National Aeronautics and

Space Administratlon
Washington, D C 20546
AC 202 755-8370

For Release IMMEDIATE

Press Kit Project GEOS/ESA

RELEASE NO: 77-66

Contents

GENERAL LEASE................................... 1-4

SCIENTIFIC PAYLOAD................................ 5

TYPICAL LAUNCH SEQUENCE FOR GEOS/ESA .............. 6

DELTA LAUNCH ~HICLE.............................. 7
STRAIGHT EIGHT DELTA FACTS AND FIGURES............ 8-9
STAR CONSORTIUM................................... 10

LAUNCH OPERATIONS................................. 11
DELTA/GEOS/ESA LAUNCH TEAM........................ 11-12
CONTRACTORS....................................... 13

Mailed :
April 4, 1977

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National Aeronautics and
Space Administration
Washington. D C 20546
AC 202 755-8370

Fc tr Release
Bill O'Donnell
Headquarters, Washington, D.C. IMMEDIATE
(Phone: 2 0 2 / 7 5 5 - 0 8 1 6 )

Joe McRoberts
Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md..
(Phone: 3 0 1 / 9 8 2 - 4 9 5 5 )

RELEASE NO: 77-66

GEOS: EUROPE'S FIRST GEOSYNCHRONOUS SCIENTIFIC SATELLITE

Europe's first geosynchronous orbit scientific space-

craft, GEOS/ESA, is scheduled to be launched no earlier than
April 20 from Kennedy Space Center, Fla., by NASA's Delta
rocket, to explore the magnetic and electric fields 36,r)r)O
kilometers (22,300 miles) above Earth at the equator. Launch
window is from 5:12 a.m. to 6:16 a.m. EST.

These very weak fields are being modified continually

by the flow of electric particles from the Sun and a know-
ledge of their behavior is necessary for a more complete
understanding of Earth's environment.
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The nine onboard experiments,devised by 11 European

scientific groups, will detect and measure the magnetic and
electric fields surrounding Earth and the varying flow of
particles emitted by the Sun. This will permit scientists
to get a better understanding of the interaction of the
solar wind with Earth's magnetic field.

Instruments to detect the extremely weak natural fields

of the magnetosphere are so sensitive that they can detect
magnetic variations one thousand millionth of the strength
of the Earth's geomagnetic field. This made it necessary
to design the drum-shaped spacecraft with the sensors placed
on long booms,two of them 20 meters (65 feet) long, which
isolate them from each other and from interference by the
electronic equipment within the satellite. The booms tele-
scope or fold. into the body of the spacecraft during the
launch phase of the mission.

From time t.0 time during its expected lifetime of two

years, the spacecraft will be moved, from its initial posi-
tion at 0 degrees W. longitude to a position at 35 d.egrees
E. and back again, by means of hydrazine-fueled thrusters.

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During this time sounding rockets will be launched

into the ionosphere at the same geomagnetic longitude as
GEOS/ESA and results will be correlated with those made by
the spacecraft, balloons, aircraft, ground stations and
other satellites. These measurements -- including those

from polar expeditions to the Arctic and Antarctic -- are

part of an international research program called the Inter-
national Magnetospheric Study (IMS).

GEOS/ESA is cylindrical, 1.62 m (64 in.) in diameter

and 1.10 m ( 4 3 in.) long and weighs 574 kilograms ( 1 , 2 8 5
pounds) at launch, including the 305-kg (707-lb.) apogee
motor. It will be injected into orbit on the fourth apogee,
or 4 2 1/2 hours after launch, when the spacecraft is over
the mid-Atlantic. From there it will be allowed to drift
0.5 degrees per day until it arrives at its on-station
position.

The apogee motor will be fired from the European Space

Operations Center (ESOC), Darmstadt, West Germany, which is
responsible for all tracking and data recovery activities
after the spacecraft reaches orbit. Launch vehicle track-
ing will be by NASA with all spacecraft data sent simul-
taneously to ESOC.

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 The spacecraft was built under the overall supervision
of the European Space Agency by industries in 10 European
countries: Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy,
Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United
Kingdom.

ESA gave direct responsibility for building the

satellite to a consortium of European industrial contractors
headed by the British Aircraft Corp., Bristol, England.
NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md., directs
the Delta program and McDonnell Douglas Astronautics Co.,
Huntington Beach, Calif., is the prime contractor. All
costs for the Delta, including launch services, are
reimbursable.

(END OF GENERAL RELEASE. BACKGROUND INFORMATION FOLLOWS. )

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SCIENTIFIC PAYLOAD
Centre National d'Etudes des
Telecommunications, France
Group de Rechereches Iono-
speriques, France and Danish
Space Research Institute,
Denmark
ESTEC Space Science Division,
Holland
Mullard Space Science
Laboratory, Lond.on University,
United Kingdom
Physikalisches Institut der
Universitat Bern, Switzerland
and Max Planck Institut fur
Extraterrestrische Physik,
Germany
Kiruna Geophysical Observatory,
Sweden
Max Planck Institut fur
Aeronomie, Germany
Max Planck Institut fur
Extraterrestriche Physik,
Germany
Laboratory for Space Research,
CNR, Italy
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Study of thermal plasma
through its resonances.
Study of low frequency
electromagnetic wavefields.
Measurement of low frequency
electric fields
Study of the very low energy
plasma.
Ion composition, energy
spectra and angular distri-
bution of low energy particles
and plasma.
Measurement of the pitch
angle distribution of low
energy electrons and protons.
Electron-proton spectrometer
for medium energies.
Measurement of DC electric
field component perpendicular
to the magnetic field vector.
Measurement of DC and ULF
magnetic fields.
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D E L T A LAUNCH V E H I C L E

F i r s t Stage

The f i r s t s t a g e i s a McDonnell Douglas m o d i f i e d Thor

b o o s t e r i n c o r p o r a t i n g n i n e C a s t o r I1 s t r a p - o n T h i o k o l s o l i d -
f u e l r o c k e t motors. The b o o s t e r i s powered by a Rocketdyne
e n g i n e u s i n g l i q u i d oxygen and l i q u i d hydrocarbon p r o p e l l a n t s .
The main e n g i n e i s gimbal-mounted t o p r o v i d e p i t c h and vaw
C o n t r o l from l i f t o f f t o main e n g i n e c u t o f f (MECO).
Second Stacre

The second s t a g e i s p o w e r e d by a TRVJ l i q u i d - f u e l ,

p r e s s u r e - f e d e n g i n e t h a t a l s o i s gimbal-mounted t o p r o v i d e
p i t c h a n d yaw c o n t r o l t h r o u g h t h e second s t a g e b u r n . A
n i t r o g e n g a s system u s e s e i g h t f i x e d n o z z l e s f o r r o l l c o n t r o l
d u r i n g powered and c o a s t f l i g h t , a s w e l l a5 p i t c h and yaw
c o n t r o l d u r i n g c o a s t and a f t e r second s t a g e c u t o f f s . Two
f i x e d n o z z l e s , fed. by t h e p r o p e l l a n t t a n k , helium p r e s s u r i -
z a t i o n system, p r o v i d e r e t r o t h r u s t a f t e r t h i r d s t a g e s e p a r a -
tion. Fifty-two minutes a f t e r s p a c e c r a f t s e p a r a t i o n , t h e
second. s t a g e w i l l b e r e i g n i t e d f o r a 16-second burn. Data
on t h i s burn w i l l be c o l l e c t e d f o r s t u d i e s r e l a t e d t o f u t u r e
Delta missions.

Third Stage

The t h i r d s t a g e i s t h e TE-364-4 s p i n - s t a b i l i z e d , solid

p r o p e l l a n t T h i o k o l motor. I t i s s e c u r e d i n the s p i n t a b l e
mounted t o t h e second s t a g e . T h e f i r i n g of e i g h t s o l i d pro-
p e l l a n t r o c k e t s f i x e d t o the s p i n t a b l e a c c o m p l i s h e s spin-up
o f t h e t h i r d s t a g e s p a c e c r a f t assembly.

I n j e c t i o n I n t o Synchronous O r b i t

The D e l t a v e h i c l e w i l l i n j e c t GEOS/ESA i n t o a t r a n s f e r
o r b i t h a v i n g an apogee of 3 6 , 3 0 0 km ( 2 2 , 5 7 0 m i . ) . . NASA's
S p a c e f l i g h t T r a c k i n g and D a t a Network w i l l provid-e t e l e m e t r y ,
t r a c k i n g and r a n g i n g s u p p o r t u n t i l t h e s p a c e c r a f t i s p l a c e d
i n i t s f i n a l synchronous o r b i t a t 0 d e g r e e s W. Command,
c o n t r o l , t r a c k i n q and d a t a a n a l y s i s a r e t h e r e s p o n s i b i l i t i e s
of t h e European Space O p e r a t i o n s C e n t e r ( E S O C ) .

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STRAIGHT E I G H T DELTA F A C T S AND FIGURES

Height: 35.4 m (116 ft.) including shroud

Maximum Diameter: 2.4 m ( 8 ft.) without
attached solids
Liftoff Weight: 131,895 kg (2?3,1On lb.)
Liftoff Thrust: 1 , 7 6 5 , 3 1 5 newtons ( 3 9 6 , 7 0 0 lb.)
including strap-on solids

First Stage
(Liquid Only) consists of an extended long-tank Thor,
produced by McDonnell Douglas. The RS-27 engines are pro-
duced by the Rocketdyne Division of Rockwell-International,
The stage has the following characteristics:
Diameter: 2.4 m ( 8 ft.)

Propellants: RJ-1 kerosene as the fuel and liquid

oxygen (LOX) as the oxidizer
Thrust: 912,000 N (205,000 1b.I

Burning Time: About 3.48 minutes

Weight: About 84,600 kg ( 1 8 6 , 0 0 0 lb.) excluding
strap-on solids
Strap-on solids consist of nine solid-propellant
rockets produced by the Thiokol Chemical Corp., with the
following features:
Diameter: 0.8 m (31 in-)

Height: 7 m (23.5 ft,)

Total Weight: 40,300 kg ( 8 8 , 6 5 0 lb.) for nine
4,475 kg ( P,8.50 lb.) for each

Thrust: 2,083,000 N (468,000 lb.) for nine

231,400 N ( 52,000 lb.) for each
Burning Time: 3 8 seconds

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Second Staae
Produced by McDonnell Douglas Astronautics Co., using
a TRW TR-201 rocket engine; major contractors for the vehicle
inertial guidance system located on the second stage are
c Hamilton Standard, Teledyne and Delco.
Propellants: Liquid, consists of Aerozene 50 for
the fuel and nitrogen tetroxide (PI 0 )
2 *
for the oxidizer.
Diameter: 1 . 5 m (5 ft.) plus 2 . 4 m ( 8 ft.) attached
ring
Height: 6.4 m ( 2 1 ft.)

Weight: 6 , 1 1 8 kg ( 1 3 , 5 9 6 l b . )
Thrust: About 4 2 , 9 4 3 N ( 9 , 6 5 0 Ib.)

Total Burning Time: 3 3 5 seconds

Third Staae
Thiokol Chemical C o . TE-364-4 motor.
Propellant: Solid
Heiqht: 1 . 4 m (4.5 ft.)
Diameter: 1 m ( 3 ft.)

Weight: 1 , 1 5 2 kg ( 2 , 5 6 0 lb.)

Thrust: 6 1 , 8 5 5 N (13,900 Ib.)

Burning Time: 4 4 seconds

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STAR CONSORTIUM

GEOS/ESA was designed and constructed by the European

STAR Consortium of companies under contract to the European
Space Agency. British Aircraft Corp. as prime contractor
is responsible for project management, systems engineering,
attitude and orbit control, wire harness, assembly integra-
tion and test and launch support.
Other STAR consortium team members are:
Belgium ETCA -electrical ground
support equipment
Denmark ELECTRONIKCENTRALEN - power
supply control, attitude
and orbit control electronics
France THOMSON-CSF -telecommunica-
tions; SEP - thrusters
Germany DORNIER SYSTEM -structure,
booms and mechanisms, and
attitude measurements; AEG-
TELEFUNKEN - solar panels
Italy CGE FIAR -power supply;
MONTEDEL LABEN SPA - data
handling; OFFICINE GALILEO -
attitude sensors; SNIA
VISCOSA - apoqee motor
Netherlands -
FODDER-VFW thermal control
and nutation damper
Spain SENER SA -mechanical ground
support equipment
Sweden L.M. ERICSSON - antennae
Switzerland CONTRAVES - structure

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LAUNCH OPERATIONS

The Kennedy Space C e n t e r ' s Expendable V e h i c l e s

D i r e c t o r a t e p l a y s a key r o l e i n t h e p r e p a r a t i o n and. l a u n c h
of t h e thrust-augmented D e l t a r o c k e t c a r r y i n g GEOS/ESA.

Delta 1 3 0 w i l l be launched from Pad B a t Complex 1 7 ,

Cape C a n a v e r a l A i r Force S t a t i o n .

The D e l t a f i r s t s t a g e and i n t e r s t a g e w e r e e r e c t e d
on Pad B March 2. The n i n e s o l i d s t r a p - o n r o c k e t motors
' w e r e mounted i n p l a c e around t h e b a s e of t h e f i r s t s t a g e
March 4-5 and t h e second s t a g e was e r e c t e d March 1 4 .

The GEOS/ESA s p a c e c r a f t was received. bv -KSC March 8 .

A f t e r c h e c k o u t , i t w i l l be mated w i t h t h e D e l t a t h i r d . s t a g e
A p r i l 7. The t h i r d s t a g e / s p a c e c r a f t assembly w i l l b e moved
t o t h e pad f o r mating A p r i l 11. The p a y l o a d f a i r i n g which
i s t o p r o t e c t t h e s p a c e c r a f t on i t s f l i g h t t h r o u g h t h e
atmosphere i s t o be p u t i n p l a c e A p r i l 15.

DELTA/GEOS/ESA LAUNCH TEAM

European Space Agency

Roy Gibson Director General

Dr. E r n s t Trendelenburg D i r e c t o r o f S c i e n t i f i c and
M e t e o r o l o g i c a l Programs

Dr. Edgar Page Head of Space Science

Department, European Space
Technology C e n t e r (ESTEC)

Maurice D e l a h a i s Head, S c i e n t i f i c P r o j e c t s
ESTEC

Derek M u l l i n g e r ESA/GEOS P r o j e c t Manager

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NASA H e a d a u a r t e r s

John F. Yardley Associate Administrator

f o r Space F l i g h t

J o s e p h B. Mahon D i r e c t o r of Expendable
Launch V e h i c l e Programs

Peter T. Eaton Manager, D e l t a P r o g r a m

Goddard Space F l i g h t C e n t e r

Dr. Robert S. Cooper Director

Dr. W i l l i a m C. S c h n e i d e r Director of P r o j e c t
Management

C h a r l e s R. Gunn D e l t a P r o j e c t Manager

W i l l i a m R. Russell Deputy D e l t a P r o j e c t
Manager, T e c h n i c a l

Robert Goss C h i e f , Mission A n a l y s i s and

I n t e g r a t i o n Branch, D e l t a
Project Office

J a n A. King Delta Mission I n t e g r a t i o n

Engineer

Ken McDonald N e t w o r k S u p p o r t Manager

John Walker N e t w o r k O p e r a t i o n s Manager

Kennedy Space C e n t e r

L e e R. Scherer Director

George F. Page Director, Expendable

Vehicles

Hugh A. Weston, Jr. C h i e f , D e l t a Operations

Division

Wayne L. M c C a l l C h i e f Engineer, Delta

Operations

John Dunn S p a c e c r a f t Coordinator

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CONTRACTORS

British Aircraft Corp., Spacecraft

Bristol, England

McDonnell Douglas Delta launch vehicle

Astronautics Co.,
Huntington Beach, Calif.

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