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NEWS R E L E A S E
NATIONAL AERONAUTICS A N D SPACE ADMINISTRATION
1520 H STREET, NORTHWEST . WASHINGTON 2 5 , D. C.
TELEPHONES: DUDLEY 2 - 6 3 2 5 . EXECUTIVE 3 - 3 2 6 0

FOR _..--
RELEASE: Monday PM9s
RELEASE NO. 61-159 ,- July 24, 1961
t

RANGER SPACECRAFT
The Ranger spacecraft to be launched within a few days,
is the latest and most complicated step taken by the United
States in the program of the National Aeronautics and Space
Administration to explore the moon, the planets and inter-
planetary space.
Designed to test an enormously complex spacecraft
system (Ranger has 19,520 working electronic parts), Ranger
is a forerunner of later spacecraft in the same series
which will rough-land instrumented packages on the moon.
Successors to this series eventually will make soft landings
on the moon and planets.
Primary purpose of the ffrst Ranger shot is to'develop
and test basic elements of spacecraft technology required
for lunar and interplanetary missions. These include an
attitude stabflization system based on celestial references
(the sun and the earth), a high gain pointable antenna, an
advanced communication system, the development of components
able to operate for long periods in space environment, and
calibration of solar cells in a space environment.
In view of the developmental nature of the spacecraft,
the first Ranger will not be aimed at the moon, but will
be sent off on a long trajectory into space, reaching more
than half a million miles from the earth before it returns
to the earthOs atmosphere and b u m s up after a round trip
of perhaps more than 50 days. There is a slight possibility
that, with the expected dispersion in rocket performance,
Ranger may reach earth-escape velocity and speed into an
orbit around the sun.
While the first flight of Ranger, then, will be an
engineering development test to provide the answers upon
which more complicated events and machines of the future
c a n be based, the initial spacecraft will carry, as its
secondary mission, many important scientific experiments
 designed to study the nature and activity of cosmic rays,
magnetic fields, and radiation and dust particles in space,
along with an experiment which seeks to discover if the
earth carries along with it a comet-like tail of hydrogen
gas.
, Eight scientific experiments are carried on Ranger.
They are the work of scientists and engineers at the
California Institute of Technology, Goddard Space Flight
Center, Jet Propulston Laboratory, Los Alamos Scientific
Laboratory, Naval Research Laborato-ry,State University
of Iowa, Universjty of Chicago.
The Ranger project is part of the NASA program to
explore the moon and the planets. The Jet Propulsion
Laboratory, operated for the NASA by Caltech, developed
the Ranger spacecraft and is responsible f o r the execution
of current projects in the unmanned part of this pmgram.
In developing the spacecraft to perform the8e
exploratory missions, engineers at JPL agreed on a basic
spacecraft design which would be rerlected thrgughout a
generation of spacecraft, even though the missions might
differ considerably from one to another. Out of this
concept, came the idea of a hexagonal-shaped basic
configuration t o carry the electronics and other instru-
mentation which would be standard, or olose t o standard,
on many missions. This concept is in keeping with the
JPL philosophy of stressing reliability by using the same
type of components many times.
This basic hexagon, which will be used in many JPL
spacecraft, came $0 be called the bus, in the sense that
it will be used as an omnibus to carry passengers in the
f o m of scientlfic experiments. The bus, essentially
unchanged in form, in this generation of spacecraft,
will be able to go to the moon or the planets and carry
passengers in the form of instruments whose character
will change according to the area in which they are to
perform and the nature of their tasks.
In developing the Ranger I to as high a degree of
reliability as could be attained in so complex a machine,
considerable emphasis was placed on a prototype called
the Proof Test Model (PTM). This PTM was made as nearly
identical to the flight model as humanly possible, down
to t h e last nut and b o l t , and was put through a series
of severe tests. It was vibrated at rates in excess of
any launch vibration that could be expected, it was
subjected to temperatures Between 32 and 122 degrees
Fahrenheit and it was exposed to vacuums down to .OOOO;L
millimeters of mercury. It was put through dummy runs,
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simulated count downs and simulated flights. Its complicated
attitude control system was tested, its solar panels were
tried out, its earth and sun sensors were tested. The
tests not only produced valuable data which were translated
into improvements in the flight model, but permitted the
JPL crew t o gain familiarity in handling the spacecraft
against the? time when the flight model was t o be launched.
In April, 1961, the PTM was trucked to Sunnyvale,
California, where it was mated to the Agena B second
stage rocket being produced by the Lockheed Missiles and
Space Company. These compatibility tests completed the
useful life of the PTM, insofar as the Ranger project is
concerned.
Work on the flight model of Ranger I, meanwhile, had
begun in early February, 1961, and lessons learned on the
PTM were incorporated into the flight model as the work
went on. The flight'versionof Ranger I was shipped to
the JPL hangar at the Atlantic Missile Range by special
truck from Pasadena, arriving at Cape Canaveral in late
May. The JPL crew at the AMR again put Ranger I through
a series of tests, some of them lasting as long as eight
hours,. to insure that the delicate electronic instrumentation
was still in operating condition after the long journey.
These tests continued almost t o launch day.

SPACECRAFT DESCRIPTION
Ranger I is slightly more than five feet in diameter
at the base of the hexagon and 11 feet long. In its cruise
position, with its solar panels extended to collect energy
from the sun, it is 17 feet in span an@ 13 feet long. Ranger I
weighs 675 ounds, of which 243 is represented by the eltc-
11
tronics, 14 is the scientific experiments, 50 is the solar
panels and 238 is structure.
Rising from the hexagonal base are f o u r struts and
four diagonal braces made of aluminum which serve to
support the scientific instrumentation. Ranger 1 has
two radio transmitters and two antennas, one an omni-
directional antenna at the front end of the spacecraft,
and the second a high gain directional antenna 4 feet in
diameter at the base of the spacecraft, which will be
aimed at the earth in order to permit more efficient
transmission of data after Ranger I is well out in space.
The solar panels are each approximately 10 square feet
and each contains 4340 solar cells to collect sun energy,
making a total of 8680 solar cells on the two panels. They
are expected t o pick up enough solar energy t o be converted
into a minimum of 155 watts and a maximum of 210 watts.
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 Because of the a t t e n u a t i o n of s o l a r energy by t h e
e a r t h ' s atmosphere, there i s u n c e r t a i n t y as t o p r e c i s e l y
how much s o l a r energy can b e c o l l e c t e d by t h e p a n e l s and
converted i n t o e l e c t r i c a l . energy. This u n c e r t a i n t y must
be resolved b e f o r e more complicated s p a c e c r a f t c a r r y i n g
s o l a r p a n e l s are s e n t out on d i f f e r e n t missions, some
as f a r as Venus and Mars, s o one of t h e experiments on
board Ranger 1 i n c l u d e s f o u r s p e c i a l l y c a l i b r a t e d solar
c e l l s which w i l l measure the c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s of si3h.r
c e l l s o p e r a t i n g i n a space environment.
The two s o l a r p a n e l s are hinged on fpamework below
the hexagon, and i n the launch p o s i t i o n a r e c a r r i e d
folded i n the manngr of b u t t e r f l y wings.
I n t h e hollowed-out i n n e r s e c t i o n of the hexagon
i s a s i l v e r z i n c b a t t e r y weighing 125 pounds w i t h a
c a p a c i t y of 9000 w a t t hours. This battery w i l l provide
t h e power t o run t h e Spacecraft p r i o r t o t h e time of
a c q u i s i t i o n of t h e sun by the solar panels, and also,
w i l l s e r v e as a backup power source if t h e s o l a r -qui-
s i t i o n t &n o t successful. The b a t t e r y w i l l provide
enough e l e c t r i c a l power t o run t h e spacecraft f o r t w o
days.
Before t h e s o l a r power i s a v a i l a b l e t o run t h e space-
c r a f t , the two r a d i o t r a n s m i t t e r s on board w i l l both send
data t o a a r t h v i a t h e m L d i r e c t i o n a 1 antenna. A t h r e e -
w a t t t r a n s m i t t e r w i l l send on a frequency n e a r 960 megacycles
ahd a s e p a r a t e quarter-watt t r a n s m i t t e r w i l l send on a
similar frequency. The quarter-watt t r a n s m i t t e r has a l i f e -
t i m e of seven days and w i l l s t a y on the a i r continuously
u n t i l i t s b a t t e r y i s exhausted.

SPACECRAFT CONTROLLER
Six e l e c t r o n i c boxes l o c a t e d on each side of the,
hexagonal base c o n t a i n thet ele'ctronic i n t e l l i g e n c e of
Ranger I. One of t h e most important of these instruments
i s c a l l e d t h e s p a c e c r a f t c o n t r o l l e r . It i s this c o n t r o l l e r
which allows Ranger t o e l e c t r o n i c a l l y c a l c u l a t e when it
should perform what f u n c t i o n , how i t should r o l l and p i t c h
t o f i n d the sun and l o c k onto t h i s power source w i t h i t s
s o l a r panels, how t o f i n d t h e earth and a i m i t s d i r e c t i o n a l
antenna a t the earth, as w e l l as many o t h e r f u n c t i o n s .
The Spacecraft c o n t r o l l e r is an e l e c t r o n i c s o l i d -
s t a t e timer. It t a k e s 400 c y c l e s p e r second from the
s p a c e c r a f t power source and d i v i d e s i t i n t o one p u l s e
p e r second, and u s e s these p u l s e s as t h e b a s i c timing
r e f e r e n c e . These p u l s e s are accumulated i n a s t o r a g e
device. The u n i t a l s o c o n t a i n s a memory device which
has a pre-set series of t r i g g e r s .
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 When t h e accumulated pulses p e r second match the pre-
s e t count s t o r e d i n the memory device, a r e l a y i s closed
and t h e c o n t r o l l e r issues a command f o r Ranger I t o perform
some s p e c i f i c f u n c t i o n . From launch t o the end of i t s
u s e f u l l i f e t h e r e are t e n such commands that t h e c o n t r o l l e r
must i s s u e ; hence t h e r e a r e t e n such channels and t e n such
relays.
The c o n t r o l l e r t i m e r i s started t h r e e minutes before
launch. This time t h e n s e r v e s as t h e r e f e r e n c e p o i n t f o r
f u t u r e commands t o be i s s u e d by t h e c o n t r o l l e r . When the
s p a c e c r a f t i s turned on, from power supplied by t h e l a r g e
s i l v e r z i n c battery i n s i d e the hexagon, most of t h e s c i e n -
t i f i c instruments, and b o t h ,the q u a r t e r - w a t t and t h e t h r e e -
watt transmitter begin t o operat'e.
However, some instmrments are n o t turned on, n o t a b l y
t h e s o l a r c o r p u s c u l a r d e t e c t o r s , and t h e three-watt trans-
m i t t e r i s given only enough power t o run a t half s t r e n g t h ,
o r 1.5 watts. This i s done because, as the launch v e h i c l e
passes through a , c r i t i c a l area between 150,000 and 250,000
feet, t h e r e i s a tendency f o r devices u s i n g h i g h , v o l t a g e
t o a r c over and damage themselves; hence these are turned
on by t h e c o n t r o l l e r a f t e r t h i s c r i t i c a l time i s pasaed.
During the launch phase of t h e Atlas Agena B launch
v e h i c l e , the Ranger I s p a c e c r a f t i s p r o t e c t e d a g a i n s t
aerodynamic h e a t i n g by a shroud which covers i t . After
Atlas c u t - o f f , a t approximately 280 seconds, the shroud
is j e t t i s s o n e d . A t almost the same t i m e that the p r o t e c t i v e
shroud i s pushed forward by eight spring-loaded b o l t s , the
Agena B separates from the Atlas. A t this time, t h e Agena B
p i t c h e s down from an a t t i t u d e almost 15 degrees above t h e
l o c a l horizon t o almost l e v e l w i t h t h e l o c a l horizon.
I n t h i s h o r i z o n t a l mod:, the Agemi B f i r e s f o r t'he first
time and burns f o r almcrst 22 minutes t o r e a c h earth o r b i t
speed of approximately 18,000 m i l e s an hour. A f t e r 24
minutes of burning t i m e , Agena B s h u t s down and c o a a t s i n
a parking o r b i t for more than 13 minutes u n t i l i t reaches
t h e optimum p o i n t i n time and space i n i t s o r b i t t o f i r e
f o r t h e second time.
I n t h e first Ranger shot, which i s n o t t o be aimed a t
t h e moon, the mechanics of t h i s parking o r b i t are n o t
important, b u t w i l l s e r v e as a t e s t of the procedure f o r
use i n l a t e r launches aimed a t the moon. The parking
o r b i t technique i s a means by which t h e geometry imposed
on moon s h o t s by the l o c a t i o n of t h e A t l a n t i c Missile
Range i s c o r r e c t e d by u s i n g a second s t a g e r o c k e t as a
mobile launching p l a t f o r m i n space.

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 I n j e c t i o n of t h e Agena B and t h e Ranger I s p a c e c r a f t ,
s t i l l as one u n t i , occurs approximately over Ascension
Island i n t h e South A t l a n t i c Ocean approximately 23 minutes
a f t e r launch. U p to t h i s time, the evenks of t h e launch,
s e p a r a t i o n of Agena from the Atlas, o p e r a t i o n of the Ranger I
s p a c e c r a f t system and i g n i t i o n , and cut-off times of Agena B
have been telemetered t o ground t r a c k i n g s t a t i o n s through
t h e Agena B telemetry system.
A l i t t l e more t h a n 2 minutes afCer i n j e c t i o n , Ranger I
i s separated from t h e Agena B, again by spring-loaded b o l t s .
After t h i s occurs, Agena B does a 180 degree yaw, f i r e s up
some s o l i d r e t r o r o c k e t s and moves i n t o a d i f f e r e n t and lower
t r a j e c t o r y from t h a t a t t a i n e d by €?anger I. There a r e two
reasons f o r t h i s maneuver. It would not be d e s i r a b l e i n
l a t e r s h o t s f o r t h e u n s t e r i l i z e d Agena B t o follow Ranger
on i n and t o impact t h e moon, and i f Agena B c l o s e l y follows
Ranger, the s p a c e c r a f t sensory system might mistake r e f l e c t e d
s u n l i g h t from Agena B f o r t h e sun o r t h e e a r t h and t h u s
confuse i t s a c q u i s i t i o n system.
I n any case, Ranger I i s now pointed on a t r a j e c t o r y
which will take i t out on a long swing away from t h e e a r t h ,
and t h e dead Agena B rocket casing i s slowed down on an
o r b i t t h a t will move it c l o s e r i n t o t h e e a r t h ' s atmosphere
t o u l t i m a t e l y burn up by f r i c t i o n .
Now i t i s p o s s i b l e t o d e s c r i b e t h e sequence of the 10
commands i s s u e d t o Ranger I by the s p a c e c r a f t c o n t r o l l e r ,
and t h u s d e s c r i b e t h e o p e r a t i o n s of Ehnger I on i t s long
t r i p out and e q u a l l y Long swing back i n t o e a r t h . The
commands and t h e i r timing a r e :
FIWT COMMAND -- This i s i s s u e d 1500 seconds (25 minutes)
a f t e r t h e c o n t r o l l e r was started, which w a s 3 minutes before
t h e launch. This c o m d i s t o t h e power source i n Ranger I,
s t i l l being provided by the b i g s i l v e r zinc battery, t o i n c r e a s e
t h e power being s e n t t o t h e l a r g e r t r a n s m i t t e r from 1.5 watts
t o 3 watts, It i s now p o s s i b l e t o do t h i s s i n c e t h e c r i t i c a l
a r e a , i n which a r c i n g ~ v e might
r have occurred, i s passed, and
t h e i n c r e a s e d power aBPows the gpound s t a t i o n n e a r Johannesburg,
South Africa, to more e a s i l y a c q u i r e t h e s i g n a l from Ranger I.
The Deep Space I n s t m e n t a t i o n F a c i l i t y s t a t i o n i n South Africa
a l s o w i l l be a b l e t o t e l l fpom telemetry from Ranger I that
this command w a s i s s u e d t o t h e s p a c e c r a f t by t h e s p a c e c r a f t
controller.
SECOND CQMMPaND --
This i s Zssued a t 2100 seconds (35
minutes) and t u r n s on the s c i e n t i f i c i n s t m e n t s which had
n o t been turned on because of the passage through t h e c r i t i c a l
a l t i t u d e area.
THIRD CQ- -- This i s i s s u e d a t 2200 seconds (36 minutes,
40 seconds) and performs two s e p a r a t e f u n c t i o n s . The first
f u n c t i o n i s t o extend, by means of a compressed spring,
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the e l e c t r o s t a t i c a n a l y z e r package i n a small box on a small
boom about f o u r feet from the main body of the s p a c e c r a f t .
This i s done s o the two s e n s o r s i n the e l e c t r o s t a t i c a n a l y z e r
can look a t the sun and away from the sun a t the same time
without i n t e r f e r e n c e from the body of the s p a c e c r a f t . The
second f u n c t i o n of this command i s t o f i r e small squibs
which p u l l out p i n s t h a t hold the t w o solar p a n e l s locked
i n p l a c e . When t h e s e p i n s are displaced, co&pressed s p r i n g s
move t h e solar p a n e l s out, i n the manner of b u t t e r f l y wings,
u n t i l t h e y are a t r i g h t angles t o the l e n g t h of the space-
c r a f t . This o p e r a t i o n r e q u i r e s perhaps half a minute.
FOURTH COMMAND--This occurs a t 3700 seconds (61 minutes,
40 seconds) and takes p l a c e while Ranger I i s s t i l l s o r t of
s t a g g e r i n g through space as a r e s u l t of the s e p a r a t i o n shock
i t received when i t l e f t Agena B. T h i s cormnand t u r n s on the
a t t i t u d e c o n t r o l system and sends power t o the sun sensors,
the cold gas jets, and the gyroscopes. The gyros first
a c t t o c a n c e l out t h e residual movements r e s u l t i n g from
separation.
There a r e two sun s e n s o r s l o c a t e d on Ranger I, spot%ed
i n areas s o that no matter how the s p a c e c r a f t i s p o s i t i o n e d
i n space, some of t h e s e n s o r s w i l l s e e the sun. There a r e
t h r e e s e n s o r s l o c a t e d on the backs of each of the two solar
panels, making s i x there, and f o u r l o c a t e d on the l e g s of
the s p a c e c r a f t . The sun s e n s o r s are l i g h t - s e n s i t i v e diodes
which inform the gas j e t s and t h e gyros when they s e e the
sun. The a t t i t u d e c o n t r o l system responds t o these signals
by t u r n i n g the s p a c e c r a f t i n such a manner that the l o n g i -
t u d i n a l o r roll axis p o i n t s toward t h e sun, Torquing of
the s p a c e c r a f t f o r these maneuvers i s providedlby t e n
cold gas j e t s which are f e d g a s from b o t t l e , about
8 inches, i n diameter and c o n t a i n i n g 2% pounds of n i t r o g e n
under 3000 pounds p r e s s u r e per square inch, kThis i s
c a l c u l a t e d t o be enough n i t r o g e n t o o p e r a t e the g a s j e t s
t o maintain a t t i t u d e c o n t r o l f o r a minimum of 50 days and
a maximum of 100 days.
The gyros have f i r s t a c t e d t o c a n c e l out the r e s i d u a l
s e p a r a t i o n rates which a f f e c t e d Ranger I a f t e r i t l e f t
Agena B. The sun s e n s o r s then, working on the valves
controllirbg the gas j e t s , jockey the s p a c e c r a f t about u n t i l
i t s long axis i s pointed a t the sun. Both the gyros and
the sun s e n s o r s can a c t i v i a t e t h e gas j e t v a l v e s . I n
o r d e r t o conserve gas, the a t t i t u d e c o n t r o l system permits
a p o i n t i n g e r r o r toward t h e sun of one degree, o r .5 degree
on each s i d e of dead on. The mixing network i n the a t t i t u d e
c o n t r o l system i s c a l i b r a t e d t o keep Ranger I slowly swinging
through t h i s one degree of a r c pointed a t the sun. This
swing takes approximately 60 minutes. As Ranger I n e a r s
the .5 degree limit on one side, the s e n s o r s signal the
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gas j e t s and they f i r e again. ibis process i s repeated
hourly through t he e f f e c t i v e l i f e of Ranger I , It i s
c a l c u l a t e d t h a t t h e gas j e t s will f ' l r e one t e n t h of a
second each 60 minutes t o keep t h e s p a c e c r a f t ' s s o l a r
p a n e l s aimed a t t h e sun.
Approximately 15 t o 30 minutes w i l l be r e q u i r e d
i n i t i a l l y t o lock onto t h e sun. While t h i s i s t a k i n g
p l a c e , t h e f o u r - f o o t d i r e c t i o n a l antenna which has been
tucked up under t h e hexagonal bus was moved out to a p r e -
s e t a n g l e . This was accomplished by t h e same command
from t h e c o n t r o l l e r which i n i t i a t e d t h e sun a c q u i s i t i o n .
When t h e sun i s acquired w i t h i n t h e a l l o w a b l e error,
t h e power system now recognizes that i t i s g e t t i n g e l e c t r i c
power from t h e s o l a r p a n e l s through the c o n v e r t e r , s o i t
switches off the large s i l v e r zinc b a t t e r y and s t a r t s t o
use t h e e l e c t r i c power from t h e sun t o f e e d t h e power
demands of Ranger. The s o l a r p a n e l s are expected t o
supply a minimum of 155 watts and a mrucimum of 210 watts.
Ranger's power demand peaks a t 150 watts.
A f t e r Ranger 1 has been locked onto t h e sun w i t h i t s
s o l a r panels, t h e s p a c e c r a f t c o n t r o l l e r t u r n s o f f t h e s i x
sun s e n s o r s locaked on t h e under sides of t h e solar p a n e l s .
T h i s i s done t o prevent t h e p o s s i b i l i t y of t h e s e sun s e n s o r s
s e e i n g t h e e a r t h and perhaps confusing it w i t h t h e sun, which
would cause them t o g i v e commands to t h e gyros and gas j e t s .
FIFTH COMMAND--This occurs a t 5600 seconds ( 9 0 minutes).
I n e f f e c t , t h e s p a c e c r a f t c o n t r o l - l e r t e l l s Ranger I, "Okay,
you've locked onto t h e sun, now s t a r t looking f o r t h e earth
w i t h your d i r e c t i o n a l antenna b u t d o n ' t l o s e your lock on
t h e sun." So, keeping i t s long axis r i g i d l y pointed a t
t h e sun, Ranger s t a r t s looking f o r t h e e a r t h w i t h t h r e e
e a r t h s e n s o r s , which a r e photo m u l t i p l i e r t u b e s mounted
c o - a x i a l l y w i t h t h e d i r e c t i o n a l antenna. The s p a c e c r a f t
t h e n s t a r t s t o roll on i t s long axis, w i t h t h e d i r e c t i o n a l
antenna extended a t a p r e - c a l c u l a t e d a n g l e . During the
roll, t h e earth s e n s o r s w i l l s e e t h e earth and inform t h e
gas j e t s . The j e t s w i l l f i r e t o keep the e a r t h i n view
of t h e s e n s o r s , and thus lock onto t h e earth. The space-
c r a f t now i s s t a b i l i z e d on two axes, t h e solar panel-sun
axis, and the e a r t h - d i r e c t i o n a l antenna axis. There i s
some danger that the e a r t h s e n s o r s , during t h e i r s t a r c h
f o r t h e earth, may see t h e moon and lock onto t h a t , b u t
telemetry w i l l infomn e a r t h s t a t i o n s i f t h a t error occurs,
and Goldstone has t h e a b i l i t y t o send an o v e r r i d e command
t o t h e a t t i t u d e c o n t r o l syseem t o tell it t o l o o k a g a i n f o r
the earth.
SIXTH COMMAND--This occurs a t 7100 seconds (118 minutes,
20 seconds). T h i s command changes t h e s c a l e f a c t o r of a
telemetry measurement which informed earth s t a t i o n s of the
-8-

. . __
._ .__. '. .. .. . - . ,- - . .. . . .. _.... _. .. ., - -
.. .. . . .. ..
wobbling which Range? went through when it was f i r s t separated
from Agena B. The wobbling, now under c o n t r o l of t h e l i m i t
c y c l e of t h e a t t i t u d e c o n t r o l system which keeps t h e space-
c r a f t pointed a t t h e sun, i s considerably under t h e l e v e l s
f i r s t encountered, s o t h e s c a l e f a c t o r of t h e t e l e m e t r y
of t h i s information i s a d j u s t e d t o b e t t e r accommodate t h e
lower r a t e s .
SFVENTH COMMAND--This occurs a t 12,000 seconds (200
minutes). It changes t h e s c a l e f a c t o r i n one of t h e s i x
instruments c a m l e d i n t h e S t a t e U n i v e r s i t y of Iowa
r a d i a t i o n experiment. I n e f f e c t , i t makes one of the
six instruments more s e n s i t i v e t o provide a f i n e r measure-
ment of' the r a d i a t i o n l e v z l s encountered.
EIGHTH COMP/IAND--This occurs a t 15,000 seconds (250
minutes). It t r a n s f e r s data being s e n t from the three-
watt t r a n s m i t t e r from t h e omni-dtlrectional antenna t o
the d i r e c t i o n a l anterma, theixoy g r e a t l y i n c r e a s i n g t h e
range from which t h e i n f a n n a t i o n can be s e n t . The q u a r t e r -
watt t r a n s m i t t e r continues t o send t h e same data over the
omni-directional antenna. The delay between the time
e a r t h a c q u i s i t i o n i s made, a t t h e end of t h e f i f t h command,
and when the directlonaI .antenna .comes intx> play $8 a safqty
p r e c a u t i o n i n the event t h a t t h e s p a c e c r a f t had f a i l e d
t o a c q u i r e t h e eai-th.
NINTH COMMAND--This occurs a t 22,000 seconds (366 minutes,
40 seconds). It c o n s i s t s of a r e d u c t i o n i n t h e r a t e a t which
t h e q u a r t e r - w a t t t r a n s m i t t e r has been sending data over the
omni-directional antenna. The low power t r a n s m i t t e r now
i s n e a r i t s l i m i t s because of d i s t a n c e , s o the amount of
information i t sends i s reduced'and i t s a b i l i t y t o communicate
over l o n g e r d i s t a n c e i s improved.
TENTJ3 COMMAND--This occurs a t 22,200 seconds (370 minutes).
T h i s command t u r n s on an engineering experiment t o t r y t o
determine some of t h e k r i c t i o n f o r c e s involved i n t h e o p e r a t i o n
of machinery i n t h e hard vacuum of space. Later i n t h e l u n a r
and p l a n e t a r y program, i t w i l l be desirable t o land complicated
mechanical instruments, w i t h moving parts, on t h e moon and
t o have them operate i n space. It i s known now t h a t most
metals moving a g a i n s t o t h e r metals i n hard vacuums have a
tendency t o s t i c k f a s t t o g e t h e r . This experiment, designed
t o determine t h e e f f e c t of space environment on b e a r i n g
materials, c o n s i s t s of a motor-driven s h a f t on which are
mounted a s e r i e s of d i s c s of d i f f e r e n t material. P r e s s i n g
a g a i n s t the d i s c s are hemispheres of d i f f e r e n t material,
Between t h e d i s c s and t h e hemispheres, there are 80
d i f f e r e n t combinations of materials. S t r a i n gages mounted
on each hemisphere w i l l telemeter t o earth t h e drag f o r c e
measured between each combination.
-9-

._ I. . . . .. .. . - .
_. - . . -.
 Ranger I has a passive temperature c o n t r o l system
t o i n s u r e t h a t i t s working parts, p a r t i c u l a r l y t h e s e n s i t i v e
e l e c t r o n i c components, n e i t h e r f r e e z e i n t h e coldness of
space nor melt i n t h e f a c e of d i r e c t s u n l i g h t u n f i l t e r e d
by e a r t h atmosphere. This i s done by using gold p l a t i n g ,
white paint and polished aluminum on the s p a c e c r a f t t o
balance the amount of heat taken i n on the s i d e of' t h e
spacecraft f a c i n g t h e sun and t h e amount of heat r a d i a t e d
from t h e s p a c e c r a f t on t h e shadow s i d e .

-10-
 RANGSR TRACKING

The Deep Space Instrumentation Facility (DSIF) consists

of three space communication stations located approximately
120 degrees apart around the earth, and a mobile station
which can be located t o suit the purpose of a particular
mission. The three permanent stations are Goldstone,
California; Woomera, Australia; and near Johannesburg,
South Africa.
The DSIF is under the technical direction of the
California Institute of Technology Jet Propulsion Laboratory
f o r the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Dr.
Eberhardt Rechtin is JPL's DSIF Program Director.
In the lunar and planetary programs, the mission of
the DSIF is to track, receive telemetry from and send
commands to spacecraft from the time they are injected
into orbits until they finish their missions.
Since they are located approximately 120 degrees
apart around the earth, the three stations can provide
360 degree coverage around the earth so that one of the
three always will be able to communicate with a distant
spacecraft.
In the case of Ranger, the mobile station, under a
crew headed by Earl Martin of JPL, will locate its 10-
foot-in-diameter tracking station at a position approx-
imately one mile east of the DSIF station near Johannesburg.
The mobile station will be used in that location
because it has the advantage of having a 10-degree beam
width--ten times as wide as the 85-foot-in-diameter dish--
and it can track at a rate of 10 degrees per second, also
ten times as fast as the b i g dishes. On the other hand,
since its antenna is not so large as the big dishes, it
cannot match the big dishes in range and consequently Will
be used only in the initial part of the flight.
Based on nominal performance and a nominal trajectory,
the initial Ranger acquisition and l o s s times for each
DSIF station are:
Mobile S t a t i o n , South Africa--Acquires 5 minutes
after injection,
holds for 13 hours.
DSIF, Johannesburg--Acquires 10 minutes after injection,
holds f o r 13 hours.
-11-

. 7 -
 DSIF, Woomera--Acquires 25 minutes after injection,
holds for 6.5 hours
DSIF, Goldstone--Acquires 12 hours after injection,
holds for 11 hours.
The Goldstone DSIF station, located 50 miles north of
Barstow in the Mohave Desert, is regarded as the research
and development center of the DSIFJ in that pioneering
techniques and hardware are tested and proved out at
Goldstone for the benefit of the other two stations.
Goldstone is equipped with two 85-foot-in-diameter
antennas, one for receiving p d one for transmitting.
The two antennas are seven air miles apart, separated by
a ridge of hills to minimize the possibility of interference
between the two.
Goldstone is operated for JPL by the Bendix Radio
Corporation. JPL's engineer in charge is Walter Larkin.
The Australian DSIF is 15 miles from Woomera Village
in South Australia. It consists o f an 85-foot-in-diameter
receiving antenna and supporting equipment and buildings.
The Woomera station is operated by the Australian Department
of Supply, Weapons Research Establishment, Dr. Frank Wood
represents the WRE. JPL's resident engineer is Richard
Fahnestock. 4

The South African station, like the Island Lagoon

station, consists of an 85-foot-in-diameter receiving
antenna and supporting equipment and buildings and is
located in a bowl-shaped valley approximately 40 miles
northwest of Johannesburg. The South African station
is operated by the South African government through the
National Institute for Telecommunications Research,
Dr. Frank Hewitt, director. NITR is a division of the
Council f o r Scientific and Industrial Research. JPL's
resident engineer is Paul Jones.
The two overseas stations and Goldstone are equipped
with a communications network which allows tracking
and telemetry information to be sent to the JPL Communication
Center in Pasadena f o r processing by JPL's IBM 7090 computer.
 RANGE3 I SPACECRAFT SUBCONTRACTORS AND SUPPLIES

Ranger i s p a r t of t h e National Aeronautics and Space

Administrat i o n ' s l u n a r e x p l o r a t i o n program. The Jet
Propulsion Laboratory, operated f o r NASA by Caltech,
deslgned t h e Ranger spacecraft and is responsible f o r
i n t e g r a t i o n of experiments aboard Ranger. Eighteen
s u b c o n t r a c t o r s t o J P L provided instruments and hardware
used on t h e Ranger I s p a c e c r a f t . They are:
American PIissile, 15233 G r e v i l l e a Avenue, Lawndale,
Calif., telemetry encoders, power switching and l o g i c
assembly; Applied Physics, 2724 S. Peck Road, Monrovia,
C a l i f . , dynamic c a p a c i t o r ; Consolidated Systems, 1500
S. Shamrock Avenue, Monrovia, C a l i f . , Lyman Alpha t e l e s c o p e ;
Hoffman E l e c t r o n i c s Corporation, 1001 N. Arden Drive, E l
Monte, C a l i f . , s o l a r c e l l s ; Horkey-Moore, 24660 S. Crenshaw
Boulevard, Torrance, C a l i f . , s p a c e c r a f t system t e s t stand;
I n t e r n a t i o n a l Telegraph and Telephone, 15191 Bledsoe S t r e e t ,
San Fernando, C a l i f . , s t a t i c power c o n v e r t e r modules; Leach,
18435 Susana Road, Compton, C a l i f . , t e l e m e t r y checkout;
Lockheed A i r c r a f t Corporation, M i s s f l e and Space Division,
7701 izloodley Avenue, Van Nuys, C a l i f . , p r o t o t y p e s t e r i l i z a t i o n
C a r t ; Motorola, I n c . , 8201 East MacDowell Road, S c o t t s d a l e ,
Ariz. , transponders and r a d i o command program.
Nortronics, Division of Northrop Corporation, 222 N.
P r a i r i e Avenue, Hawthorne, C a l i f . , sun and e a r t h sensors;
Radiaphone, 600 E a s t EvergFeen Avenue, Monrovia C a l i f . ,
s c i e n t i f i c i n s t m m e n t s , ground s u p p o r t equipment; Radiation
Instrument Development Laboratory, 61 E a s t North Avenue,
N o r t h l a k e , I l l . , 32 channel p u l s e h e i g h t a n a l y z e r s , ground
support equipment and decoders, power s u p p l i e s ; Servomechanisms,
I n c . , 12500 Aviation Boulevard, Hawthorne, C a l i f . , e l e c t r o -
g a t i n g system; Space Technology Laboratories, 5730 Arbor
V i t a e , Los Angeles, C a l i f ' . , s c i e n t i f i c instruments, engineering
s e r v i c e s ; Spectrolab, Inc ", 11921 Sherman Way, North Hollywood,
C a l i f . , Lyman Alpha m i r r o r ; S t a t e U n i v e r s i t y of Iowa, r a d i a t i o n
detector.
Texas Instrunerib, Apparatus Division, 6000 Lemon
Avenue, Dallas, Tex. , ground support equipment, f l i g h t
data encoders; United Electrodynamics, 200 Allendale Road,
Pasadena, C a l i f . , p o l e beacon encoders, f l i g h t f r i c t i o n
and ground t e s t sets.
I n a d d i t i o n t o these s u b c o n t r a c t o r s , there were 1500
i n d u s t r i a l firms who c o n t r i b u t e d t o t h e Ranger Program. The
c o s t of t h e s e s u p p l i e s amounted t o $12 m i l l i o n .
-13-

f
. .
LAUNCH VEHICLE AND PAYLOAD DIMENSIONS

5 feet
11 feet

- 14 -
 KEY PERSONNEL

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration

provides overall direction of the Ranger Project from
NASA Headquarters in Washington.

The project is managed by the Office of Lunar and

Planetary Programs, which is part of the NASA Office
of Space Flight Programs. Key NASA personnel in the
Ranger program are :
Dr. Abe Silverstein, Director of the Office of Space
Flight Programs.
Edgar M. Cortright, Assistant Director for Lunar
and Planetary Programs.
Oran W. Nicks, Chief of Flight Systems, Office
of Lunar and Planetary Programs.
Benjamin Milwitzky, Head of Lunar Flight Systems.
The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.,
operated for NASA by the California Institute of
Technology, is responsible for design and integration
of the spacecraft and its scientific payload, and tracking
of the spacecraft. Key JPL personnel are:
Clifford I. Cummings, Lunar Program Director.
James D. Burke, Ranger Project Manager.
Allen E. Wolfe, Ranger Project Engineer.
Dr. Nicholas A . Renzetti, Deep Space Instrumentation
Systems Manager in the Ranger Program.
Milton T. Goldfine is in charge of spacecraft launch
operations,for JPL.
John R. Casani, Ranger Systems Design Engineer.
(Mrs.) Marcia M. Neugebauer, Project Scientist for
Rangers One and Two.
Phillip A . Tardani, Operations Managkr for the DSIF.
Marshall S. Johnson, Data Operations and Controls
System Manager, is responsible for the Ranger operation
after injection.
-END-
 LAUNCH VEHICLE FACT SHEET
The National Aermautics 2nd Space Administration's
Ranger I spacecraft will be launched by an Atlas Agena B
rocket. This will be NASA's first use of the Atlas Agena B,
a new combination of two proven rockets which have figured
prominently in earlier space exploration.
The rocket is procured from industry by the NASA Marshall
Space Flight Center through the Air Force Space Systems
Division.
This unique relationship is spelled out in a NASA/USAF
agreement which provides that the Air Force will furnish NASA
a number of vehicles consisting of modified Atlas and Thor
boosters with modified Agena B's serving as second stages.
The Agena was developed for the Air Force Discoverer
satellite program, in which it has achieved a significant
reliability record. (The agreement between NASA and the Air
Force says that "In order to take advantage of the existing
U S A F capability and procedures, the NASA is implementing the
Agena program through established USAF ... channels.)
Major contractors involved in the vehicle operation are
Lockheed Missile and Space Division and General Dynamics-
Astronautics. The launching at Cape Canaveral will be
conducted by these companies and the Air Force under the
direction of the Marshall Center's Launch Operations
Directorate.
Launch Vehicle Flight Plan
The Atlas/Agena vehicle carrying Ranger I will lift o f f
Pad 12 at Cape Canaveral. executing a programmed roll and
pitch maneuver to achieve a laurich azimuth of 108 degrees
which will carry it acrass the Sou'ch Atlantic near Ascension
Island, the southern portion of South Africa and the Indian
Ocean.
All engines of the Atlas -- booster, sustainer and
vernier -- are burni2g at liftoff. The booster is programmed
to burn approximately 2-1/2 minutes; the sustainer about
4-1/2 minutes and the verniers about 5 minutes. At Atlas
burnout the vehicle should be about 80 miles high and some
350 miles down the Atlantic, Missile Range,
Prior to sustainer cutoff the Atlas ground guidance
computer determines the velocity when vernier cutoff occurs
and coast begins. Acting on this data the computer
establishes the time when a signal ta the Atlas airborne

- 16 -
guidance system s t a r t s a timer aboard t h e Agena. T h i s timer
and an a u x i l i a r y t i m e r i n t h e Agena c o n t r o l t h e sequence of
events which occur a f t e r s e p a r a t i o n from t h e Atlas.
When v e r n i e r cutoff occurs, t h e e n t i r e v e h i c l e goes i n t o
a coast phase of about 25 seconds. F i r s t t h e shroud
p r o t e c t i n g t h e Ranger s p a c e c r a f t during i t s e x i t through t h e
e a r t h ' s atmosphere i s s e p a r a t e d by a s e r i e s of s p r i n g s . Next
small explosive charges r e l e a s e t h e Agena c a r r y i n g t h e space-
c r a f t from t h e Atlas. Retro-rockets on t h e b o o s t e r f i r e ,
slowing i t s upward f l i g h t and allowing t h e Agena t o s e p a r a t e ,
Then t h e Agena pneumatic c o n t r o l system begins a p i t c h maneuver
t o o r i e n t t h e v e h i c l e i n t o an a t t i t u d e h o r i z o n t a l t o t h e e a r t h .
T h i s p i t c h maneuver i s programmed t o be completed before
t h e timer s i g n a l s i g n i t i o n of t h e Agena engine.
A t engine s t a r t t h e h y d r a u l i c c o n t r o l system t a k e s over
keeping t h e v e h i c l e hol-izontal during t h e approximately 2-1/2
minutes t h e engine i s o p e r a t i n g . The i n f r a - r e d horizon
sensing device sends minute c o r r e c t i o n s t o t h e c o n t r o l system.
I f a l l events have gone as programed, a t Agena engine
c u t o f f t h e v e h i c l e and i t s Ranger payload w i l l be i n a n e a r
c i r c u l a r o r b i t around t h e e a r t h a t an a l t i t u d e of about 100 m i l e s ,
T h i s f i r s t o r b i t i s c a l l e d a "parking o r b i t . "

The Agena now c o a s t s i n i t s parking o r b i t f o r approximately

1 4 minutes. The pneumatic c o n t r o l system takes over main-
t a i n i n g t h e v e h i c l e i n t h e prcper a t t i t u d e w i t h r e s p e c t t o
t h e ea-th. A t t h e proper i n s t a n t t h e timer a g a i n s i g n a l s
t.-&eAgena engine t o begin o p e r a t i o n . T h i s second burn i s
yrogrammed f o r approximately 1-1/2 minutes.
Approximately 2-1/2 rrinutes a f t e r f i n a l engine shutdown
t h e Ranger s p a c e c r a f t i s s e p a r a t e d from t h e Agena by s p r i n g s .
T h i s occurs about, 25 minutes a f t e r l i f t o f f . The pneumatic
c o n t r o l system i n t h e Agena now begins a maneuver t u r n i n g
t h e v e h i c l e 180 degrees o n i t s yaw a x i s s o t h a t i t i s
t r a v e l i n g t a i l f i r s t . About 6-1/2 minutes a f t e r Ranger
s e p a r a t i o n a r e t r o - r o c k e t cn t h e Agena f i r e s providing r e t r o
t h r u s t to s l o w t h e Agena. ( I n l a t e r Ranger launches when t h e
t r a j e c t o r y i s i n t h e d i r e c t i o n o f t h e moon t h i s maneuver w i l l
prevent t h e Agena stage f r m impacting on t h e moon.)
At separation from $he A ena t h e Ranger spacecraft
fl
should be t r a v e l i n g about 23, GO m i l e s p e r hour. T h i s
velocity w i l l place i t i n a nighly eccentric e a r t h o r b i t
w i t h an apogee of 685,000 m i l e s , a p e r i g e e of 37,500 miles
and an o r b i t a l p e r i o d o f 58 days.

= 17 -
 The operation of the Agena second burn will be monitored
by an Amy missile tracking ship, the American Mariner, which
service will be provided to the Marshall Center by the Army
Ordnance Missile Command. The ship will be located near
Ascensi31.i Island, where the Agena's second burn period will
occur. In this initial Ranger launching, the tracking
could be accomplished at the Atlantic Missile Range station at
Ascension. This, however, will provide a "drill" for the ship
in preparation for later launchings in which the rocket's
path will be out of range of the AMR station.
Atlas "D" Space Boosters
PROPULSION: Cluster of three rocket engines; two boosters,
m e sustainer; using liquid propellants.
SPEED: Approximately 12,000 statute miles per hour f o r the
mission.
THRUST: Total nominal thrust at sea level more than 360,000 lbs,
SIZE: Approximately 78 feet high including adapter f o r Agena;
m e t wide across flared engine nacelles. 10 feet wide across
tank section.
WEIGHT: Approximately 260,000 lbs. at moment of launch, fully
loaded with propellants - liquid oxygen and RP-1 and adapter
sections -- approximately 15,800 i m
G-.
UT -9n'TZ3:
.--I___ Radio Command guidance. Airborne elements sense
' -fty and vector transmitting this data to ground computer.
hmputer determines corrections necessary and transmits
information to airborne unit which signals control system.
Control accomplished through engine gimballing and engine
b ~ ~ r n i rtime
~g

CONTRACTORS: Airframe and assembly - Convair Astronautics;

propulsion - Racketdyne Division of North American Aviation;
Radio command guidance - Defense Systems Division of General
Electric Company; Ground guidance computer - Burroughs
Corporation.,
Agena "B" Second Stage
PROPULSION: Single rocket engine using liquid propellants -
inhi-bitedred fuming hitric acid (IRFNA) and unsym,eS,-fL;d
dimethylhydrazine (UDMH] .

- 18 -
THRUST: l5,OOO pounds a t a l t i t u d e .
SIZE: Approximately 22 f e e t long including a d a p t e r t o accept
Ranger I. 8 f e e t of Agena f i t i n t o a d a p t e r a t o p t h e Atlas
boos tevl
WEIGHT: Approximately 15,000 pounds including a d a p t e r to
accept Ranger I .
- -
PAYLOAD: Ranger I and shroud weighing approximately 790 pounds.
CONTROL SYSTEMS: Pneumatic using high p r e s s u r e gas metered
through e x t e r n a l j e t s f o r use during coast phases. Hydraulic
through gimballing r o c k e t engine during powered p o r t i o n s of
f l i g h t . 3 0 t h a r e f e d by a programmer i n i t i a t e d by a i r b o r n e
t i m e r s , Corrections a r e provided by t h e a i r b o r n e guidance
system.
GUIDANCE: Agena guidance i s not dependent on ground-space
r a d i o l i n k s . The guidance system which i s made up of timing
devices, an i n e r t i a l reference platform, a v e l o c i t y meter and
an i n f r a - r e d horizon sensing device, i s e n t i r e l y s e l f - c o n t a i n e d .
F i n a l data on t h e v e l o c i t y of t h e launch v e h i c l e i s computed
by t h e Atlas ground guidance computer p r i o r to s e p a r a t i o n of
t h e Agena. S i g n a l s t o s t a r t t h e timers i n t h e Agena a r e s e n t
t o t h e Atlas v i a r a d i o and a r e t r a n s m i t t e d by "hard wire" to
t h e Agena before s t a g i n g occurs. Commands t o i g n i t e t h e Agena
r o c k e t engine a r e i n i t i a t e d by t h e r e s p e c t i v e t i m e r f o r first
and second burn. The v e l o c i t y meter (an accelerometer device)
i n i t i a t e s engine shutdown s i g n a l s as necessary t o achieve
t h e d e s i r e d terminal v e l o c i t y . The i n f r a - r e d horizon sensor
"L3oks" f o r t h e horizon and sends c o r r e c t i o n s t o t h e c o n t r o l
k;ystem. The i n e r t i a l r e f e r e n c e platform keeps t h e v e h i c l e
s t a b l e i n a l l t h r e e axes sending t h e necessary p i t c h , yaw
and r o l l c o r r e c t i o n s t o t h e c o n t r o l system.
C-ONTRACTORS: Lockheed M i s s i l e and Space Co., prime c o n t r a c t o r ;
B e l l Aerospace Co., engine,
Key Management Personnel
Agena B d i r e c t i o n a t NASA Headquarters i s provided by
t h e Office of Launch Vehicle Programs. The Agena program
manager i s Dick Forsythe, who r e c e n t l y replaced Commander
A . J. Kelley.

The f i e l d i n s t a l l a t i o n charged with managing t h e v e h i c l e

program i s t h e NASA Marshall Space F l i g h t Center. Hans
Hueter heads t h e C e n t e r ' s Light and Medium Vehicles Office.
F r i e d r i c h Duerr i s t h e Agena systems manager.
- 19 -
 Major John 0 . Albert is the d i r e c t o r a f t h e NASA Agena B
program for t h e AF Space Systems Divislon, assisted by
Major Charles A . Wurster.
Harold T. Luskins is t h e Lockheed M i s s i l e and Space Co.
manager of NASA-programs,
Charles Cope of' the NASA LOD performs l i a i s o n between
Huntsville- and Canaveral, w i t h r e s p e c t t o launch a c t l v i t i e s .

- 20 -
 RANGER ONE SCIENTIFIC EXPERIMENTS
Ranger One represents the latest and most advanced step
in the effort to explore nearby and interplanetary space. The
importance and necessity for this exploration--learning more
about partic'les and fields--was recognized at the outset of the
National Aeronautics and Space Administration's program. United
States scientists have learned much from earlier space flights.
There are eight scientific experiments on Ranger I. They
represent the work of scientists and engineers at seven insti-
tutions: the California Institute of Technology, Goddard Space
Flight Center, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Los Alamos Scientific
Laboratory, Naval Research Laboratory, State University of Iowa,
and the University of Chicago. Scientific aspects of the instru-
ment system were the responsibility of Mrs. Marcia Neugebauer
of JPL, project scientist; and Raymond L. Heacock of JPL, project
engineer, was responsible for system engineering of the scientific
instruments.
Most of the experiments examine the charged particles in
space outside the earth's atmosphere. These are protons, the
nuclei o f hydrogen atoms which continually fly out from the sun,
and the very fast cosmic rays which stream across our solar
system from unknown sources. Since such particles are electri-
cally charged, their flight is strongly affected by the magnetic
fields in space. At the same time they create additional magnetic
fields as they move through space. Thus the accurate measure-
ment of the strength and direction of the interplanetary magnetic
field is a second vital objective of the scientific program of
Ranger I.
Most o f the particles which Ranger I will observe come
originally from the sun. The magnetic field which Ranger I
will measure originates primarily in the sun from which it is
to some unknown extent transported and warped by the streams
of particles. But neither the streams of particles nor the
interplanetary magnetic field can be directly observed on the
surface of the earth, or even from a point several hundred
miles above the earth's surface. Not only does the atmosphere
o f the earth shield us from almost all of the relatively slow-
moving particles that come from the sun, but also the magnetic
field of the earth deflects the motion of the particles and
overrides the comparatively weak magnetic field of space.

- 21 -

~ . - .. . .-
.. . . ......... -. -_
..- -.~.I...,..- I . ~. , . .... .
_I . ._._ _I_._ .. . .- . - . ..-
 I n s p i t e of t h e s h i e l d i n g , a c t i v i t i e s on t h e s u r r a c e of
t h e sun have very important consequences on t h e s u r f a c e of t h e
earth. For example, magnetic storms on t h e e a r t h which i n t e r -
f e r e w i t h r a d i o transmission appear t o b e d i r e c t l y caused by
d i s t u r b a n c e s on t h e sun, and even t h e a u r o r a bc?.realis--the
northern lights--seem t o r e s u l t from solar a c t i v i t y . Of course,
t h e e a r t h ' s weather i s c o n t r o l l e d by t h e sun, and changes i n
weather may r e s u l t from Variations i n S o l a r a c t i v i t y ,
Many happenings on e a r t h may be connected d i r e c t l y t o
happenings on t h e sun, However, our p r e s e n t understanding of
s o l a r behavior i s l i m i t e d i n t h a t w e cannot r e a l l y determine
t h e mechanisms which r e l a t e some s o l a r phenomena t o t h e phenomena
w e observe here on t h e earth. The s c i e n t i s 6 a making measurements
on t h e Ranger L s p a c e c r a f t hope t h e s e observations w i l l add t o
c i r knowledge of t h e sun and i t s r e l a t i o n to t h e e a r t h .

Not only w i l l t h e p a r t i c l e s which stream outward from t h e

sun be counted, and t h e magnetic f i e l d s which they c a r r y w i t h
them t h a t c o n t r o l t h e i r f l i g h t b e observed, b u t a l s o some of
t h e x-rays produced by t h e sun w i l l be d e t e c t e d .

One e f f e c t which w e suspect t h e sun has on t h e earth i s t h e

production of a v a s t cloud of n e u t r a l hydrogen gas surrounding
t h e earth l i k e a super atmosphere. T h i s cloud i s very d i f f u s e
and i t s o v e r a l l s i z e and shape cannot be e a s i l y determined by
making measurements a c t u a l l y w i t h i n t h e cloud i t s e l f . Thus, when
t h e s p a c e c r a f t i s many thousands of m i l e s away from t h e earth,
a s p e c i a l t e l e s c o p e w i l l look back t o scan t h e e a r t h i n a
p a r t i c u l a r region of t h e f a r u l t r a v i o l e t spectrum which contains
t h a t c o l o r of s u n l i g h t s t r o n g l y s c a t t e r e d by n e u t r a l hydrogen
?as A crude p i c t u r e of t h e e a r t h and t h e space around it w i l l
w v c a l t h e presence of t h i s gas and t h e e x t e n t t o which i t i s
bompacted o r d i f f u s e d .
S t i l l a n o t h e r experiment on t h e Ranger w i l l d e t e c t t i n y
dust p a r t i c l e s t h a t f l y through space. T h i s measurement i s
also connected t o t h e behavior of t h e sun, f o r t h e s u n l i g h t a c t s
t o push away very t i n y p a r t i c l e s i n the sme way t h a t i t pushes
away t h e t a i l o f a comet. S c i e n t i s t s today b e l i e v e t h a t t h e
sun and a l l of t h e p l a n e t s which move around it accumulated
from a g i g a n t i c cloud of d u s t p a r t i c l e s . The o r i g i n of t h e s e
d u s t p a r t i c l e s i s s t i l l n o t known, nor i s i t known whether today
t h e solar system i s sweeping up more and more of t h e s e d u s t
p a r t i c l e s from space, whether d u s t p a r t i c l e s are being l e f t
behind by comets p a s s i n g c l o s e t o t h e sun, o r whether t h e
p a r t i c l e s t h a t remain are simply t h e d e b r i s of t h e ancient
s o l a r system formation process. By measuring t h e i r s i z e , t h e i r
energy, and t h e i r d i r e c t i o n of f l i g h t we hope t o g a i n more
knowledge about t h e s e t i n y p a r t i c l e s which
underneath t h e blanket of our atmosphere.

- 22 -
 SOLAR CORPUSCULAR RADIATION EXPERIMENT
This experiment is under the responsibility of Mrs. Marcia
Neugebauer and Dr. Conway W. Snyder, California Institute of
Technology Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Its purpose is to deter-
mine the flow and movement of interplanetary plasma (clouds of
charged particles) by observing the density and direction of
motion of drifting plasma clouds and also by measuring the
energies o f the particles which make up these clouds.
Many scientists consider this interplanetary plasma as
simply the continuation of the sun's atmosphere into the space
between the planets. This atmosphere, or corona, consists
mostly of protons and electrons. The cloud is so diffuse that
ordinary pressure and temperature measurements cannot be made.
Some theories suggest that the interplanetary plasma is a
relatively stationary cloud of gas surrounding the sun. On
the other hand, other scientests believe that a solar wind
constantly streams away from the sun. This solar wind consists
o f ionized atoms of gas (primarily hydrogen) which move with
velocities of several hundred to a thousand miles a second.
All descriptions of the interplanetary plasma picture it
as being disturbed by outbursts of solar activity--solar flares
or magnetic storms on the surface of the sun. At such times,
the density, the speed of flow, and the temperature of the inter-
planetary plasma probably all change.
Most particle detectors are enclosed in shields or tubes
which would keep out the very low energy particles expected to
exist in interplanetary plasma. The electrostatic analyzers
carried on board the Ranger, however, are open to space, and
can collect and measure the lowest energy particles, Six such
detectors are carried pointing in six different directions.
(If you were standing on the Ranger,you would find one pointing
above you, one below, one to the front, one behind, and one to
the right and one t o the left.)
As a charged particle enters the analyzer, it finds itself
in a curving tunnel. The two sides of this tunnel are metal
plates carrying static electric charges, one negative, the other
positive. The charged particle is attracted by one plate and
repelled by the other, and so follows a curved path down the
curved tunnel. If it is moving t o o slowly or too rapidly, it
runs into ane wall o r t h e o t h e r . But if it is moving a t j u s t
the right speed, it makes its way all the way to the end and is
there detected by a particle counter. Thus, a l l the particles
moving in *ha right direction t o enter the tunnel and moving with
the right speed to get all the way through will be detected.
-23 -
 Automatically, at fixed intemals, the amount of the stagic
charge on the metal side plates is changed, so that a different
range of energy is required for the particles to get through.
Twelve such voltage steps are included in a cycle through the
analysis process. As a result, a spectrum of particle energies
is obtained which shows the number and the direction of f l o w of
protons and electrons in the solar plasma whose energies are
characteristic of the suspected solar wind.
In order to determine whether the particles are streaming
outward from the sun as 8 solar wind, or wandering at random.
through a comparatively stationary plasma cloud, the most f'unda-
mental measurement is a comparison of measurements taken looking
toward the sun and looking directly away from the sun. The pair
of analyzers which makes these two measurements is positioned on
a boom located several feet out from the body of the spacecraft.
This removes these analyzers from the effects of any sheath of
charged particles, or "atmosphere," which the Ranger may accumu-
late about itself as it moves through the interplanetary plasma.
In cycling through its voltage sequence, each analyzer
will observe four energy ranges of electrons between 13.7 and
110 electron volts and eight energy ranges of protons between
13.7 and 5500 electron volts.
The s i x units in this experiment have a total weight of
33 pounds and a power requirement of 2.74 watts. C. S. Josias
and J. I;. Lawrence of JPL performed the engineering design of
this experiment.
MEDIUM-ENERGY-RANGE PARTICLE DETECTORS
Six medium-energy-range particle detectors will observe
charged particles in an energy range which overl.aps the,l.ower
'

energy rarige of:'bhe sol&@ ~ c ~ ~ ~e~ecpe~,il-

~ "1 ~ c ~
menb and winch extends upward toward the high energies of' the
fast moving cosmic rays.
Four of these units a r e cadmium sulfide detectors--solid
state semi-conductor devices which change their electrical
resistance in proportion to the rate at which they are being
bombarded by charged particles. As in the case of the solar
corpuscular radiation detectors, these instruments are not
covered by any protective tube or case. Thus, particles of
very low energy can be de$ected. Protons and electrons with
energies greater than 100 electron volts will, upon striking
the cadmium s u l f i d e detectors, produce a measureable change
in resistance. Sunlight also produces such a change, so the
detectors are placed behind a series of light baffles designed
to protect them against the aocidental illumination by reflected
sunlight.
-24-
 One of these detectors includes a small magnet, An elec-
tron with energy below 400,000 electron volts moving toward the
detector would be swept aside by this magnet and thus not be
counted, whereas the much heavier protons will proceed nearly
straight on. The other three detectors contain no such
magnets and will consequently count both electrons and protons.
One of these detectors has an automatic aperature adjustment
which cuts out most of the particles while the Ranger is
passing through the Earth's radiation belts. This permits
measurements within the very hugh flux of particles found in the
radiation belts with the same detector used to count the very
small number of particles in interplanetary space. The four
counters are arranged in pairs and point in two differenb
directions--all at about 45 degrees to the direction of the sun.
This experiment was developed by the Department of Physics
and Astronomy, State University of Iowa, under the direction of
P-rofessorJames-A. Van Allen. Professor Van Allen's group also
developed another experiment employing a Geiger-Mueller counter
s-imilar to those with which Professor Van Allen discovered the
existence of the vast belts of radiation around the earth,
the Van Allen Belts. This Geiger-Mueller tube will count all
protow.which strike it with energies above 5OO,OOO electron
volts, and all electrons which strike it with energies above
35,000-electronvolts. It can accurately count as many as
20,000 particles per second.
Drs. C. Y. Fan, P. Meyer, and J. A. Simpson of the Cosmic-
Ray Group at the University of Chicago are bupplying an experi-
ment -which also uses a solid-state detector for observing
charged particles. The debector consists of two thin discs of
silicon coated with gold and then placedom behind the other.
A proton with an energy greater than one-half million electron
volts will enter the first disc and produce a shower of ions
of sufficient number for the electronic circuits to register
a cpunt. If the proton has an energy less than five million
electron volts, it will not be able to get all the way
through-the first disc. Particles with energies greater than
five million electron volts will penetrate into bhe second
disc and cause another shower of ions and a pulse from the
second disc. The electronic circuits can determine whether
pulses come from both discs or ;just the front One, and thus
determine whether the particle entering the first disc had an
energy less than or greater than five lhillion volts.

- 25 -
 If the energy is greater than ten million electron volts, it
will proseed so rapidly through the first disc that the
resulting s-hower of ions will be t o o weak t o record as a count.
Thus ten million electron volts is the upper energy limit of -
the counter. Coincidental counts on both discs will indicate
that the entering particle had an energy between five and ten
million electron volts.
This detector has the advantage of being sensitive only to
particles coming from one hemisphere in space. It has the
further advantage of being completely insensitive to electrons
and x-rays, so it will count only the nuclei of atoms--
principally protons, the nuclei of hydrogen atoms.
The total of six medium-energy-range particle detectors
weigh 3.8 pounds and consumes approximately 0.16 watts of power.
J. Denton Allen and Dr. Conway Snyder provided JPL's engineer-
ing and scientific support f o r this experiment.
COSMIC-RAY IONIZATION RATE MEASUREMENT
Primary cosmic radiation and other ionizing radiation in
the space beyond the earth's atmosphere will be measured by
a quartz-fiber, integrating type ionization chamber, invented by
Dr. H.V. Neher of the California Institute of Technology.
The quartz-fiber ionization chamber works in a manner
similar to the gold leaf electrometers which are found in high
school physics laboratories.
In the Ranger ionization chamber, a quartz-fiber is
positioned a short distance from a quartz rod inside a hollow
metal shell (the chamber). Initially, both rod and fiber are
charged to the same voltage. As cosmic rays penetrate the
wall of the ionizationschamber and shoot across the gas inside,
they leave behind a wake of charged particles, -- the molecules
of the filling gas having been split into positive and
negative parts. Negative ions and electrons drift toward the
quartz rod and build upon it a static charge, which attracts
the fiber. When enough ions have been produced and have
drifted to the rod and enough charge is built up, the fiber
is pulled close enough to touch the rod. This produces an
electric pulse which is amplified and sent out over the
Ranger data telemetry system, and at the same time discharges ,
the rod, returning the instrument t o i t s starting position.
The time interval between successive pulses of this type
indicate the rate at which cosmic rays are penetrating the wall
of the ion chamber. Protons which penetrate the walls of the
chamber must have an energy of at least ten million electron
volts.

- 26 -

. . .. . . . . _ . _ - .- . . . _. . . . - - .. . . . . -.
 Storms on the surface of the sun are known to produce many
highly energetic particles which will be hazardous to men in
space. The importance of the ionization chamber lies in its
ability t o measure this-potentially dangerous radiation, and
also in the fact that it is being used as an absolute
standard for all radiation measurements. Chambers of the
same design have been flown on balloons for several years in
the study of cbsmic rays. Measurements made with these chambers
can be compared with each other from year to year, with complete
reliance on the uniform and consistent characteristics of the
measuring instrument. Thus, measurements made with such a
chamber can be used to connect the measurements of many of the
particle counters on the Ranger with many of the cosmic ray
measurements which have been made here on earth over the last
several decades.
The complete experiment, in which Drs. H.R. Anderson and
W.S. McDonald of JPL participated with Professor Neher, weights
1.3 pounds and requires about 0.01 watts for operation.
TRIPLE - COINCIDENCE COSMIC-RAY EXPERIMENT
High energy radiation in interplanetary space will be mea-
sured by an experiment developed by three scientists of the
University of Chicago, Drs. C.Y. Fan, P. Meyer and J.A. Simpson.
This instrument is composed of two triple-conincidence telescopes
each of which has seven proportional-counter tubes arranged in
the same manner as in units successfully flown on the Explorer
VI satellite and Pioneer V space probe. They are cylindrical
bundles, with six tubes on the perimeter and the seventh in
the center.
These two cylindrical bundles lie on their side projecting
through the top of one of the equipment boxes in the hexagonal
base of Ranger I. In each bundle, the counting tubes are
connected in three separate groups: the first group consists
of the outer three tubes which are exposed to the space outside
the equipment box. The second "group" ds the single tube in
the center of bundle, and the third group consists of the
three tubes which lie on the bottom of the bundle and actually
project into the equipment box in which the instrument is
mounted. As a charged particle comes through the bundle of
tubes, the electronic circuits determine which of'the groups
the particle has penetrated. When a pulse is received from
all three groups at the same time--a triple-coincidence--
this indicates that the particle responsible was undoubtedly
a high energy particle rather than an x-ray o r a low energy
particle. Operating in the triple coincidence mode the
instkument discrimmates strongly against x-rays.

- 27 -

~ __ .
. . .. . . - , . . . .- . . ..
 Such "triple-coincidence events" are telemetered back to
earth by the Ranger I data telemetry system, together with single
counts from the center tube. A single count from the center tube
will, five tMes out of a hundred, be caused by an x-ray rather
than a high energy charged particle (assuming both have the same
chance of entering the center tube.) By comparison of the
single count data and the triple coincidence data, the
scientists responsible for the experiment can then determine how
many of the counts were due to x-rays and how many were due to
protons or other high energy charged particles.
The two bundles of counters differ from each other in the
amount of shielding placed around them. One bundle is covered
with a shell of lead which keeps out all protons with energies
l e s s than 75 million electron volts and all electrons with
energies less than 13 million electron v o l t s . The other bundle
has a lead shield only around its lower half, the half that
projects into the equipment box. Protons of greater than 10
million electron volts and electrons with energies greater
than -$ million electron volts are permitted to enter the
bundle from the unshielded upper half.
The location of the bundles is such that particles coming
directly from the sun can penetrate and be counted without having
t o go through any pmtion of the spacecraft before reaching the
counters.
The energy range of particles detected by the half-shielded
bundle is similar to the energy range of particles which will
be detected by the quartz-fiber ionization chamber. A comparison
of the readings of these two instruments--the average ionization
;*ate from the quartz-fiber chamber, and the individual particle
impact rate from the triple-coincidence counter--will allow
the scientists to determine the average ionizatim per particle.
This in turn will permit them to determine the type and energy
of particles detected--protons, alpha particles, or perhaps
heavier nuclei or x-rays. It is anticipated that almost all
of the particles will be protons, the nuclei of hydrogen
atomse

The total weight of this experiment, counters, lead

shielding, and the electronic circuits associated with the
counters, is 9 pounds, and the experiment consumes 3 watt of
electrical power. J. Denton Allen and Marcia Neugebauer
provided Jet Propulsion Laboratory's engineering and scientific
support for this experiment.

- 28 -

1- - -
 MAGNETIC FIELD EXPERIMENT,

Ranger carries a rubidium vapor magnetometer t o

measure the strength and direction of the magnetic field in
interplanetary space. The nature of' the interplanetary f i e l d
is closely connected to the behavior o f charged particles
which make up the solar plasma,
Present-day theories o f magnetohydrodynamics--the
study o f the relation between the motion of charged particles
and the magnetic field which surrounds them--say that the
plasma which flows away from the sun should drag with it the
local solar magnetic field, since the motion of charged
particles not only responds t o but also creates magnetic
fields. The mathematical description of this interaction
between the stream o f charged particles leaving the sun and
the magnetic field which surrounds the sun is extremely com-
plicated. The theories which have been used to describe these
phenomena are incomplete and often contradictory, In order
to make any headway at all against the mathematical difficulties,
scientists are forced to assume various characteristics of the
interplanetary plasma. However, at present, there is no way
of determining whether or not these assumptions are realistic.
The results of the Ranger I measurements on the
magnetic fields in interplanetary space will be used to
check the conclusions o f the various theories now existing,
and will also be used t o provide a new set o f still more valid
assumptions f o r the creation of more conclusive theories,
Several earth satellite measurements, and measure-
nents taken by the probes, Pioneer I, Pioneer V, ,and Exr,lorer X have
given us a few pieces of information about the field at great dis-
tances f'roiii clie earth, and information about the nabure of
the magnetic field in the space between the earth and the
moon, It is in this latter region o f space that the inter-
planetary field and the earth's magnetic field interact t o
form a complicated boundary. Some scientists believe that
the detailed structure o f this boundary may explain the
creation o f the Van Allen radiation belts. Results from
Explorer VI and Pioneer V suggest that the magnetic field
in this region may be perturbed by a vast current ring
encircling the earth outside of the major radiation belts.
The particles in this current may have been detected by
Soviet space probes, Russian scientists have reported such
observatlons,

-29-

.. , -
. . .- .. ... . . .. . .- _.. . . . . .. . .
 Here on e a r t h w e can observe changes i n t h e bombardment r a t e
of cosmic rays--the charged p a r t i c l e s which have enough energy
t o p e n e t r a t e a l l t h e way through our atmosphere and our magnetic
f i e l d , I n many cases, t h e s e changes cannot b e a s c r i b e d t o any
changes in t h e e a r t h ' s own magnetic f i e l d , b u t may well r e s u l t
from changes i n t h e i n t e r p l a n e t a r y f i e l d .
Thus i t can be seen t h a t t h e data from t h e magnetometer
measurement w i l l b e of fundamental importance i n i n t e r p r e t i n g t h e
r e s u l t s of t h e various charged p a r t i c l e s experiments which a r e
c a r r i e d on board Ranger I. The combination of charged p a r t i c l e
measurements and magnetic f i e l d measurements w i l l be of tremendous
value i n advancing our knowledge i n t h e behavior of t h e sun and
i t s e f f e c t s upon phenomena here on t h e s u r f a c e of t h e e a r t h .
The rubidium vapor magnetometer r e l i e s upon fundamental
laws which govern t h e behavior of the atoms of rubidium gas i n
t h e presence of a magnetic f i e l d . The small c e l l of rubidium
vapor, whose behavior w i l l i n d i c a t e t h e s t r e n g t h of the magnetic
f i e l d , i s l o c a t e d a t t h e c e n t e r of a hollow i13-inch diameter
f i b e r glass s p h e r i c a l s h e l l . Wrapped around t h i s s h e l l a r e
c o i l s of wire through which e l e c t r i c c u r r e n t s of known s t r e n g t h s
can b e s e n t during t h e measuring sequence. By t h e proper
sequencing of c u r r e n t s i n t h e coils both t h e s t r e n g t h and t h e
d i r e c t i o n of t h e magnetic f i e l d i n space can be determined. T h i s
u n i t i s l o c a t e d n e a r t h e f r o n t end of Ranger I as f a r as p o s s i b l e
from t h e e l e c t r o n i c c i r c u i t r y i n and near t h e hexagonal base.
T h i s minimizes t h e e f f e c t of t h e magnetic f i e l d s from t h e
s p a c e c r a f t and i t s e l e c t r o n i c components.
The experiment weighs 5.75 pounds, was developed under t h e
,"irection of D r . J . P . Heppner and J . D . StolarYk of t h e National
Aeronautics and Space Administration's Goddard Space F l i g h t
Center. The experimental equipment consumes a power of 4.1
watts. S c i e n t i f i c and engineering support f o r t h i s experiment
i s provided by D.E. Jones and M. Gumpel of t h e J e t Propulsion
Laboratory,
SOLAR X-RAY DETECTION
A p a i r of s c i n t i l l a t i o n counters are mounted on Ranger
as p a r t of t h e Atomic Energy Cornision's c o n t r i b u t i o n t o t h e
A i r F o r c e ' s V e l a Hotel p r o j e c t . T h i s experiment i s supplied
by D r . John A. Northrop of Los Alamos S c i e n t i f i c Laboratory
in conjunction with a group a t t h e Sandia Corporation.

- 30 -

. . .. ,. . ~ .
-. ..~ . . .~ ., .. . . . .-
 These scintillation detectors are located about a foot apart
with their sensitive surfaces facing the sun. They are designed
to detect bursts of low-energy x-rays originating at the sun.
Six opaque windows in front of each scintillation detector are
intended to provide the best possible protection against cosmic
dust puncture while permitting the passage of x-rays to the
detecting portions of the instruments.
It I s well known that the sun is not only a copious
source of' such radiation, but also that it is far from being
a source of constant intensity. This equipment, therefore,
is designed to detect extremely short-term variations so
that future instruments sent into space can distinguish
between man-made nuclear explosions and solar outbursts.
The equipment weighs approximately 12 pounds and includes
its own power supply, logic, and data handling system. Timers
keep the high voltage removed from the photomultipliers in
the scintillation counters for 8 hours during passage through
the radiation belts of the earth.

NEUTRAL HYDROGEN GEOCORONA

The design of this experiment is under direction of T. A.
Chubb and R. W. Kreplin of the Naval Research Laboratory and
H. T. Bull and D. D. LaPorte of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
It employs a telescope and detector sensitive to the Lyman-
alpha region of the spectrum (the color of the neutral atomic
hydrogen gas) which will scan the region containing the earth
a f t e r Ranger I has proceeded far into space.
Scientists at the Naval Research Laboratory have previously
observed the glow of neutral hydrogen gas outside the earth's
atmosphere from instruments carried in high altitude sounding
rockets. They concluded that this glow resulted from a cloud
surrounding the earth, but the extent and shape of this cloud
could not be determined from these measurements taken from
deep within it. It is possible that this cloud will have some s o r t
of a long tail much like the tail of a comet. The cloud may
be diffuse or relatively compact depending on its temperature.
As the telescope is mechanically scanned across the sky,
a detector sensitive to this Lyman-alpha radiation will produce
an electrical signal proportional t o the amount of Lyman-alpha
light which strikes it. The result will be very similar to
a crude television picture taken of the earth and its
surroundings in this particular color of l i g h t . As Ranger I
proceeds out from the earth, it will take a series of such
pictures, and in each one the earth will occupy a smaller
and smaller area.
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 There are theories which could account f o r a hydrogen cloud
exten6ing far into nearby space. Hydrogen is formed by the
action of sunlight upon water vapor and marsh gas high in the
earth's atmosphere at an altitude of approximately 60 miles.
The released hydrogen gas then diffuses outward t o form the
main constituent of the earth's very high upper atmosphere.
In this high altitude region, the neutral hydrogen could
reflect the Lyman-alpha radiation put out by the sun or could
possibly emit radiation of its own aftir being bombarded by
high energy radiation from the sun or the earth's radiation
belts. It thus stems likely that we have a glowing corona
round the earth quite analogous t o the corona of the sun.
If' the solar wind sweeps out from the sun, as has been
indicated by the shape of the comet tails, then the gas at
the outer edge of the cloud is probabl7I being continually
swept away from the earth, giving the corona" of the earth
a tail like a comet. I f , on the other hand, no such solar
wind e x i s t s , the neutral hydrogen may simply merge with the
more diffuse gas of interplanetary space.
Since the density and behavior of this hydrogen cloud
depends on the behavior of the solar plasma and the strength
of solar winds, it is clear that proper interpretation of the
data from the Lyman-alpha telescope will require the data from
the solar corpuscular radiation measurement as well as the
medium energy particle measurements and the magnetometer
measurements. The Lyman-alpha telescope may give observations
of other phenomena such as the aurora borealis (northern lights)
occuring during the lifetime of the experiment, o r stars which
shine wlth particular brilliance in this special region of the
spectrum and are located in a position where the t.elescope will
see khem in sweeping back and forth across the vicinity of
tens earth.
The gimbal-mounted telescope together with its Lyman-
alpha detector and the associated electronics weighs 15 pounds
and consumes 1.4 watts of electrical power.

COSMIC DUST DETECTORS

Impact rate, energy, momentum, and direction of flight of
dust particles in interplanetary space will be measured by
a miniature cosmic dust detector designed by a group at NASA's
Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland, under the
direction of W. M. Alexander.
Housed in a magnesium container measuring 3" x 6" x 5%",
the instrument consists of a light-flash detector sensitive
t o minute bursts of light produced by dust particle impacts,
and a special microphone attached t o the sensitive exposed
surface.
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The experiment is located on Ranger I so that it will detect
particles moving around the sun in the same direction as the
earth and those moving in the opposite (retrograde) direction
during different portions of the flight.
Analysis of the data which results from this experiment
should show both the mass and speed of particles which are
detected as well as their direction of flight. This will
give information as t o whether the measured particles are in
orbit around the earth or moving free of the earth in orbit
around the sun. Previous measurements from earth satellites
and sounding rockets have indicated a strong concentration
of dust particles near the earth. Some scientists believe
this indicates the presence of a cloud of trapped dust particles
in orbit around the earth. Other scientists feel that the
concentration is due simply t o the earth's gravitational effect
upon a swarm of dust particles in motion around the sun.
Information on the orbits of these particles and on their
sizes will give scientists a better understanding of the dis-
tribution of matter in the solar system. Scientists believe
that the sun and the planets were formed by the condensation
of a vast cloud of dust particles some five billion years ago.
It is possible that the dust particles now existing in the
solar system arc the remnants of this original condensation,
o r it is-possiblethat they come from the breakup of comets
which pass near'the sun from a point far outside the farthest
planet. Some have suggested that dust particles from inter-
stellar space are constantly sweeping into the region of
the solar system and being trapped by the interaction of
the gravitational fields of the sun and planets, thus con-
.ributing a steady influx of matter t o the whole solar system.
It is not likely that these preliminary measurements
of the dust and interplanetary space carried out aboard
Ranger I will enable scientists to decide among the various
possibilities. However, the measurements should give
scientists a much better basis for further calculations on
the origin and history of the solar system and material within it.
The cosmic dust detectors and their associated electronics
weigh 3.55 pounds and consume 0.20 watts of electrical power.
Scientific and engineering support for this experiment is
provided by Marcia Neugebauer and E. S. McMillan of Jet
Propulsion Laboratory.

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NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE A3MENISTRAliCN

1520 H S T R E E T . N O R T H W E S T . W A S H I N G T O N 2 5 . 5. C.
TELEPHONES: DUDLEY 2 - 6 3 2 5 * E X E C U T I V E 3-3260

FOR RELEASE: Monday

RELEASE NO. 61-160 July 24, 1961

COMMERCIAL SUPERSOITXC TRANSPORT AIRCRAFT REiTORT

P
Development of a commercial trans ort airplane to fly
three times the spzed of sound (mach 3 is feasible, and
could be done by 1970-1971. The industry estimates there
is a world market f o r upwards of 200 such planes.
These are the major conclusions of a booklet, ?? Comkrcial
Supersonic Transport Aircraft Report," issued today by the
0 .
Federal Aviation Agency, the Department of Defense and the
National Aeronautics and Space Administration. The 50-
page report was signed by N. E. Halzby, Administrator of the
FAA, James E. Webb, Administrator of the NASA and Robert S.
McNamara, Secretary of Defense. A Task Group of the three
agencies prepared the report as a joint review of information
gathered from industrial 2nd governmen$al sources. The
report will be available in lirnlted numbers, f r o m the PAA
in Washington.
The report notes "the B-58 ar,d the €3-70 bomber programs
and broad earlier research and experience of supersonic
flight from which they evalvec? provide the United States
with a unique capability for developing a.supersonic
transport". Private industry, the report adds, cannot at
present finance the job alone but will need Govera-nent
assistance. Some recoupntmt of Government funds from
sales is practical. The Governiient can use existing
techaical and administrative capabilities of the three
agencies under the overall leadership of the FAA in the
study phase of the program.
The principal reasons f o r developing the fast transport
are given in the report: the maintenance of the present
leadership and p r e s t i & e of the United States in aviatior,;
0 and benefits ?.nt h e airplane's effect or, general econordc
progress.

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0 The Secretary and t h e two Administrators agreed on
certain basic principles for the project. They are t h a t
the program is one of Government assistance t o industry;
that competition should be used to maximum advalztage; c?L%cCt
Governmmt financial assistance should be provided only
to the point from which industry can carry on alone; that
the civil air carriers should participate actively; al-ld
that the maximum feasible recovery of direct Government
expenditures should be sought.
Research on various parts of the problem already
is under way by each of the agencies. The program for
research in fiscal 1962 deals with the technical a- reas
requiring intensified research. The FAA has asked Congress
f o r $12,000,000 f o r this work in fiscal 1962, n o t i n g t h e t
additional funds will be required next year. The NASA plans
t o spend about $8.5 million for internal research this year.

Manufacturers estimated their planes would haVe a ranga

of about 3500 nautical miles; would weigh approxixately
400,000 pounds; would have a wing span of 100 feet and
fuselage length of 200 feet; carry from 100 to 150 passsngers;
and cruise at around 2,000 miles per hour at 70,000 f e e t
altitude.
Aviation industry representatives believe t h a t a i?ZW
engine for the plane must be developed, the report s t r $ 2 s .
The greatest power need will be at altitudes over 40,000
feet where the plane accelerates from subsonic into the
supersonic speeds. Present engines are not considered
suitable for the supersonic transport, and there is virtually
unanimous preference by the manufacturers for some f o m of
turbofan engine.
A wing design will require considerable research to
be efficient at both low and high speeds. One idea is
for a wing that c a n be mechanically swept back t o a- "delta"
shape .whenthe plane enters its high speed range. Research
programs have been established t o study fuselage and wizg
s'cructu'ralmaterial that will withstand the thermal coizditions
of Mach 3 flight.
A "primary operati,onalproblem" is the sonic boom, t h e
report says. Nasa 8s now organizing a research prograin to
obtain.detailed information on sanic'boomsunder Various
operational conditions. At subsonic speeds, the new plane
will*beno noisier 'char?present-day jets, the report indicates'.

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0
 Manufacturers estimated production models o r tiic
t r a n s p o r t should c o s t between $12.6 and $20 m i l l i o n each.
There are widely varying e s t i m a t e s , however, of the possible
market in the Free World a t the time when t h e new j e t s would
be a v a i l a b . l e . The tstimates ranged f r o m 75 t o 4.50 a i r c r a f t
for the 1968-1975 p e r i o d .
In dilscussing the t r i - a g e n c y c o o p e r a t i v e e f f o r t FAA
Administrator Halaby said:I1 "Progress with safety and
aviation i s our business.

-END-

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