Tuesday, December 29, 1970
Monday, December 28, 1970
Thursday, December 24, 1970
OFO
1970-094A
The Orbital Frog Otolith Satellite (OFO) was built by Aerojet General (El Monte) for NASA Ames to study the adaptation of the inner ear function of frogs to free fall. OFO was launched on 1970 Nov 9 at 0600 by Scout B from Wallops Island together with the RM satellite. Its orbit was 92.6 min, 304 x 518 km x 37.4 deg. OFO transmitted until Nov 15, and reentered on 1971 May 9. The experiment showed that the frog otolith function recovered in 3 days. OFO frog data were taken for 155 hours (6d 11h).
The project was originally intended to be an Apollo 2 experiment, and then to fly on Skylab, but delays and the need for a low acceleration enviroment needed forced a change to a free flying satellite. The OFO satellite contained the FOEP (Frog Otolith Experiment Package), developed by APL based on a propoasal by T. Gualtierotti of NASA-ARC (later of Milan). It contained two bullfrogs (Rana Catesbiana) completely submerged in water in a 0.5m high 0.5m dia centrifuge cylinder.
The satellite had a yo-yo despin system and four deployable booms for moment-of-inertia control.
Mass of OFO was 133 kg; an octagonal systems section is topped by a round-topped conical enclosure containing the FOEP. Size 0.76m dia 1.19m high with 2.0m booms giving a 4.8m span. OFO was based on the OV3 design.
Separation of OFO from RM/FW-4S happened 50s earlier than planned due to a malfunction of the vehicle timer, and the two probably bumped into each other, but no serious damage was done.
| OFO | |||
| Date | Time | Event | Orbit |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1970 Nov 9 | 0600:00 | Launch by Scout B S174C | WI LA3A |
| T+1:16 St 1 burnout | |||
| T+1:21 Stage 2 burn | |||
| T+2:03 Stage 2 burnout | |||
| T+2:17 Fairing sep | |||
| T+2:19 Stage 3 burn | |||
| T+2:54 Stage 3 burnout | |||
| Spinup | |||
| T+7:23 Stage 3 sep | |||
| T+7:28 Stage 4 FW-4S burn | |||
| 0608 | T+8:02 Stage 4 burnout | ||
| 0608 | T+8:02? OFO sep | 92.83 304 x 520 x 37.4 | |
| 0608 | T+8:53 Yoyo deploy from OFO | ||
| T+8:58 Deploy inertia booms | |||
| T+10m? Yo deploy from RM | |||
| T+12:48 Unlock centrifuge | |||
| 1970 Nov 15 | 1700? | end of frog data | |
| 1970 Dec 3 | 92.58 288 x 513 x 37.4 | ||
Tuesday, December 22, 1970
EGRS-5
1965-063B
EGRS 5 (Secor 5) was launched for the US Army Corp of Engineers and US Army Map Command. It was a secondary payload on the test launch of the Scout B from Wallops Island.
SECOR 5 was built by the US Army Engineer, Geodesy, Intel and Mapping Research and Development Agency, Ft Belvoir, VA, and Cubic Corp. The satellite, Type I S/N 2, was a 20-inch sphere similar to the NRL series. It was left at an excessive spin rate but was used until Mar 1966.
| EGRS 5 | |||
| Date | Time | Event | Orbit |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1965 Aug 10 | 1754 | Launch by Scout | WI LA3 |
| T+1:17 St 2 burn | |||
| T+1:57 St 2 burnout | |||
| T+2:02 St 3 burn | |||
| T+2:35 St 3 burnout | |||
| 1806 | T+12:28 St 4 burn | ||
| 1807 | T+13:03 St 4 burnout | ||
| 1837 | T+43:02 St 4 sep from SECOR | ||
| 122.24 1140 x 2423 x 69.26 | |||
| 1966 Mar | end of ops | ||
Payload:
- Secor TR-27 transponder
- USN Doppler Beacon
Sunday, December 20, 1970
Friday, December 18, 1970
Friday, December 11, 1970
Thursday, December 3, 1970
Saturday, November 28, 1970
Thursday, November 26, 1970
Wednesday, November 25, 1970
Tuesday, November 24, 1970
Monday, November 23, 1970
Sunday, November 22, 1970
Thursday, November 19, 1970
Tuesday, November 17, 1970
Monday, November 16, 1970
Sunday, November 15, 1970
Saturday, November 14, 1970
Thursday, November 12, 1970
Monday, November 9, 1970
Midas 2
1960-006A
Midas 2 also used an Atlas Agena A; the launch on 1960 May 24 was successful. The satellite tumbled, however, operating for one day, and obtained only some IR background measurements. However after 16 orbits the telemetry failed, foiling plans to observe a Titan II launch.
The micrometeorite detector worked for four orbits and returned discrepant answers: an upper limt for the two wire-grid detectors and detections for the three acoustic detectors. Acoustic detectors were later regarded as unreliable.
| Midas II | |||
| Date | Time | Event | Orbit |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1960 May 24 | 1735:46 | Launch by Atlas Agena A | CC |
| T+2:26 BECO | |||
| T+3:58 SECO | |||
| T+4:17 VECO | ? x 541 x 33 | ||
| 1744:57 | T+9:11 Agena burn | ||
| 1746:46 | T+11:00 Agena MECO | ||
| 484 x 511 x 33 | |||
| 1960 May 25 | End of transmissions | ||
Sunday, November 8, 1970
Thursday, October 29, 1970
Wednesday, October 28, 1970
Monday, October 26, 1970
Midas 12
1966-089A
The final MIDAS flight, number 12, entered a 3700 km circular orbit on 1966 Oct 5. It operated for 372 days.
As well as ORS and EGRS subsatellites, Vela and AFAPL secondary payloads may have been carried.
| RTS-1 F3 | |||
| Date | Time | Event | Orbit |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1966 Oct 5 | 2200 | Launch by Atlas Agena D | V |
| 2204 | T+4:50? Atlas sep | ||
| 2205 | T+5:46? Agena D MES-1 | ||
| 2209 | T+9:26? Agena-D MECO-1 | ||
| 2310? | MES-2 | ||
| 2315? | EGRS ejected | ||
| MECO-2 | 167.6 3682 x 3702 x 90.2 | ||
Saturday, October 24, 1970
Skynet 1B
1970-062A
The second Philco-built Skynet 1 was launched on 1970 Aug 19. The Star 17A apogee motor failed; telemetry and tracking vanished half way through the apogee motor burn. Launch operations were by NASA until stage 3 sep, then control was transferred to AFSCF who commanded the ABM burn.
Satellite mass 129 kg BOL, 243 full consistent with 114 kg prop. Star 17A has mass 112 kg prop 12 kg inert with Impulse 319.5 kNs; Seff = 286.7s = 2.812 km/s; so dV = 2.812 ln ( minitial/mfinal ) = 2.812 ln (243 / 129 ); for full burn, = 1.781 km/s. GTO apogee vel = 1.596 km/s at 28.0 deg; GEO vel = 3.075 km/s at 0 deg. So dV required is 1.827 km/s at 24 deg, within 3 percent of estimate. Now if the AKM failed halfway through burn, mass final = 186 kg, so dV = 0.752 km/s. Scaling components, final vel is 2.142 km/s at 12 deg for an estimated orbit of 7300 x 36000 km x 12 deg, if no extra impulse provided after the explosion. Of course this is very approximate. Another solution gives 10100 x 38300 x 18 deg.
| Skynet 1B | |||
| Date | Time | Event | Orbit |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1970 Aug 19 | 1211:00 | Launch by Delta | CK LC17A |
| T+0:39 SRM 1-3 burnout | |||
| 1212 | SRM sep (T+1:10) | ||
| 1214 | Thor MECO (T+3:38) | ||
| 1214 | Delta burn T+3:45 | ||
| Thor sep T+3:45 | |||
| 1214 | Fairing sep (T+3:49) | ||
| 1220 | Delta SECO, coast (T+9:53) | -1200? x 400? x 29? | |
| 1233 | Delta sep (T+22:53) | ||
| 1234 | Star 37 burn (T+23:06) | ||
| 1234 | Star 37 cutoff (T+23:46) | ||
| 1235 | Star 37 sep (T+25:30) | ||
| 636.5 270 x 36041 x 28.04 (RAE) | |||
| 664 254 x 37523 x 25.94 (TR1022) | |||
| 664 254 x 37523 x 26.02 (MOR P) | |||
| 1700? | Apo 1 101E | ||
| 1970 Aug 20 | 0400? | Apo 2 68W | |
| 1530? | Apo 3 125E | ||
| 1970 Aug 21 | 0230? | Apo 4 40W | |
| 1330? | Apo 5 150E | ||
| 1970 Aug 22 | 0030 | Apo 6 10W | |
| 1130? | Apo 7 180E | ||
| 1970 Aug 22 | 1140? | Star 17A AKM, failed (7th apogee) | |
| 7300? x 36000? x 12? (guess) | |||
Friday, October 23, 1970
Thursday, October 22, 1970
Wednesday, October 21, 1970
Tuesday, October 20, 1970
ESRO 1B
1969-083A
The ESRO IB auroral research satellite was launched in Oct 1969 to complement the ESRO IA mission but problems with the Scout left it in low orbit and it reentered after less than two months. The Antares third stage pitched down incorrectly, and the fourth stage underperformed, causing low altitude and velocity. Planned orbit was 400 x 435 km x 86.0 deg.
Mass 85 kg. Size is 0.76 dia 0.96m high, with 2.43m span across the deployed booms. Yo-yo masses of 0.11 kg on 4.70m long wires were deployed.
The E transition section on the Scout carried a LaRC performance experiment to study final stage performance.
| ESRO 1B | |||
| Date | Time | Event | Orbit |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1969 Oct 1 | 2229:00 | Launch by Scout B | V SLC5 |
| 2230 | Algol burnout T+1:13 | ||
| T+1:17 Algol sep | |||
| 2230 | Castor burn T+1:17 | ||
| 2230 | Castor burnout T+1:57 | ||
| T+2:55 Fairing sep | |||
| T+2:56 Castor sep | |||
| 2231 | Antares burn T+2:56 | ||
| 2232 | Antares burnout T+3:33 | ||
| 2232 | Coast phase T+3:37 | ||
| 2236 | Altair burn T+7:20 | ||
| 2236:56 | Altair burnout T+7:55 | ||
| 2241:55 | Altair sep | ||
| 2241:57 | S-44 boom deploy | ||
| 2242 | T+13:00 Yo-yo deploy | ||
| T+13:02 S-45 boom deploy | |||
| 91.4 291 x 389 x 85.1 | |||
| 1969 Nov 23 | 0952 | Reentered over Canary Islands | |
Payload:
- S32 Auroral photometer 4278A and 4861A (NICP-Oslo)
- S44 Electron probes (UCL)
- S45 Ion probe (UCL)
- S71A Scintillator and pulse analyser, e 40-400 keV (RSRS,Slough)
- S71B Electrostatic analyser, e 1-10 keV, p 1 -5 keV (Kiruna)
- S71C Solid state detectors p 100 keV-5 MeV (TU Denmark, Bergen)
- S71D GM counters e > 40 keV (TU Denmark, NSC-Oslo)
- S71E Scintillator and solid state detector p 5-30 MeV (RSRS)
Friday, October 16, 1970
Gambit 22
1965-076A
KH-7 22 was launched on 1965 Sep 30 by Atlas Agena D from Vandenberg. The Agena was tracked as 1965-76B and reentered after 2 days. The OCV reentered after 4.7 days. High gas consumption led to restrictions on roll maneuvers and early recovery on rev 67, with imagery that reached better than 1 meter resolution.
| KH-7 22 | |||
| Date | Time | Event | Orbit |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1965 Sep 30 | 1922 | Launch by Atlas Agena D | V |
| T+2:18? BECO | |||
| T+4:37? SECO | |||
| T+4:54? VECO | |||
| T+4:59? Atlas sep | |||
| T+5:51? Agena MES | |||
| 1931 | T+9:50? Agena MECO | ||
| OCV sep | 88.8 158 x 264 x 95.6 | ||
| 1965 Oct 4 | Rev 64 last image | ||
| 1965 Oct 4 | 2230? | SRV ejected? (guess) | |
| 2310? | SRV recovered (guess) | ||
| 1965 Oct 5 | 1215? | Reentered | |
Wednesday, October 14, 1970
Monday, October 12, 1970
Sunday, September 27, 1970
Friday, September 18, 1970
140: Spreading the Word
Cold Open
Scene 1a:The Astronaut Office lobby at Cape Kennedy,mid-morning.
It is a busy morning at the Astronaut Office. Secretaries are well underfoot,as well as training supes and medical personnel. On the walls we see pictures from Mercury and Gemini missions. This is the first time we’ve properly seen the lobby of the Astronaut Office.
A young blond woman enters,pretty,in her late twenties. This is Katie Nelson (Deborah Harry),cousin of Tony Nelson,recently hired by the Astronaut Office as a social coordinator. She walks up to a desk occupied by a fadedly pretty secretary in her thirties.
Secretary:Yes?
Katie (nervously,more so than you’d expect from a woman as pretty as she is):Uh,hi,I’m Katie Nelson,I’m the new social coordinator for the astronauts and I was told to ask for Laverne Sadelko?
Secretary:Laverne’s out today - she probably forgot to mention she’s seven months pregnant. I’m Veronica Patterson and - yes,Laverne did say you might come today. You’re in Room 78 on the third floor and I’ll have to escort you there. Come with me,okay?
Scene 1b:The corridors of the Astronaut Office
Veronica is leading Katie through the corridors and conversing with her as she goes.
Veronica:....and last December,right before Christmas,that nice Major Nelson got married. Your last name’s Nelson,isn’t it? Quite the coincidence.
They pause in the middle of the hallway.
Katie:No coincidence,actually. He and I are cousins. He’s a few years older than me.
Veronica:Well,I’ll be! What’s he like as a family man? Did you know about his marriage?
Katie:I had to hear it from his mother when she sent me a letter. He’s a very nice man - given our age difference I didn’t see him often,but we’re all proud of him.
Tony and Roger enter the hallway. Tony stops short when he sees Katie.
Tony:Katie? What are you doing here? I didn’t know you were visiting.
Veronica:She’s the new social coordinator for the astronauts here,Mr Nelson.
Roger:So Annie’s husband is going to Subic Bay after all!
Katie:I guess so. (She turns to Tony) So when am I gonna meet the infamous Jeannie?
Tony:Tonight,if you want to. I’ll bring you over for dinner. I’ll give you the address. (He reaches into a pocket and pulls out a post-it note and a pen. He writes ‘1137 Palm Drive’ on the post-it note and hands it to Katie.)
Katie:Thanks.
She kisses Tony on the cheek and leaves with Veronica.
Roger:Guess the girl’s out of the bag now.
Freeze frame on Tony’s amused face.
IDOJ Intro and Theme Song
Act 1
Scene 2: Tony’s office, about an hour later
Tony is working on some paperwork with the same pen he used earlier to write his address. His office has seen some remodeling over the summer:one of the Gemini 7/6 photos has been replaced by the Apollo 10 crew photo and the Atlas missile photo has been replaced by a signed group photo of the Mercury Seven in front of a fighter jet. There is also a model of the Saturn IB rocket on his desk. Atop the filing cabinet are three more models: the Saturn V from “Who Are You Calling a Genie?”, the Mariner 4 Mars probe,and the Titan IIIC rocket from “Marooned”. To the left of the Saturn IB model is a photo of Tony and Jeannie from their wedding day.
Roger comes through the open door,sounding a little breathless as he stands before the desk. Hearing his heavy breathing,Tony takes notice of him.
Tony:Something the matter,Rog? You sound like you ran around the Industrial Area on foot.
Roger:That bad,huh? Well,I’ve got news for you,old pal. Serious news for a serious guy like you. (He sits down by the base of the filing cabinet) Dr Bellows told me a while ago when I passed him on the ground floor. And by a while I mean about twenty minutes ago.
Tony:What news?
Roger:We’re done here at the Cape,Tone.
Tony (standing up):I’d have heard if they were cancelling the space program.
Roger:No,Tone. We - the astronauts here at Kennedy - we’re being reassigned. NASA HQ up in Washington decided the expense of maintaining two astronaut teams based a thousand miles apart was too much,so come year’s end we’re all moving to Houston and the Astronaut Office’ll be there for all time to come.
Tony (demeanor changed,he’s all smiles now):Rog,that’s great news! Well,great for most - Jeannie’ll miss Cocoa Beach very much. I’ll tell -
Roger:That’s just the thing,you can’t tell her yet. Dr Bellows,me,you,that cousin of yours,and a few guys in the Training Office are all the people in this building who know of this so far. The news’ll be announced to the guys on Wednesday and it’ll be made public next week.
Tony:How does Katie know about this?
Roger:Dr Bellows said he told her before he told me. It was by Jetstream’s office but he’s in Houston looking over the LM simulator.
Tony:I’ve known Katie for 27 years,Rog,and it’ll be hard to persuade her to keep a lid on this. I can’t believe I’m saying this,but since we’re two days out from this announcement I’d like you to spread some rumor seeds,as it were,around the building. Capisce?
Roger nods and leaves Tony to his paperwork.
Scenes 3a-3d: a montage in the Astronaut Office,over the course of the day.
Tony is walking down a corridor leading to the lunchroom when he sees three astronauts gathered by a corner,beneath a photo of the unmanned Apollo 4 launch. They are whispering among themselves. Tony catches sight of Roger by the lunchroom door and gives a thumbs up.
Tony is in the lab section of the building,studying carefully a mock-up of the Apollo CSM ECS. A short,pretty blond in a lab coat walks in and begins to ask him a question,but he shushes her and carries on with his work.
Tony takes a stroll in a small garden area behind the building that we’ve never seen before. He sits down on a bench and is just about to light a cigar when a man wearing the uniform of a Marine captain sits down next to him. The man is quite excitable.
Marine:Major Nelson,is it true that you’ve been asked to stand in for 14’s Lunar Module Pilot? Dr Bellows was saying -
Tony:I wish I could tell you,Scott,but we’re talking privileged information here.
Scott gets up and leaves. Tony lights his cigar.
Tony is conversing with a secretary at her desk on the floor above the astronaut offices. She is a blond woman with a slight lisp.
Secretary:Major,is it true you’re leaving NASA? Commander Wingate told me over lunch.
Tony:Don’t worry,Allison,that was just a rumor. (He walks about twenty feet and sits down in an alcove) I love that Rog. He’s a swell guy.
Scene 4:The dining room of the Nelson house,early evening.
Tony,Jeannie,and Katie are seated around the table,each with a fruit salad and milk glass in front of them. Tony has changed into a sort of dinner suit for the occasion. Katie is wearing a Ship’n’Shore blouse with the NASA meatball over the right breast and an evening skirt. Jeannie is dressed in mid-1950s style clothes. She has been introduced to Katie and they are getting along,if not friends yet.
Jeannie:It is ever so nice to meet a cousin of Anthony’s who isn’t an out-and-out conman.
Katie (chuckling):So you’ve met Arvel already?
Jeannie (indignant):Yes,I have. He was trying to sell chili with Anthony’s face on it as a way of attracting custom. It’s a violation of both Air Force and NASA regulations to have an officer advertise a product in the civilian sector,and I know because Roger checked - that’s his best friend.
Katie:Believe me,I know who Roger Healey is. Tony met him in flight school at Pax River. They were in Electronics Test together.
Jeannie:I sense some sort of joke here from the way you said it.
Tony:Electronics Test was where most of us were assigned. Roger was on loan from the Army Corps of Engineers’ civil works division. He was to go on to a posting in France but chose to stay because he loves planes.
Tony leaves the table
Katie:Jeannie,you should know another thing - we’re from opposite sides,as it were. Tony and Arvel are cousins through his mother. Arvel is a Gerber and his mom’s youngest brother - she was born Laura Gerber. I’m cousins with Tony through his father - he’s the son of Frank Nelson and I’m the daughter of Tom Nelson. So hopefully you’ve got us straight now.
Jeannie:And I suppose there are other cousins too.
Katie:Many of us - we’re a pretty big family.
Jeannie:You must be very proud of him.
Katie:Why wouldn’t we be? Any family would be proud to have an astronaut. I’ll bet Neil Armstrong’s folks are proud of him to the moon and back.
Jeannie:Oh,no,I didn’t mean to imply that you weren’t proud of Anthony. (Changing the subject) So,have you been to Cape Kennedy before?
Katie:A handful of times. I was here for the Stardust - his first launch in ‘64. It had to be aborted -
Jeannie:I remember that mission. I met him after he got back to the United States. He was a different man then. He was engaged,actually -
Katie:None of us liked Melissa Stone. She was a shrew then and she’s probably one now. My dad said that a fair face hides a foul heart,and he was right about her.
Jeannie (smiling wryly):Well,there’s one thing we can agree on. My great uncle Sido said the same thing about a man once,and that man later became a warlord.
Katie returns her smile.
Jeannie:So where are you staying?
Katie:I was hoping I could stay here for a couple of nights.
Tony re-enters the room:he has heard this last.
Katie:Is there a problem with that,Tony?
Tony:You staying over? None that I can think of. Jeannie?
Jeannie:Yes?
Tony:Can you help set Katie up in the guest room? I’ve got some late work to do and I’ll not be interrupted.
Jeannie:Of course. Come along,Katie.
She and Katie walk upstairs.
Tony:Only a few more hours till breakfast.
He goes to the living room to do some more paperwork.
Scene 5:The same,early the next morning
Tony enters the room to find Jeannie alone at the table. The day’s newspaper is spread out before her.
Tony:Morning,Jeannie. Where’s Katie gone off to?
Jeannie:A friend of hers picked her up about twenty minutes ago. Did you have to tell her something?
Tony:No,I have to tell you something,and I’ll be straight out with it.
Jeannie:Tell away.
Tony:We’re moving in three months.
Jeannie (visibly upset):So you’re leaving NASA?
Tony:No,Jeannie,no one’s leaving NASA. The Astronaut Office team here will be moving to -
Jeannie:Let me guess. Houston. I’m no dummy,Anthony. I know about the space center there. Do they not call it the Manned Space Center?
Tony:Close enough,it’s the Manned Spacecraft Center. It’s where Mission Control is.
Jeannie:You know what this means,Anthony. I will have to find us a new house. It may be a difficult task.
Tony:Difficult it may be,but I’ve got faith in you. Now,I’ll be off to work. One thing,though.
Jeannie:Yes?
Tony:I know you’re friends with some of the astronaut wives around here but please don’t go telling them about this. It’s to be revealed tomorrow.
Jeannie:On my honor,Anthony.
Monday, September 14, 1970
Sunday, August 16, 1970
Friday, August 14, 1970
Wednesday, August 12, 1970
Thursday, August 6, 1970
OV3-03
1966-070A
OV3-3 studied energetic particles. Like the other OV3 satellites, it was built by Space General Corp. for OAR. Mass was 77 kg. The tape recorder failed in Sep 1967 and mission operations ended in Apr 1969.
| OV3-3 | |||
| Date | Time | Event | Orbit |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1966 Aug 4 | 1045:01 | Launch by Scout B S148C | V SLC5 |
| T+1:24 St 2 burn theta=34.5 | |||
| T+2:17 Stage 3 burn | |||
| T+2:53? Stage 3 burnout | |||
| T+7:58 Stage 4 burn | |||
| 1053 | T+8:28? Stage 4 burnout | ||
| 1054? | Yo-yo weights? | ||
| 137.0 360 x 4492 x 81.4 | |||
| 1967 Sep 29 | Tape recorder failed, real time only | ||
Payload:
- Ae.Corp electron magnetic spectrometer