tracking network. Neither flight ing the moon and " rough-landing " a scientific
was aimed at impact but merely to make highly instrument package upon it. It was the first of
elliptical earth orbits. However, the Agena B 3 identical NASA spacecraft launched to per-
booster veh icle twice malfunctioned in its second form a series of most complicated operations.
burning phase, when it should have restarted its Ranger 3 and its two identical sisters each con-
motors and projected the spacecraft from its sists of a 729-pound gold and silver spacecraft
near earth orbit into outer space. Rangers 1 containing four scientific experiments; lunar tele-
and 2 never did get into interplanetary space. vised photography, gamma ray detector, radar
Yet these tests had their positive side. The reflectivity of the moon and a moonquake
instrumentation in the spacecraft was tested and seismometer, the latter to land on the moon
provided telemetered data to the tracking net- and transmit seismographic data for 30 days.
work. It was also demonstrated that the space- On a successful launch, Ranger would be lifted
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Page 4 NASA FACTS (A-62)
into space by an Atlas "0" booster and put most complicated satellites and why NASA
into a near earth orbit by an Agena-B second determined on three identical craft to insure the
stage, which would then shut off while only par- scientific purpose of this mission. While in
tially burned out. When Ranger and its lunar flight, Ranger has the following mission
attached Agena-B had coasted to the "space sequence:
window" selected as the best trajectory to the 1. At 30 minutes after launch, on signal
moon, the Agena engines would restart, accel- from its own computer, unfolds two solar
erate Ranger to the earth-escaping velocity of panels. Using cold nitrogen jets, the
the 24,500 miles per hour and put it on an Ranger aligns its flight axis so that these
impact course to the moon. The Agena booster solar panels are aligned to face the sun,
would then drop off and be deflected by its own in a "sun-lock," to produce electrical
retrorockets, to prevent its following the space- power for the spacecraft's operations.
craft to the moon. The Ranger would then be Having locked on the sun, Ranger then
on its own for its 66-hour fli ght to moon extends its "high-gain antenna," for
impact. clearest telemetry and television trans-
mission to earth stations, and without
RANGER FLIGHT PLAN losing the "sun-lock," jets itself and the
antenna onto an "earth-lock." Finally,
A summary of Ranger operations and activities the gamma ray spectrameter is turned on
on its flight to, and just before its impact on and relays radiation data to earth every
the moon, indicates why this is one of America's 8 minutes.
IARTH UACQUIS/TION
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1'/ / GAMMA RAY 100M OUT
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ANNl1NAI"OSmON
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RANGER MIDCOURSE MANEUVER
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2. Changes its flight orientation, 16 hours
after launch, following orders transmitted
Deep Space Instrumentation Facility stations:
California, South Africa and Australia.
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by NASA's Goldstone (Calif.) tracking sta- Ranger obeys by firing a mid-course motor
tion, utilizing computer course corrections in the spacecraft's base and puts itself on
from the flight data received from three collision course with the moon.
RANGER
TERMINAL MANEUVER
YAW MANEUVEI?
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altitude of about 70,000 feet from the ploding sl ugs pierce the bottom of the
I moon's surface. Three small rocket balsa casing to permit the oil to drain
motors spin the retrorocket from the lunar out when the capsule rights itself.
capsule some four feet above and away America's first scientific instrument on the
from the spacecraft which then impacts moon is then ready to transmit data to
in 8 seconds and is destroyed. the earth.
7. Fires the retro or braking rocket for 10
seconds at 5,080 pounds of thrust to
slow the capsule system from 6,000
miles per hour to zero velocity of 1,100
feet .
8. Detaches seismometer capsule from brak-
ing rocket so that the former under the
pressure of the moon's gravity falls free
the last 1,100 feet and "rough-lands"
on the moon, at a speed of about 150
miles per hour, some four seconds after
the braking rocket, and twenty-four sec-
onds after the spacecraft had impacted.
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u.s. GOVER NM ENT PRI NTIN G OFFICE : 19 6 2 OF' -637077