; ;

NA11NAL AIRQNAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION WO 2-41i',

l WASHINGTON, D C 20546 TELS W() 1-692;

FOR RELEASE: FRIDAY P.M

October 21, 1966
RELEASE NO: 66-274

PROJECT: ATLAS-CENTAUR 9 (AC-9)

(To be launched no
earlier than Oct. 25)

CONTENTS

S
GENERAL RELEASE ---------------------------------- 1-3
MISSION DESCRIPTION-------------------------------4
Test Objectives--------------------------------4-3
LAUNCH VEHICLE-----------------------------------6-7
Mass Model------------------------------------8
Instrumentation and Tracking------------------8-9
Flight Plan------------------------------------9-10
CENTAUR PROJECT TEAM------------------------------10-11
ATLAS-CENTAUR FLIGHT SEQUENCE---------------------12

K -End-

10/14/66

-i
 NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION WO 2-4155
N5 C WASHINGTON,D.C. 20546 WO 3-6925

FOR RELEASE: FRIDAY P.M.

October 21, 1966

RELEASE NO: 66-274

AC-9 LAUNCH
SCHEDJULED OCT. 25
AT CAPE KENNEDY

The last in a series of test flights to qualify fully the

Atlas-Centaur launch vehicle for lunar and planetary missions
is scheduled to be flown from Cape Kennedy no earlier than
Oct. 25.

The mission, designated Atlas-Centaur 9 (AC-b,), will test

the Centaur upper stage's capability to restart its two high-
energy, hydrogen-oxygen engines in space following a coast
period in Earth orbit.

The Centaur vehicle has already attained operational

status for direct-ascent missions to the Moon. Both the

Surveyor I and II missions were launched by Atlas-Centaur

vehicles on one-burn, direct-ascent trajectories to the Moon.

Surveyor I, launched last May 30, soft-landed successfully

on June 2 and subsequently returned more than 11,000 high-
quality, detailed photos of the lunar surface. the Surveyor II
spacecraft, launched successfully Sept. 20, failed when one of
its vernier engines did not ignite during the midcourse maneuver.

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lO/14/66
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If the AC-9 mission is successful, the National Aero-

nautics and Space Administration will consider Centaur

operational for Earth parking orbit missions, an well as those

using the direct-ascent method.

The Earth parKing orbit capability will significantly

enhance the flexibility of the Centaur in support of lunar and

planetary missions by increasing the period of time in which

these launches can be made.

The AC-9 mission will be the second major test of Centaur's

capability to reignite its high-energy engines in space. An

attempt to restart Centaur's engines during the AC-8 mission

last April 7 failed because of a leak in the hydrogen-peroxidq

system which fuels Centaur's attitude control system and the

propellant boost pump system. Although the propellants in the

Centaur stage remained stable during the 25-minute coast phase

and were in a proper position for engine restart, the depletion

of hydrogen-peroxide resulted in an early shutdown of two main

hydrogen/oxygen engines.

Analysis of the AC-8 mission indicated peroxide leaked

through the attitude control system and one of the three-pound

thrust ullage rockets used to maintain propellants during the

coast phase. These thrusters have been redesigned for use on

the AC-9 vehicle.

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 Data from the AC-8 mission indicated all other Centaur
systems operated well, including a new balanced-thrust vent
system designed to provide proper venting of gaseous hydrogen.

The AC-9 vehicle will carry a mass model of the Surveyor

spacecraft which will be injected on a simulated lunar-transfer
trajectory following the coast period in Earth orbit. The
model will not hit the Moon but will be placed in a highly-
elliptical Earth orbit extending over 500,000 miles into space.

The Centaur program is directed by NASA's Office of Space

Science and Applications and managed by NASA's Lewis Research
Center, Cleveland, Ohio. Centaur launches are conducted for
Lewis by NASA's Kennedy Space Center's Unmanned Launch Operations.

(END OF GENERAL RELEASE; BACKGROUND INFORMATION FOLLOWS)

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 MISSION DESCRIPTION

Test Objectives

The primary purpose of the AC-9 mission is to demonstrate

the capability of the Centaur vehicle to place a Surveyor-type
spacecraft *n a simulated lunar-transfer trajectory using an
Earth parking orbit launch profile.

The AC-9 flight profile will be basically the same as the

previous two-burn test mission, except a launch-on-time requtre-
ment has been added. This means that the launch azimuth and
parking orbit duration will be variable as a function of launch
time.

The time of launch of AC-9 will simulate the requirements

of a lunar intercept using a parking orbit ascent trajectory.
The launch trajectory will be restricted to a launch azimuth
of between 98 and 103 degrees -- depending on time of launch --
and the parking orbit coast phase will be between 23 and 25
minutes. These parameters will result in the second burn
occurring almost directly over the Pretoria, South Africa, ground
station which will provide telemetry and tracking coverage.

Successful demonstration of Centaur's dual-burn capability

will provide greater flexibility in planning lunar and planetary
missions. Launch windows, which are limited periods during
which lunar or planetary payloads must be launched to intercept
the target, will in some instances be widened from minutes to
hours.

Earth parking orbits also will permit Surveyor spacecraft

to be launched during winter months when lunar lighting con-
ditions are unfavorable for direct-ascent trajectories. Such
lunar payloads can be placed on the Moon during the winter
months using a single-burn ascent trajectory, but not under the
lighting conditions required for detailed photography of the
lunar surface.

Using the Earth parking orbit, Centaur can fly into a low
Earth orbit, coast until the Earth and Moon are in a favorable
intercept relationship, then inject its payload toward the Moon.

Reignition of Centaur's twin hydrogen/oxygen engines in

space has been attempted twice. Prior to the AC-8 mission last
April, a secondary experiment was tried during the AC-4 flight
in December 1964. The experiment failed because the liquid
hydrogen propellant was not properly settled in the bottom of
the tank. Based on that flight, several modifications were
incorporated in the AC-8 and 9 vehicles. These include:
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 -5-
--A balanced-thrust vent system, designed to provide proper
venting of gaseous hydrogen and thus avoid a possible un-
controllable vehicle tumbling condition.
--Uprating of the attitude control engines. Centaur now
uses two clusters of 3.5-pound and 6-pound thrust hydrogen-
peroxide engines for attitude control during the coast
phase. These have been redesigned following the AC-8
mission when it was determined that the hydrogen-peroxide
system leaked during the coast phase.
--Addition of devices to the hydrogen boost-pump-bleed and
recirculation lines to minimize disturbances in the hydrogen
fuel tank. Centaur uses boost pumps to increase the flow
of propellants. Some of the propellants, however, are 'bled'
off and recirculated back to the fuel tank to prevent pump
cavitation, or gas formation in the pump, which can create
a rough operating condition. The recirculation line ts
designed to avoid a similar condition in the engines by
prechilling the propellant feed lines.
--Addition of a hydrogen tank slosh baffle assembly. This
system, together with other modifications, is designed to
minimize disturbances in the hydrogen tank during weight-
lessness so that propellants will be in the proper location
at the pump inlet to insure engine restart.
The primary purpose of these modifications is to insure
that propellants are retained in the proper position (over the
pump inlets) during weightlessness and available when needed
for engine restart.

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 6-

LAUNCH VEHICLE
(All Figures Approximate)

Liftoff weight: 303,000 lbs.

Liftoff height: 113 feet
Launch Complex: 36-B
Launch Azimuth: Variable, 98-103 degrees

Atlas-D Booster Centaur Stage

Welght 263,000 lbs. 40,o0o lbs.
Height 75 feet (including 48 feet (with
interstage adapter) fairing)
Thrust 389,000 lbs. (sea 30,000 lbs. at
level) altitude
Propellants Liquid oxygen and RP-1 Liquid hydro-
gen And liquid
oxygen
Propulsion MA-5 system (2-165,000 Two RL-10
lb. thrust engines, 1- engines
57,000, 2-1,000)
Velocity 5,500 mph at BECO 23,600 mph at
7,900 mph at SECO injection
Guidance Pre-programmed auto- Inertial
pilot through BECO guidance

AC-9 consists of a modified Series D Atlas combined with a

Centaur second stage. Both stages are 10 feet in diameter and
are connected by an interstage adapter. Both the Atlas and Centaur
maintain their shape through pressurization.

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 -7-

The Atlas first stage is 75 feet high, including the

interstage adapter, and uses a standard MA-5 propulsion system.
It consists of two booster engines and a sustainer engine,
developing 387,000 pounds of thrust. Two vernier engines of
1,000 pounds thrust each provide roll directional control.
The Centaur second stage including the nose fairing is
48 feet long. It is powered by two improved RL-10 hydrogen-
oxygen engines, designated RL-10-A-3-3. The RL-10 was the
first hydrogen-fueled engine developed for the space program
and is the forerunner of the larger J-2 and M-1 hydrogen
engines, which develop 200,000 and 1,500,000 pounds thrust,
respectively.
The current Atlas-Centaur vehicle can launch about 2,500
pounds on a direct-ascent lunar trajectory or send 1,300-pound
payloads to Venus and Mars.
An improved Atlas, called a Standardized Launch Vehicle
(SLV-3C) used in combination with Centaur, will increase this
capability to about 2,700 pounds for lunar missions. This
launch vehicle will also provide capability for Mars missions
weighing 800 to 1,800 pounds depending upon the desired number
of launch days for the particular opportunity.
Modifications to the vehicle to increase its payload
capability include lengthening of the Atlas by four feet, which
will increase its total propellant capacity by some 20,000 pounds,
and uprating of the Atlas booster and sustainer engines, which
will increase the booster thrust from 387,000 to 394,000 pounds.
The SLV-3C is scheduled to be used initially on the AC-13
mission.
Centaur carries insulation panels and a nose fairing which
are Jettisoned after the vehicle leaves the Earth's atmosphere.
The insulation panels, weighing about 1,200 pounds, surround
the second stage hydrogen tanks to prevent the heat of air
friction from causing excessive boil-off of liquid hydrogen
during flight through the atmosphere. The nose fairing protects
the payload from this same heat environment.

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 Mass Model

The 1,600-pound mass model which AC-9 will carry does not
resemble a Surveyor spacecraft in appearance but is ballasted
to simulate Surveyor's retrorocket and solar panel/planar array
antenna assemblies. The model also will be equipped with an
S-band transponder to permit post-separation tracking.
The model is designed for in-flight separation using an
operational-type Surveyor separation system.

No telemetry instrumentation is installed on the model,

but some payload-associated measurements are provided on the
spacecrafi adapter.

Instrumentation and Tracking

AC-9 will be heavily instrumented. Telemetry will radio

data measurements from the Centaur stage prior to launch and
through spacecraft separation for about three hours, or until
its battery power is depleted.

Measurements on the Centaur stage will send information on

engine behavior. Also, due to the importance of propellant
behavior during the Centaur coast phase, about 100 sensors will
send information on propellant motions in the hydrogen tank
throughout the flight.

Booster stage data will relate primarily to engine functions

and flight control systems, plus standard vibration, structural
bending and temperature information.

The Surveyor mass model will be instrumented to measure

temperatures around the spacecraft adapter and pressure and
vibration levels at the top of the antenna assembly.

AC-9 will be tracked during powered flight and portions of

its orbital flight to obtain performance information.

Tracking of the Atlas and Centaur first-burn phases of

powered flight will be accomplished by C-band radar and Azusa
Mark II/Glotrac systems by stations at Cape Kennedy, Antigua,
Grand Bahama, San Salvador and Bermuda.

During the coast phase prior to the Centaur second burn,

data reception and tracking will be by Antigua, telemetry ships
in the South Atlantic, Ascension Island and Pretoria, South
Africa. The South African station is expected to confirm Centaur
second burn, engine shutdown and spacecraft separation.

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 -V~~ - ~ ~
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Following injection into orbit, an S-band transponder

attached to the mass model will be tracked by stations of
NASA's Deep Space Network for about 20 hours.

Additional precision tracking data on Centaur and the

model will be supplied by the Smithsonian Institution's
Astrophysical Observatory (Cambridge, Mass.) worldwide network
of Baker-Nunn cameras.

Flight Plan

After liftoff, AC-9 will rise vertically for the first 15

seconds, then roll to the desired flight plane azimuth of
between 98 and 103 degrees. During booster engine flight, the
vehicle is steered by the Atlas autopilot.

After about 140 seconds of booster flight, the booster

engines are shut down (BECO) and jettisoned. The Centaur
guidance system then takes over flight control. The Atlas
sustainer engine continues to propel the AC-9 vehicle to an
altitude of about 88 miles. Prior to sustainer engine shutdown,
the second stage insulation panels are jettisoned, followed by
the nose fairings.

The Atlas and Centaur stages are then separated by an

explosive, shaped charge and retrorockets mounted on the Atlas.

Centaur's hydrogen engines are then ignited for a planned

331-second burn. This will place Centaur and the Surveyor mass
model into a 100-mile Earth parking orbit.

As Centaur's engines are shut down and the coast phase begins,
two 50-pound-thrust hydrogen-peroxide rockets are fired for about
75 seconds to settle the propellants because the vehicle is in
a weightless condition.

Two hydrogen-peroxide ullage rockets, each with three pounds

thrust, are then fired continuously during the coast period to
retain the propellants in the lower part of the tanks.

During the approximately 25-minute coast period in Earth orbit,

control of Centaur will be accomplished using two clusters of
3.5 and 6-pound thrust hydrogen-peroxide rockets.

About 40 seconds before Centaur's second burn, the two

50-pound thrusters are again used to insure proper propellant
settling.

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 -10-

Once Centaur is in an accurate position to inject the

Surveyor model toward its "imaginary Moon," the hydrogen-
fueled main engines are ignited for an approximate 107-second
burn. The second-burn command and duration of the burn are
determined by Centaur's inertial guidance system, as are all
command and steering functions following Atlas booster engine
cutoff and jettison.
The Surveyor mass model is separated from Centaur and
injected toward its target in space -- a hypothetical Moon
about 236,000 statute miles from Earth.
Following spacecraft separation, the Centaur vehicle will
perform a 180-degree reorientation maneuver, using its attitude
control system.
The Centaur's velocity is then changed by retro-thrusting.
The thrust for this maneuver is produced by two 50-pound
hydrogen-peroxide thrusters as well as by 'blowing" residual
propellants through Centaur's main engines.
As a result of this retro-maneuver the Centaur and the
model will be separated by at least 200 statute miles, five
hours after launch. The model will continue into a highly-
elliptical Earth orbit extending more than 500,000 miles iftto
space and circling the Earth once every 35 days. Centaur's
apogee will be about 385,000 miles, perigee 100 miles, and it
will orbit the Earth each 13 days.
Orbital inclination to the equator of both Centaur and the
mass model is expected to be 30.8 degrees.

CENTAUR PROJECT TEAM

The Centaur program is under the overall direction of NASA's
Office of Space Science and Applications. Dr. Homer E. Newell
is Associate Administrator of NASA for Space Science and
Applications. Vincent L. Johnson is director, Launch Vehicle
and Propulsion Programs, and T. B. Norris is Centaur Program
Manager.
Project management is under NASA's Lewis Research Center,
Cleveland; Dr. Abe Silverstein is Director. Bruce T. Lundin is
Associate Director for Development and Edmund R. Jonash is
Centaur Project Manager.

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 v --

Centaur launches are conducted for Lewis by John F.

Kennedy Space Center's Unmanned Launch Operations. Robert
Gray is Assistant Director for unmcanned launch operations, KSC,
and John Gossett, Centaur Operations Manager.
Convair Division of General Dynamics Corp., San Diego, is
prime contractor for the Centaur vehicle, including the Atlas
booster. Grant L. Hansen, vice president, launch vehicle pro-
grams, is responsible for the Atlas-Centaur program. (Convair
also designed and built the AC-9 mass model).
Pratt and Whitney Aircraft Div. of United Aircraft Corp.,
West Palm Beach, Fla., is an associate prime contractor for
Centaur's hydrogen-oxygen engines. Richard Anchutze is P&W's
RL-10 project manager.
Honeywell Inc., St. Petersburg, Fla., is an associate prime
contractor for Centaur's inertial guidance system. R. B. Foster
is program manager.
Several hundred other U.S. contractors are involved in the
Centaur development program.

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 ATLAS-CEN1AUh FLIGHT SEQUENCE

EVEN4T NO4INAL TDIES, ALTITUDE, SURFACE RANGE, VELOCITY,

SECUNDS STATUTE MILES STATUTE MILES MPH

Liftoff 0 0 0 0

Booster Engine Cutoff 142 36 50 5600

and Booster jettison

Jettison Insulation Panels 176 57 100 6200

Jettison Nose Fairin' 204 72 147 6850

Sustainer Engine. Cutoff 234 88 216 7900

and Atlas separation

Centaur engine start 245 92 237 7900

Centaur engine cutoff 576 105 1240 16,550 -

Coast in Earth orbit - - - -

Centaur second burn 1956 112 7960 16,550

Centaur engine cutoff 2063 121 8500 23,600

Spacecraft separation 2132 137 8760 23,600

Start reorientation 2137 139 8800 23,600

Start retrothrust 2372 405 10,200 22,800

ORBITAL ELEINTS: APOGBE PERIGEE

WiSS MODEL: 575,,000 miles 100 miles

CENTAUR: 385,000 miles 100 miles

 NASA
C-72507

Cutaway of Centaur second stage

and Surveyor mass model