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Part L Ranger VIII and IX Mission Description and Performance NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION Technical Report No. 32-800 Ranger VIII and IX Part L Mission Description and Performance H. M. Schurmeier Ranger Project Manager JET PROPULSION LABORATORY CALIFORNIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY \ PASADENA, CALIFORNIA January 31, 1966 Copyright© 1966 Jet Propulsion Laboratory California Institute of Technology Prepared Under Contract No. NAS 7-100 National Aeronautics & Space Administration JPL TECHNICAL REPORT NO. 32-800 CONTENTS I, Introduction ................ 1 A. Ranger VIII Mission Summary ............ 1 B. Ranger IX Mission Summary ...... " ...... 1 C. Project Background ='_."_=. ......:_";-7_ . ...... 1 D. Project Description ............. 2 II. Pre-launch and Launch Operations ......... 4 A. Spacecraft Assembly and System Tests ......... 4 B. AFETR Pre-launch Operations .......... 5 C. Range Flight Support .............. 6 III. Launch-Vehicle System ............. 9 A. Atlas Booster .......... - . ..... 9 B. Agena Stage ............. 9 IV. Spacecraft System ............... 12 A. Radio Subsystem ............... 12 B. Command Subsystem ........... 15 C. Data Encoder ............. 17 D. Ground Telemetry Equipment .......... 20 E. Central Computer and Sequencer ......... 21 F. Attitude-Control Subsystem ............. 23 G. Power Subsystem ............... 45 H. Spacecraft Structure ............. 47 I. Temperature-Control Subsystem ......... 49 J. Miscellaneous Timing and Arming Functions ...... 53 K. Pyrotechnics Subsystem ............. 54 L. Midcourse Propulsion Subsystem ...... 55 M. Television Subsystem .............. 56 V. Deep Space Network System ....... 70 A. Deep Space Instrumentation Facility ......... 70 B. Space Flight Operations Facility ........ 76 C. Ground Communications Subsystem ......... 77 VI. Space Flight Operations System .......... 79 A. Spacecraft Data Analysis Team ........... 79 B. Flight Path Analysis and Command Group. .... 79 C. Space Science Analysis and Command Croup ..... 79 VII. Flight Path ................. 80 A. Ranger VIII ............... 80 B. Ranger IX ................ 83 !I! JPL TECHNICAL REPORT NO. 32-800 CONTENTS (Cont'd) VIII. Space Science Analysis ............. 91 A, Target Selection and Terminal Maneuver ....... 91 B. Camera Performance .............. 92 C. Preliminary Photometric Results ........... 92 ] Appendix A. Spacecraft Flight Events .......... 97 z Appendix B. Spacecraft Configuration and Interfaces ..... 103 Bibliography ................. 111 TABLES 1. Ranger VIII and IX spacecraft testing and operations ...... 4 2. AFETR tracking coverage ............ 7 3. Ranger VIII command history ...... ]6 4. Ranger IX command history ............. 17 5. Ranger VIII calculated gas consumption ......... 6. Ranger IX calculated gas consumption .......... 45 7. Ranger VIII and IX representative power parameters ...... 48 8. Ranger VIII and IX flight-temperature summary ........ 51 9. Ranger IX Earth-shadow temperatures ......... 52 10. Ranger VIII and IX pyrotechnics and associated events ...... 55 11. Summary of camera characteristics ........... 60 12. Nominal TV communications parameters .......... 13. Current drains for various modes ......... 61 14. Prime commands for TV operation ....... 62 15. DSIF L-band master equipment list ........... 72 16. Ranger VIII, variance between ground-received signal level and predictions ............... 74 17. Station calibration figures ......... 75 18. Ranger VIII pre- and post-midcourse orbits ......... 85 19. Ranger IX pre- and post-midcourse orbits ......... 90 IV JPL TECHNICAL REPORT NO. 32-800 FIGURES 1. Ranger system elements ............. 3 2. Downrange tracking and telemetry coverage ...... ? 3. Ranger VIII and IX AFETR telemetry coverage ....... 8 4. Atlas launch vehicle ............... 10 5. Ageno injection vehicle ............. 11 6. Ranger Block III spacecraft subsystems .......... 12 7. L-band radio subsystem .............. 13 8. Ranger VIII radio subsystem failure ....... 14 9. Ranger command subsystem ............. 15 10. Data encoder ................ 18 11. Attltude-control elements ............. 23 12. Coordinate-axis system ............ 23 13. Single-axis control networks, gyro control and derived-rate systems 24 14. Ranger VIII Sun acquisition, yaw axis ........ 25 15. Ranger VIII Sun acquisition, pitch axis ..... 26 16. Ranger VIII Sun reacqulsition, pitch axis ...... 27 17. Ranger VIII roll scale factor 28 18. Ranger VIII Earth acquisition, roll axis ......... - 29 19. Ranger VIII Earth reacquisitlon, roll axis 30 20. Ranger VIII Sun-sensor light intensity ..... 32 21. Ranger VIII limit-cycle operation, post-midcaurse cruise ..... 33 22. Ranger VIII pitch torque ......... 35 23. Ranger VIII limit-cycle operation, terminal sequence 24. Ranger IX Sun acquisition, pitch axis ........... 37 25. Ranger IX Sun reacquisition, pitch axis ..... 38 26. Ranger IX Sun acquisition, yaw axis . ....... 39 27. Ranger IX Earth acquisition, roll axis. ......... 40 28. Ranger IX Earth reacquisition, roll axis ....... 41 29. Ranger IX roll position prior to mldcourse maneuver ..... 4] 3_0. Ranger IX Earth-sensor light intensity ......... 42 31. Ranger I X llmit-cycle operation prior to terminal sequence .... 43 32. Ranger IX pitch torque ....... 44 V JPL TECHNICAL REPORT NO. 32-800 FIGURES (Cont'd) 33. Power subsystem ............... 46 34. Ranger VIII system power parameters ......... 46 35. Ranger IX system power parameters .......... 47 36. Pyrotechnics subsystem .......... 54 37. Propulsion subsystem ............. 55 38. Ranger IX midcourse fuel-tank pressure during motor firing . 56 39. Ranger IX midcourse nitrogen-tank pressure during motor firing 56 40. TV subsystem configuration .......... 57 41. TV subsystem elements ............ 58 42. Camera fields of view (nominal) ............ 59 43. Ranger VIII TV subsystem flight temperatures ........ 65 44. Ranger VIII heat-sink temperatures during terminal phase .... 66 45, Ranger VIII expended and budgeted battery capacity 66 46. Ranger IX TV subsystem flight temperatures ...... 67 47. Ranger IX expended and budgeted battery capacity ...... 69 48. Ranger IX transmitter heat-sink temperatures during terminal phase 69 49. Goldstone Echo station ............ 71 50. Ranger IX video displayed in real time in SFOF ....... 77 51. DSN ground communications ........... 78 52. Ranger VIII trajectory Earth track .......... 81 53. Ranger VIII midcourse-maneuver and site-selection factors 82 54. Ranger VIII pre-midcourse and actual lunar encounters 84 55. Ranger IX trajectory Earth track ............ 86 56. Ranger IX mldcourse-maneuver and site-selection factors .... 87 57. Ranger IX pre-midcourse and actual lunar encounters 89 58. Ranger IX terminal-maneuver approach geometry ...... 90 59. Ranger IX A- and B-camera coverage, last 20 frames ...... 93 60. Ranger VIII A-camera predicted vs observed brightness values . 94 61. Ranger VIII A-camera transfer characteristic ...... 94 62. Alphonsus area used for brightness comparison, B-, P:_-,and P_-cameras .............. 95 63. Ranger IX B-, Pj-, and P_-camera transfer characteristics ..... 96 VI JPL TECHNICAL REPORT NO. 32-800 FIGURES (Cont'd) B-1. Coordinate-axis system ............. ]03 B-2. Spacecraft configuration a. Top view ................. 104 b. Pitch axis .................. 105 c. Yaw axis .................. 106 d. Bottom view .............. 107 B-3. Spacecraft bus interior and spaceframe section ....... 108 B-4. Electronics assembly locations ............ 109 B-5. Spacecraft block diagram .............. 110 VIi JPL TECHNICAL REPORT NO. 32-800, ABSTRACT The Ranger VIII and IX missions successfully concluded the Ranger unmanned lunar-investigation project. The Block III Ranger space- craft, launched by the Atlas/Agena vehicle and tracked by the Deep Space Network, contained a six-camera television package and had the objective of obtaining high-resolution photographs of the lunar surface prior to impact. Ranger VIII, launched February 17, 1965, returned 7137 pictures before its impact in southwestern blare Tranquillitatis on February 20. Ranger IX was launched on March 21, 1965, and impacted ill the crater Alphonsus on March 24. A successful terminal maneuver performed on Banger IX brought the resolution of the final pictures to 0.4 m; a total of 5814 pictures was obtained from this mission. A brief loss of telemetry during Ranger VIII's midcourse maneuver, apparently caused by a conducting particle forming a temporary short circuit in the spacecraft radio, was the only significant anomaly observed ill the two flights. The initial accuracy of the Ranger IX launch made it possible to defer the mid- course maneuver 22 hr; the actual impact was within 5 km of the selected aiming point. VIII JPL TECHNICAL REPORTNO. 32-800 h INTRODUCTION The Ranger VIII and IX missions were the last two channels continuously to lunar impact. In all, 7187 pic- flights of Ranger Block III and of the Ranger series. They tures were received and recorded. At 09:57:88, the space- were conducted February 17-20 and March 21-24, 1965, craft impacted the Moon at selenographic 2.7°N latitt, de respectively. Each spacecraft was launched from Complex and 24.8°E longitude. 12 at the Air Force Eastern Test Range (AFETR), Cape Kennedy, Florida, and boosted to injection by the Atlas/ Agena launch vehicle. The AFETR downrange tracking B. Ranger IX Mission Summary and telemetry stations and other facilities supported the Ranger IX liftoff occurred at 21:87:02.456 GMT, March early portions of the flights. Space-flight operations were 21, 1965,
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