Volume 19, Number 1 OUEST 2012 THE HISTORY OF SPACEFLIGHT QUARTERLY

Congratulations and Earthbound Pioneer Good Luck from the (Explorer 6) Prime Launch Team

Rockets and the Bumper 8: Red Scare First Launch on Cape Canaveral

How General Dynamics Integrated Gemini Memories the Cape Contents Volume 19 • Number 1 2012

3 Letter from the Editor Book Reviews

Features 54 Falling Back to : A First Hand Account of the Great 4 Congratulations and Good Luck from the and the End of the Cold War Prime Launch Team: Book by Mark Albrecht Review by Howard E. McCurdy , Technologies, Bureaucrats, and the Grumman Crew at 55 Soviet Robots in the Solar System: By David Clow Mission Technologies and Discoveries Book by Wesley Huntress Jr. and Mikhail Ya. Marov 30 Rockets and the Red Scare: Review by Roger D. Launius Frank Malina and American Missile Development 1936—1954 56 Apollo 12: On the Oceans of Storms By James L. Johnson Book by David M. Harland Review by David West Reynolds 38 Earthbound Pioneer (Explorer 6) By Gideon Marcus 58 Defence and Discovery: Canada’s Military Space Program 1945—1974 49 How General Dynamics Integrated the Cape Book by Andrew B. Godefroy By Tom Leech Review by David Christopher Arnold

59 Psychology of Space Exploration Oral Histories Edited by Douglas A. Vakoch Review by Hunter Hollins 18 Bumper 8: First Launch on Cape Canaveral 60 The Red Rockets’ Glare: Spaceflight By Roger Launius and Lori Walters and the Soviet Imagination 1857—1967 36 Thoughts on the ’s Final Flight Book by Asif A. Siddiqi Review by Roshanna P. Sylvester

Archives & Museums 62 Spacesuit: Fashioning Apollo Book by Nicholas de Monchaux 52 Gemini Memories Review by Doug;as N. Lantry 63 Archives and Museums Sacred Space Cover Photo Credit 64 Left. Apollo 5 on the launch pad—Frame ap5-onpad-noID Book by Douglas E. Cowan Credit: The Project Apollo Image Gallery Review by Roger D. Launius Right. Apollo 5 launch—Frame apmisc-S68-19459HR Credit: The Project Apollo Image Gallery

Q U E S T 19:1 2012 1 EARTHBOUND PIONEER (EXPLORER 6)

By Gideon Marcus 1958.2 3 was essentially conceived in one STL’s next big project involved an marathon meeting in late 1958. STL On 4 October 1957, the Soviet ambitious program of two flights to engineer John Taber recalled his role in Union made history with the launch of Venus—into as permanent satel- that pivotal moment: Sputnik 1, the first artificial . lites, if possible. One was a 36-kg craft Less than a month later, the Soviets launched by the already-proven Thor- When we were trying to get that trounced their own accomplishment by Able. The second, to be launched by the first Explorer 6 together, they hadn't launching a 500-kg capsule, complete new Atlas Able, combined the Able developed a project management with a canine cosmonaut. The free upper stages and the then-unreliable group. There was a big meeting, and world was already two steps behind in Atlas ICBM. These spacecraft were one of the guys, Bill Russell, a fellow the newly-minted “space race.” completely unprecedented. No one had in high middle management, said, Shortly after the launch of Sputnik ever tried communicating with a space- “John, why don't you get this thing 2, engineers at Ramo-Wooldridge (RW), craft over the 40 million-km trek such a going?” I hadn't realized that I could America’s premier ICBM developer, mission would entail. Only the Soviets do that. I didn't know I was supposed conceived a booster system that could had ever launched as massive a satellite to be in charge! So I said, “Okay— beat the Soviets to the next goalpost in as the one that would fly on the Atlas let’s look at this. What kind of the space competition. By mating the Able, at the time expected to weigh over weight can we get into orbit with the Thor IRBM with the second and third 130 kg. By comparison, Pioneer 0-2’s rocket?” and the orbital people stages of the Navy’s Vanguard rocket weight was less than 40 kg. The devel- replied. I asked, “Power people— (together known as, “Able”), STL engi- opment schedule was aggressive. The how much power can you generate?” neers believed the United States could smaller craft was slated to launch on 3 ‘Depends on the weight,’ was the launch a small probe toward, and even June 1959. Its larger sister would blast reply. The experimenters wanted to into orbit, around the . RW spun off on an Atlas Able just four days later. know what the communications data off a division for the project and called it The accelerated timeline was designed rate would be. All of this information Space Technology Laboratories (STL). to take advantage of the favorable was traded off, and we developed a Motivated by the desire to beat the Earth/Venus alignments, which only best guess of what the spacecraft Soviets at their own game, and over- occurred every 19 months. Both space- design would look like. This tradeoff flowing with Air Force funds, within 12 craft would arrive at Venus in November all happened at one meeting, a few months STL had launched three mis- 1959. hours long.4 sions on its Thor-Able booster. None of The Venus probes were so ambi- them made it to the Moon, but the sec- tious that STL decided there was a need The design that came out of the ond of them soared to an altitude of to walk before running. An Earth-orbit- meeting was half revolutionary, half 113,800 km on its 11 October 1958 ing test bed probe was conceived, which evolutionary. Able-3 used the same flight, and the third returned some valu- would carry essentially the same experi- booster as its predecessors. Its experi- able scientific data about the newly dis- ment load-out as Pioneers 0-2, but test mental payload was almost identical to covered belts of ionized particles sur- the Venus probe telemetry and power that of . In fact, Able-3 was rounding the Earth. systems. The Thor-Able Venus probe viewed as an opportunity to properly Even as the three-mission project would be adapted from the test bed satel- showcase all of the technology that had known as Able-2 (Able-1 was a series of lite.3 This bridge design was called Able- not been fully utilized in the Pioneer pro- Thor-Able nosecone tests launched in 3, and the Venus probe project was gram.5 By November 1958, STL had early 1958) came to an end in November called Able-4. There was no time to accumulated an impressive armory of 1958, plans were already underway for waste, however; Able-3 would be devel- experiments, but none had flown for an even more ambitious successor pro- oped concurrently with Able-4. more than a day. With its long-term, gram, one that would keep the Air Force Able-3, conceived as a bridge, highly eccentric orbit, Able-3 offered the in the civilian satellite launching and became a star in its own right. This arti- perfect opportunity to map the still large- development business.1 Without such a cle is about that inadvertent robotic hero ly unmapped Van Allen Belts of trapped program, it was feared that the military of the early space race. high-energy particles, discovered in would be shut out entirely with the for- January 1958 by . mation of the new National Aeronautics Paddlewheel Probe It was there that the similarities and Space Administration in October The fundamental design for Able- between Able-3 and Able-2 ended. Their

Q U E S T 19:1 2012 38 shapes were fundamentally different: Pioneer had been a gem-shaped, battery- powered spacecraft. The 26-inch diame- ter, 29-inch deep Able-3 looked like a windmill or desk fan, with power pro- vided by four paddlewheels, which extended in flight to capture the Sun’s rays and convert them into energy. The paddles were covered with silicon solar energy converter cells manufactured by Hoffman Electronics Corporation, simi- lar to those that had been proven the pre- vious year by , which was still active at the time Able-3 was being developed. There were 210 modules, each with 100 photoelectric cells, con- verting the Sun’s rays with about 10 per- cent efficiency (far lower than what is achievable today). Each module provid- ed 3/4 watt of power.6 Each photocell was fitted with a glass filter to shield it 7 from UV. STL engineers work testing and integrating Explorer 6 components. To convert the power generated by Courtesy of John Taber. the solar cells into something usable by the spacecraft’s systems, Able-3 used tion. between Able-3 and its predecessors was three static converter power supplies Instead, Able-3 employed a new the way it talked to the world. Every manufactured by the Engineered kind of system: it was studded with satellite has a myriad of data to commu- Magnetics Division of Gulton Industries, dozens of little propeller-shaped devices nicate back to Earth. In addition to based in Metuchen, New Jersey. The painted in alternating black-and-white. results from the suite of experiments, first provided a total of 5.2 watts for 10 Their action was strictly mechanical. As they broadcast data on the voltage and outputs delivered on eight channels. The the sun heated their mounts, wire coils current produced by their solar cells, net second converter provided continuous inside expanded, causing the propellers voltage and current in and out of the bat- power output rating of 3.4 watts, with to expose their white surfaces. This teries, fuel level, internal temperature, the ability to step up to 62.5 watts for a action reflected the sunlight and cooled etc. The closest Venus ever comes to five-minute period every 10 hours. The the spacecraft. When the wire coils Earth is about 40 million kilometers. As third converter delivered rated power of cooled, they contracted and exposed of the end of 1958, no one on Earth had 311 watts. In conjunction with these stat- their black surfaces. This effect, in turn, ever built a telemetry system that could ic converters, Gulton Industries Alkaline absorbed sunlight. STL engineers made work at such great distances. The FM Battery Division furnished a supply of sure this system worked in flight by telemetry system that had been used in nickel-cadmium, hermetically sealed, installing a photocell in place of one of Able-2 (originally developed for rechargeable batteries. These rugged bat- the propeller’s black surfaces. When it Vanguard, Explorer 1, and other early teries, capable of high peak currents, was exposed, the cell converted sunlight American ) was woefully insuf- were designed to outlast conventional into an electrical impulse that was sent ficient. Digital telemetry, a brand-new batteries by as much as a factor of 20.8 back to ground tracking stations.9 concept, was to be used for the first time. All spacecraft have to deal with The Thor Able rocket had three Compared to the analog case, dig- the difficult thermal conditions of oper- stages. The previous Able-2 series car- ital communications have a number of ating in outer space. The prior Pioneer ried a fourth stage onboard: it was a advantages at multiple levels. Digital spacecraft (0-2) regulated their internal solid-fuel retrorocket designed to slow systems are better at rejecting noise. It is temperature through their specialized the satellite into lunar orbit. Able-3 did also much easier to detect and correct pattern of paint, optimized for each mis- not need anything so large, but a small errors in a digital system. In an analog sion. Able-3 had a projected lifespan solid-fuel orbit adjustment rocket was system one uses analog circuits to measured in years rather than days and included for last-minute adjustments to remove unwanted high- or low-frequen- needed something more elaborate. As the probe’s orbit.10 cy noise and to smooth over any irregu- with its predecessors, space and weight larities in the output signal. However, were at a premium. This precluded an A Long-Range Telemetry System these steps are just guesses; a low-pass internal, electric cooling/heating solu- The fundamental difference filter removes all high-frequency infor-

Q U E S T 19:1 2012 39 from STL proper. Four or five engineers did not want to go and transferred to STL. As a result, Able-3 ended up with a very fine communications staff.11 The new digital telemetry system was called “Telebit,” developed by STL engineers Bob Gottfried, Charlie Stephens, and Art Gold.12 Previous telemetry systems relayed data to the ground the moment it was collected. Data was not processed in any way on the satellite and was a constant drain on the spacecraft’s batteries. The new Telebit system stored and tallied data while the transmitter was turned off. Analog data was passed to Telebit from experiments and converted to digital form. Digital events, like micromete- orite strikes, did not require conversion. The total information was then transmit- Payload engineers Paul Coleman and George Takahasi. ted to a ground station in a lump along Courtesy of John Taber with various spacecraft diagnostic meas- urements. mation, regardless of whether it is noise stars visible; other times it would take a Telebit also allowed for flexible or valid (but unexpected) data, and picture of a planet with lots of detail in transmission rates, depending on range errors that even vaguely resemble data the frame. An analog system always and power requirements. When a space- often get passed along to the output. uses the same amount of time and band- craft was close to the Earth, it could send A digital system encodes all data width to send these pictures. In a digital data at 64 bits per second. Further out, into numeric values, which are transmit- system, one can select from a variety of when more power was required to gener- ted as a stream of binary digits. It tends lossy or loss-less compression tech- ate a signal that could be heard back to reject noise since there are only two niques to reduce the bandwidth needed home, data could be sent at 8 bits per valid output states, zero or one. If a sig- for the picture. second or even the glacial rate of 1 bit nal does not look like a zero and does not Thus, digital data allows more per second. Without Telebit’s ability to look like a one, then it is noise. Ideally efficient use of the limited bandwidth store data between transmissions, such a a digital system transmits no data instead that is available. For example, compres- slow rate of transmission would be use- 13 of bad data, but when errors do occur, sion of the data could be used to transmit less. zeros are received in place of ones or more data using the same amount of Telebit, essentially an onboard vice-versa. This kind of error is very time and bandwidth as the analog sys- computer, was only possible thanks to amenable to detection and correction tem. It is also easier to fit voltage and the miniaturization afforded by transis- with mathematical algorithms. For temperature measurements into a digital tors. Components were mounted on example, parity bits and checksums can data stream. small print circuit boards and encased in be used to detect errors, and more Finally, digital data is typically light foam rubber. These little modules, sophisticated approaches can actually very amenable to digital analysis. It the ancestors of integrated circuits, were 14 correct errors in the data. does not have to be digitized before it then interconnected. The next advantage is that digital can be processed, and it is generally in a With Telebit onboard, Able-3 had data is very amenable to compression format that can be easily manipulated. the most advanced communications sys- and other information-concentrating This reduces the number of human oper- tem of any satellite yet developed. STL techniques. Digital data is particularly ations between the time of collection of engineers also installed a conventional useful for TV cameras and other high- data and its delivery to the final analysis. FM telemetry system so the perform- bandwidth devices. Even though every Development of the digital ance of Telebit could be analyzed on an a TV camera produces might telemetry system got a bit of a windfall apples-to-apples basis. Able-3 was also always have the same number of pixels, as a result of internal reorganization in the testbed for a new transmission fre- no two images would contain the same STL. During the development of Able- quency. The standard 108 MHz system amount of information. Sometimes the 3, the Controls, Computers, and could not produce a high enough gain camera would be taking a picture of Communications Divisions was moved (directivity of signal) to be heard all the deep space, all black with only a few to the Canoga Park facility to separate it way from Venus, at least with existing ground antennas. (The higher the fre- Q U E S T 19:1 2012 40 quency of an antenna, the higher the gain.) As a testbed for Able-4, Able-3 was equipped with a UHF transmitter operating at an unprecedented 378 MHz. The FM telemetry system used a pair of standard VHF transmitters broadcasting at the established frequency of 108.06 and 108.09 MHz. Telebit used the 378 MHz transmitter.15 In addition to potentially enabling communications across interplanetary space, the new transmitter also solved a problem inherent in the 108 MHz sys- tem. The VHF system used a technique known as “phase lock” to keep the fre- quency steady. Phase lock actually required two frequencies, one for down- linked telemetry and one for uplinked commands. The two frequencies were Explorer 6 exterior. Courtesy of John Taber. both multiples of some fundamental fre- quency, and the fact that they were relat- ed kept either of them from drifting out The frequency of the UHF trans- receive radio waves with the strength of of sync. Each acted like two singers of a mitter was kept secret, partly as it was just one billionth of a billionth of a watt. barbershop quartet, making sure the being used by the Air Force for other, The sensitive antennas could measure other did not get out of tune. classified projects, and partly just to the Doppler shift on the received/trans- The problem was, just as every keep other parties from deliberately or mitted frequencies to track Able-3’s musical note is really composed of infi- accidentally interfering with the space- velocity with incredible precision.18 nite overtones or fractions of itself, craft’s command frequency.17 Outside contractor Radiation Inc. dependent on the frequency (pitch) of designed and built the two technically the tone, every transmission contains Ears on the Ground challenging multiplexers within just fractional frequency transmissions. In If Able-3 was an opportunity to three months.19 the 108 MHz system, one of the over- use experiments that had never been Radio receivers for tracking were tones of one of the phase lock frequen- fully utilized in the early Pioneers, it was provided by Motorola. Stationed in pairs cies was equal to 108 MHz. This meant also a chance to use the worldwide track- less than a mile apart, they used the dif- that there were times when both teleme- ing network (the first of its kind) devel- ference in time of reception of Able-3’s try and command frequencies were iden- oped for those lunar explorers. Stations signals to determine the satellite’s posi- tical, and the system locked up. No one had been set up in Los Angeles, Florida, tion. Motorola also designed and pro- had bothered to fix the system as not Manchester, Singapore, and Hawaii to duced the telemetry receivers for Able-3, many commands were actually being ensure 24-hour tracking of Pioneers 0-2 which received a large assortment of sci- sent to early satellites using the 108 MHz as they zoomed toward the Moon (see entific and other data from the satellite. system. STL engineers did not try to fix Gideon Marcus, “Pioneering Space,” This equipment was among the most the system for Able-3, either, as they Quest: The History of Spaceflight [sum- advanced of its time.20 knew it would not be used in Able-4. mer 2007: Vol. 4, No. 2]). Gilfillan Bros. of Los Angeles, However, they did use that lesson to The 60-foot antenna at Hawaii's known since the 1920s for their radios build a better system: for the 378 MHz Kalae field and the enormous 250-foot (and since World War II for their radars), antenna, the frequencies were given a dish antenna at Jodrell Bank in was contracted to provide on very short 16/17 ratio to prevent such interference. Manchester, England, were equipped notice the precision frequency synthesiz- As a result, the uplink frequency was with a new device called a ers; multichannel frequency generators; 401.625 MHz.16 “Multiplexer”—a series of traps and fil- minimal phase distortion, high video fre- The 378 MHz transmitter was a 40 ters that allowed simultaneous reception quency amplifier units; and sub-carrier watt system, and it required more power and transmission of the two-phase lock demodulation equipment needed to sup- than the batteries could supply. It was frequencies from the same antenna with port ground transceiver equipment. thus planned to only use the transmitter a minimum of feedback from one circuit Transistor technology, still in its infancy, 1.5 out of every 6 hours. Onboard mem- to another. Antennas equipped with this was being incorporated into the UHF- ory units would store experimental data multiplexer could transmit radio waves band system.21 in the interim. at 10 kw power and simultaneously The brand-new Calabasas,

Q U E S T 19:1 2012 41 Courtesy of John Taber.

California-based Rantec Corporation various tracking installations run by Teams from the University of provided four, 15-foot, sensitive helical STL. Five Hallamore trailers supporting Iowa, the University of Minnesota, and antennas for the steerable receiver at systems integration of the new Able-3 the University of Chicago were asked to Redondo Beach. Rantec also provided guidance systems were parked at Cape submit experiments, which were essen- five helical antennas, which were placed Canaveral.24 tially duplicates of the ones they had at stations around the world for accurate contributed for Pioneer 2. By 1962, tracking of the satellite's position.22 NASA affiliates like JPL and universities Space Electronics Corporation, Experiments had started to dominate spacecraft pay- based in Glendale, California, was sub- The payload team for Able-3 was load development as they perfected their contracted to make a new lightweight largely the same group that had built the lobbying and trained their personnel, but and rugged radio transmitter, part of a experiment and electronics package for at the beginning of the space race, pay- new guidance system employed in the the first three Pioneers. There were load construction was still the province Thor-Able’s second stage. Over 10 10–15 STL engineers, with Charles of the R&D departments of the various times lighter than equipment previously (Chuck) Sonett as manager and Stuart military contractors like Ramo- available in the ballistic missile family, it Baker as a lead engineer. About 40 per- Wooldridge, McDonnell Douglas, and was developed and produced in less than cent of the STL group was new to the Lockheed. The result was a complicated five weeks after receipt of contract. company, some having joined specifical- partnership between for- and non-profit Eight were delivered.23 ly to work on non-military, scientific entities. Hallamore Electronics Company projects. A more extreme example was Able-3 was tasked with the first was again tasked with systems integra- Paul Coleman, who went to work on the comprehensive mapping of the newly tion of all of the new tracking, telemetry, magnetometer. A physics graduate stu- discovered (Van Allen) belts of high and guidance systems incorporated in dent who interviewed with STL on a lark energy particles, which seemed to sur- the Able-3 experiment suite. This after his roommate stranded him in round the Earth. The data from Pioneer involved upgrading the equipment con- California on vacation, he was seduced 1 suggested that an could sur- structed for the Pioneer 0-2 missions and at his interview by a sneak peak at the vive in these belts for several hours, but stationed throughout the world at the newly completed Pioneer payload.25 these meager results were far from con-

Q U E S T 19:1 2012 42 clusive. had offered a tantaliz- tion stations, spanning both American was another hot topic in the late 1950s. ing glimpse into the structure of these continents, was set up for 24-hour activ- At the time Able-3 was being developed, belts, suggesting that they extended from ity during Able-3’s flight to corroborate the prevailing view was that this field 1,000 to 58,000 kilometers above the the spacecraft's findings.29 extended some 5 to 7 Earth radii during Earth with peak intensities at altitudes of In addition to the instruments that quiet periods, descending to perhaps 2 to 4,200 and 16,700 kilometers; but directly measured the incidence of high- 3 Earth radii during geomagnetic Pioneer 1 had only made two trips energy particles, Able-3 was designed to storms—massive fluctuations in the through the belts. Able-3’s was to be use one-way transmissions from its two Earth’s magnetic field with, as scientists launched into a highly eccentric orbit, transmitters to indirectly measure the of the time were just discerning, an which would carry it through the entire- electron density of the space the space- extraterrestrial source. Scientists ty of the Van Allen belts twice a day for craft traveled through. The idea was believed solar flares created a shower of months.26 simple: normally, the Doppler shift due particles known as the solar wind, which To that end, a Geiger-Mueller tube to motion of the satellite would be then crashed into Earth’s magnetic field, and ionization chamber experiment, sim- expected to be exactly proportional to pushing the barrier between the solar and ilar to those flown on and the frequency of the transmission, but the terrestrial fields (called the magnetos- Pioneers 0-2, was provided by the presence of electrons in the probe’s phere) inward, causing beautiful aurorae University of Minnesota to give an vicinity could cause a measurable and disruptions of radio communica- account of the absolute flux of particle change to that Doppler shift; there would tions. radiation, from X-rays to Alpha particles. be a larger effect at low frequencies that Scientists hoped to find evidence The two-pound device used 120 milli- at high ones. Studying the shift of the of a ring current at high altitudes, an watts of power. STL also provided a two widely separated frequencies (the electric current carried by charged parti- radiation counter in the form of a scintil- VHF transmitter operating at 108 MHz cles along Earth’s magnetosphere. lator, a sensor that flashed when struck and the UHF transmitter operating at 378 Pioneer 1 had failed to find any on its by an ionized particle. A photomultipler MHz) could provide a measure of elec- 1958 trip, but that spacecraft had only tube measured the flashes and an elec- tron density.30 made one passage through the magnetos- tronic amplifier then sent the data to the Another experiment using the phere and back, and that was done in the antenna for broadcast. The scintillator spacecraft’s transmitters was developed daylight during a geomagnetically quiet weighed three pounds and used 150 mil- for Stanford University by the Stanford period.33 There was elusive evidence for liwatts of power.27 Research Institute and Develco Inc., a this ring current in the form of a magnet- The University of Chicago team, small electronics manufacturing contrac- ic anomaly discovered by the Soviet comprised of John A. Simpson and Peter tor. It involved the satellite’s VLF (Very lunar probe, Mechta, launched in Meyer of the University’s Encrio Fermi Low Frequency) radio receiver and a January 1959. This phenomenon was Institute for Nuclear Studies, and Charles ground-based VLF transmitter operating found at about 4 Earth radii above the Y. Fan, an engineer from Chicago at 15.5 kHz from Navy radio station NSS surface.34 Midway Laboratories, contributed a Annapolis. Able-3 would pick up broad- A thorough mapping of the terres- four-pound, 200-milliwatt, proportional casts from the Annapolis transmitter as it trial magnetic field was in order, and counter encased in 5 millimeters of lead took off, and return data to ground Able-3 was equipped with a magnetome- similar to the one that they had provided regarding the signals’ propagation ter to do just that. It was even hoped that for Pioneer 2. This experiment intended through the various layers of the atmos- Able-3 would fly out of the Earth’s mag- to catalog incident particles exceeding a phere. The spacecraft would also pick netic field entirely and explore the inter- certain kinetic energy (protons in excess up natural VLF transmissions. Of partic- planetary field. Pioneer 1 had done just of 75 MeV and electrons in excess of 13 ular interest were “whistlers,” low fre- that a year before, finding the boundary MeV), which would give an indication quency radio signals caused by lightning at about 13.5 Earth radii. Of course, as to the general energy level of the par- strikes. It was hoped that the experiment Able-3’s planned apogee was only 8 ticles in the spacecraft’s vicinity and, would pick up extraterrestrial VLF Earth radii, so hopes were not overly perhaps, an idea as to their origins (ter- sources as well.31 The device weighed high.35 restrial, solar, or galactic). An identical 0.5 pounds and used 86 milliwatts of As in Pioneers 0-2, the magne- system was scheduled to fly on the power.32 tometer was a two-part experiment. The upcoming Able-4 deep space missions. A third propagation experiment first component was a search-coil device The experiment on Able-3 would thus act involved the amplitude and phase fluctu- (a simple device—literally, a wire-coil as a kind of control against which to ations of VHF transmissions in the iono- hooked to an electrical current meter measure the results of the counter carried sphere. For this one, Able-3 would work whose readings would change as the on interplanetary missions. It would in conjunction with two receivers at the spacecraft spun) weighing 1 pound and then be possible to determine which National Bureau of Standards using 22 mw of power. The second com- events were local to the Earth, and which Laboratory in Boulder, Colorado. ponent was a flux-gate device (a twin- were wider in scale.28 The Fermi The Earth’s magnetic field, caused coil system, which measured magnetic Institute’s network of detec- by the spinning of the planet’s iron core, fields by detecting changes to a known Q U E S T 19:1 2012 43 alternating current that was fed into the Able-3 and several engineering teams began to shift from “getting it launched” experiment). This latter component were placed at his disposal. In this way, to “getting it right.”45 weighed 2.2 pounds and consumed 160 Able-3 was kept separate in the manage- As a result, the development mw.36 STL engineer Darrell Judge ment structure.41 George Muller, project schedule slipped. By the end of 1958, developed the search coil experiment, manager for Able-1 and Able-2, was the February probe was rescheduled for while Paul Coleman and Chuck Sonett Able-3’s first project manager. The job September 1959, after the planned Able- built the flux-gate device. Also like the later went to engineer Paul Glazer.42 4 launch date. The Able-3 launch earlier magnetometer, the experiment With an eye toward keeping devel- planned for April was pushed back to 8- used a series of switched amplifiers to opment time short, Able-3 was built, as May. In May, that flight was delayed cover a wide spectrum of field strengths much as possible, from off-the-shelf again, this time to 7-August, and the as no one analog to digital converter of components, which were especially used September launch was postponed indefi- the time had sufficient range to do so.37 in ground operations where weight was- nitely (and as it turned out, permanently, A 0.7 pound, 24-mw piece phase n’t an issue. Not everything could be although the payload was used for exper- comparator was developed by STL to bought at the local hardware store, how- iment testing purposes on the ground).46 measure the phase relationship between ever; spacecraft telemetry equipment This delay killed any chance of getting the output of a photoelectric diode (pre- and the satellite’s onboard transmitters Able-4 launched in time for the 1959 sumably the one relaying temperature and receivers, not to mention the experi- alignment with Venus, and the next one information) and the search-coil magne- ments, all had to be built from scratch by did not come until February 1961. As a tometer. This setup provided informa- STL or by subcontractor companies. result, the Atlas-launched Able-4 was tion on the direction of the horizontal Able-3’s development ended up redesignated a lunar probe set for mid- components (parallel to the Earth’s sur- being a slower process than its Pioneer November, and the Thor-launched Able- face) of the magnetic field around the ancestors. The original schedule, 4 was sent off as a deep space explorer spacecraft.38 designed to support Able-4’s launch to with no planetary destination (later Space dust, a perennial worry in Venus that summer, outlined two Able-3 known as , launched on 11 the early days of the space program, was launches in February and April 1959. It March 1960).47 measured by a micrometeorite sensor, was not long before STL engineers Lengthened deadlines or no, there similar to the one launched on Pioneers found that they had a host of technical was still a space race to be won, not just 0-2, developed by the Air Force hurdles to overcome, which were greater against the Soviet Union, but against Cambridge Research Center. The device than they had first conceived, particular- rival developers, particularly STL’s step- weighed in at 0.7 pounds and consumed ly the development of the long-range sibling across the valley, Jet Propulsion 70 mw of power. telemetry system designed to work as far Laboratories. JPL was associated with The much maligned TV facsimile out as Venus.43 The slowdown was also Caltech and was a direct affiliate of system, which flew with Pioneer 2 with caused by a change in management. In NASA, whereas STL was a contractor a bandwidth of 1 Hz, was scheduled to October 1958, all civilian probes fell for the Air Force. Both JPL and STL had fly again on Able-3. Its goal was to take under the auspices of the new National raced for the Moon in 1958. In 1959, a picture of the Earth, a 5-mile-wide strip Aeronautics and Space Administration. STL still had the technical lead. John at a time, imaging the planet as it spun. This change had little effect on Pioneer Taber recalled an information-exchange The strips would then be assembled by 2, whose booster just got a new paint conference with JPL engineers where hand later. The device had the virtue of job, replacing the letters USAF with they showed their lunar probe (eventual- being light, weighing in at just 2.5 NASA. Able-3 was another story. It was ly the marginally successful Pioneer 3, pounds. It consumed 231 mw.39 to be the first satellite program over which flew in December 1958). Taber All in all, the experiment packages which NASA had executive control was shocked at the probe’s small dimen- cost around $5 million to develop.40 (despite continuing heavy Air Force sions and presumed it was a model involvement), and there was a lot of before he was assured that it was the real Development learning to be done on their part.44 probe. Still, JPL was NASA’s shop and Able-3 might have been a civilian There was also starting to be a fun- thus favored. Moreover, it was only a mission, but STL was primarily a mili- damental change in philosophy. The matter of time before JPL would narrow tary contractor developing missile com- had been marred with the technological gap with STL.48 ponents. The politicians wanted to keep problems. With the launch of Sputnik 1 As had happened during the devel- NASA programs isolated so they could now more than a year in the past, there opment of Pioneers 0-2, STL engineers be as “clean” as possible. This diversion was less of a frantic impetus to get some- were still often putting in 15-hour days, was facilitated by STL’s matrix-style thing up in space as quickly as possible. seven days a week. They weren’t just organization. STL had engineer groups As the launching of satellites became developing Able-3; they were concur- from various technical disciplines who routine for STL, and with STL’s (and the rently developing and assembling Able- could be assigned to any project. A pro- Air Force’s) role as a civilian space con- 4. So they ate in the company cafeteria gram manager was assigned to head tractor reasonably secure, the emphasis and did not sleep much. Meetings were

Q U E S T 19:1 2012 44 called at 2 a.m.—and they were well lunar probes) and two attended.49 Paul Coleman, the experi- “Explorers.” The Explorer ment engineer who managed the con- name was originally attached struction of the spacecraft’s magnetome- to Wernher von Braun's ter describes the rigor of the experience launching crew at the Army as akin to being back in the military. Ballistic Missile Agency. The Balancing this heavy load was the gener- Army counted the failed al level of excitement. Everybody felt as launches as well as the suc- if they were part of something historic. cesses; thus, when NASA was “People would have blood running down created in October 1958, there their cheeks and loving it,” Coleman had been five Explorers, even remembers.50 Despite the grueling though only two of them (1 schedule, somehow the development and 4) had been successes. team found time for fun, too. NASA made Explorer the “I would...work all day long, go project name for all of its get a bite to eat, go back to work. Get small orbital satellites, and home at ‘Dark Thirty.’ We were all Explorer 6 was next in line. young punks and so we had plenty of Able-3 was almost ; energy. We’d carouse and raise hell,” but a JPL-built satellite Coleman reminisced in an interview. launched 16 July 1959 failed “We worked hard and played hard. I to make orbit, and NASA look back and can’t imagine how we sur- abandoned the practice of giv- vived, but everybody did.”51 ing numbers to failures.54 Not only did STL engineers have At 10:23 a.m., 7 August to build the satellite from the ground up, 1959, after several technical Thor 134 (with Able second and third stages) is read- every one of its 100,000 separate com- holds (but none for weather), ied for launch. Courtesy of John Taber ponents had to be tested. They were sub- Thor-Able 134 blasted off jected to numerous environmental tests from Cape Canaveral’s Pad 17A with transmission was commanded off and on 57 to simulate the harsh temperature and Explorer 6 at its head. The Thor first again 15 minutes after launch. atmospheric conditions it would stage, plagued during the earlier Pioneer The VLF transmitter experiment encounter during its flight. They were series with a balky turbopump, which worked as planned, returning data up to exposed to temperature ranges from -10 made every launch a game of Russian an altitude of 160 km. A sharp drop-off to +140 degrees Fahrenheit; they were roulette,55 was now a reliable piece of in signal reception marked the edge of also exposed to near vacuum for days on hardware. It functioned nominally the ionosphere at about 67 miles up, con- end; they were hooked up to a shake through Explorer 6’s ascent, blasting firming what sounding rockets had device, which produced vibrations from from Florida at a heading of 48 degrees learned beforehand. Although no extra- several to several thousand cycles per from true north, its course corrected by terrestrial sources were discovered in the second to simulate launch.52 onboard gyros. The first stage ultimate- data collected, the experiment did help Despite this rigorous testing, and ly splashed down 1,500 miles down- refine the models of how Whistler-mode even with the more-realistic production range, northeast of Bermuda. The sec- signals propagated through the iono- 58 schedule and increasing push for quality ond and third stages also functioned sphere. and accuracy, compared to today’s stan- properly (the Smithsonian Astrophysical On reaching orbit, the explosive dards the focus was still on hasty pro- Observatory reported that its camera bolts designed to move the photocell duction rather than flawless perform- tracking team at Arequipa, Peru, had “paddle wheels” into position failed to ance. “The systems were not as accu- photographed the empty third stage at a work as planned, the paddles having rately checked [as they are today],” Paul height of about 5,000 miles),56 and been fouled in the cord that had held 59 Glazer commented nearly 50 years later. Explorer 6 was delivered into orbit. them down under the fairing. This “Quality control was sort of adequate but The spacecraft itself was invisible was a design problem rather than a qual- 60 you can’t do things today that we did to the naked eye from the ground, cov- ity control problem. As a result, one then and expect to get away with it.”53 ered as it was by its black silicon cells, of the “paddle wheels” did not deploy but the tracking station at Manchester properly, with a resultant loss in regener- The Flight of Explorer 6 picked up the satellite’s UHF and VHF ative capability of the solar energy con- By August 1959, the United States transmissions 12 minutes after launch, version system—initially 63 percent of had already successfully launched sever- and Singapore began receiving signals nominal. Power production only al satellites. These included two Navy 40 minutes after launch. In accordance dropped from there over the life of the Vanguards, five Pioneers (JPL and STL with the prescribed plan, the satellite’s spacecraft. The decreased power caused a lower signal-to-noise ratio, particularly

Q U E S T 19:1 2012 45 when Explorer 6 was near apogee,61 but explained dryly at the press conference previous lunar probes and low-altitude not such that any of the experiments on 28 September 1959, where the pic- satellites. were rendered unusable. The battery ture was unveiled. The first week of flight was a quiet charge current was lower than planned, The result was something that one, geomagnetically speaking. The however, limiting the lifespan of the could barely be called a photograph, one radiation fields Explorer 6 traversed satellite. with several gaps where transmission were stable. They were, however, quite While the planned orbit for had failed. There was virtually no detail, a bit less radioactively intense than the Explorer 6 was supposed to have an and any correlation with known weather belts that the Soviet lunar probe, apogee of 36,600 km, the spacecraft from the BMD maps was fanciful at Mechta, Explorer 4 and JPL’s lunar actually had an apogee of 41,600 km. best. Press conference reporters could Pioneers (3 and 4) had gone through. In This was not deemed enough to affect barely suppress their frustration as fact, it appeared the bands of charged the mission, and the little “kick-motor” Sonnett evaded question after question particles fluctuated quite a bit—from the was never used to alter Explorer 6’s tra- as to the utility of the system.65 At one maximum observed by on 3 jectory.62 The spacecraft’s perigee was Washington conference, a Goddard March 1959 to the minimum encoun- an atmosphere-scraping 230 km, and the engineer accused, “This is all a fake!” tered by Explorer 6. The other two period of the satellite was 12 hours and “No, it’s not a fake—but it’s pretty lim- flights (Pioneer 3 on 6 December 1958; 42 minutes. The probe rotated on its axis ited,” Sonnett conceded.66 Mechta on 2 January 1959) recorded at a rate of 2.8 cycles per second.63 While Explorer 6 returned enough levels of in-between intensity.68 Battered but functioning, Explorer data to generate more pictures, none At 4:14 Universal Coordinated 6 had made it. The next several weeks of were ever assembled for public distribu- Time on 16-August, Earth was suddenly its operation were an unprecedented tion. The famous picture remained a hit by a big geomagnetic storm, and the boon to science. one-off stunt. Still, NASA (and STL) electron density beyond the interface could claim that they had snapped the between the Earth’s and the interplane- Phototourism first photo of the Earth from space, and tary magnetic fields dropped by two The most accessible scientific at that stage of the space race, every vic- thirds. The torrent of cosmic rays liber- result from the Explorer 6 experiment tory mattered. ated electrons in the Van Allen Belts, array was “The Picture.” The little TV sending them streaming down to Earth camera (that barely could), actually to make lovely aurorae visible from the worked as planned. For 40 minutes on ground. They also released a shower of 14 August 1959, at an altitude of 19,550 X-rays, which Explorer 6 dutifully miles above the equator, Explorer 6 measured, collecting data over a far scanned a picture of the Earth at the rate wider range of altitudes and coordinates of one pixel every third of a second (one than had ever been possible (before pixel per satellite rotation).64 After 64 Explorer 6, the data-collection instru- rotations (producing 64 pixels of one of ment of choice was the high-altitude bal- eight varying degrees of brightness), loon). The storm lasted until 18-August Explorer 6 sent a synchronization signal and was followed by an increase in so that each line of pixels might be sep- observed radiation levels.69 arated into sequential strips. The tapes First photo of Earth from On 21-August, Explorer 6's ion of data were then flown to Los Angeles Explorer 6. Credit: NASA chamber stopped returning data, making for processing. it more difficult to determine the energy On the ground, project lead Stu Mapping the Belts of particles impinging on the spacecraft. Baker was responsible for reducing the Explorer 6’s four particle detec- The next day, the Sun erupted into a analog data to digital form. By calculat- tors (the scintillation counter, the propor- high-intensity noise storm, the result of ing the position of the Sun relative to the tional counter, the Geiger counter, and electrons flung at high velocity through Earth at the time, the picture was being the ion counter) recorded the density and the Sun’s magnetic fields. It lasted sev- taken and consulting a current weather character of incident charged particles eral days. On 23-August, the space- map provided by BMD ground stations, (electrons and protons) as the spacecraft craft’s UHF transmitter failed, but the it was possible to assemble a photo of soared through the inner and outer Van redundancy between the two systems sorts. It was an extremely ad hoc Allen belts twice a day. Explorer 6 ensured continuous operation of the process: each photo strip began at the passed through the outer belt a record satellite.70 The STL scintillation count- rim of the Earth, but there was no way to 113 times—it had only been passed er failed just after the start of another accurately gauge how each strip should through five times before by four differ- magnetic storm which lasted from 3-4 line up with the others. “That is a priori ent satellites.67 The result was a detailed September.71 The Geiger counter con- assumption that you have to make, that map of a region which heretofore had tinued to return data, however, reporting the Earth is curved,” Chuck Sonnet only been sporadically essayed into by another magnetic storm on 20-

Q U E S T 19:1 2012 46 September.72 Further analysis of that a more direct means of measuring a test of antisatellite technology. The Explorer 6’s data revealed there had propagation was desirable. The experi- missile was launched at an altitude of been minor storms on 9-August and 20- ment officially ended on 23-August, 10,700 m (35,000 ft) and successfully August.73 with the failure of the spacecraft’s 378 passed within 6.4 km (4 miles) of the The University of Chicago’s MHz UHF transmitter.78 satellite at an altitude of 251 km (156 experiment gave tantalizing and seem- The spacecraft’s magnetometer miles), a feat confirmed via telemetry ingly contrary hints about the impact of did yeoman’s work investigating Earth’s and visual tracking by ejected flares and magnetic storms on the outer Van Allen magnetic fields. Out to 5 Earth radii, the radar.86 Belt. During the 16-August storm, there experiment confirmed that the fields Even in death, the silenced space- was an increase in the energy of the par- conformed to predicted theoretical val- craft, tracked optically, yielded valuable ticles Explorer 6 encountered in the outer ues. Beyond, however, in the 5 to 7 information on the perturbing influence belt followed by a gradual decline (the Earth radii distance, the fields were of the Sun and Moon’s gravitational direct opposite of what was observed by prone to strong fluctuations, even on fields. Explorer 6’s eccentric orbit, the other particle detectors).74 STL’s geomagnetically quiet days.79 It was in reaching the highest apogee yet attained scintillator addressed that mystery: while that unstable region that Explorer 6 by an artificial satellite, rendered it more the other instruments were primarily found the predicted electric “ring cur- subject to lunar and solar perturbations responding to high energy electrons (> 1 rent.”80 The spacecraft did not confirm than any prior probe. According to com- MeV) or to the radiation emitted by the the anomaly discovered by Mechta,81 puter simulations run by Dr. Yoshihide magnetic braking of such electrons nor did it definitively encounter the Kozai of the Smithsonian Astrophysical (known as bremsstrahlung), only the interplanetary magnetic field (which was Observatory, Explorer 6’s lifespan scintillator was detecting lower energy not unexpected as the spacecraft reached should have been more than two decades particles (down to 200 KeV).75 apogee on the “night” side of the Earth even considering atmospheric drag, but But what was causing the increase where the planet’s magnetic sphere the gravity of the Moon periodically in low energy particles? Was this the extended out the farthest).82 dragged down the hapless satellite’s result of fresh particles flooding in from Explorer 6’s micrometeorite perigee causing its orbit to decay prema- interplanetary space? The data suggest- experiment did not augment Pioneer 1’s turely.87 As a result, NASA’s first satel- ed otherwise. What was more likely was data. Although pulses were detected, lite met its fiery end on 1 July 1961, less that particles already trapped by Earth’s some 28 in the first two days,83 these than two years after launch.88 Even as it magnetic field were being sped up dur- were insufficient to yield anything of sci- burned up, it returned yet more useful ing the storm, only to slow down as entific value, and no scientific papers on data, providing information on the densi- Earth’s field recovered and expanded to the data were ever published.84 ty of the upper atmosphere.89 its normal size. Further measurements On 6 October 1959, the power lev- Explorer 6 was an undisputed suc- by more refined instruments were neces- els in Explorer 6 reached a critically low cess at a time when the United States sary to prove the model, however.76 level, due to the incomplete deployment needed space success stories. More The Simpson team’s scintillator of the spacecraft’s paddles on reaching importantly to STL engineers, Telebit also determined that the solar wind orbit two months before. The automatic worked, as did the new transmitter and intensity was modulated not by Earth’s undervoltage cutoff kicked in, shutting the slew of experiments. The road to magnetic field but by vast magnetic down transmissions and rendering the deep space had been paved. With the fields of the inner solar system; cosmic spacecraft mute. Explorer 6 may have completion of the Able-3 project, it was ray counts were similar both beyond the tried to talk to its home at a later time, time to finish Able-4 and send it where magnetosphere (the interface of Earth but ground control was never able to no probe had gone before. and the Sun’s magnetic fields) and at the reacquire a communications link. In all, Earth’s surface.77 Explorer 6 returned some 827 hours of About the Author Using data from Explorer 6's two analog and 23 hours of digital Gideon Marcus is a graduate of the transmitters, the tracking station at telemetry.85 This event did not mark the University of California San Diego his- Hawaii made eight indirect electron-den- end of the probe’s useful life, however. tory department. He is working on a sity measurements between 13-23 comprehensive recounting of the almost August, each session lasting 20-70 min- Happily Ever After? forgotten first days of the U.S. uncrewed utes. The data collected on 13-19 August Shortly after Explorer 6 lost the space program, particularly the Space was unusable due to a weak VHF signal, ability to communicate with its home Technology Lab missions. Previous arti- and the rest yielded data of dubious planet, the Air Force launched a special, cles that have appeared in Quest include: value. The results suggested that the top-secret mission to “reach out and “The Pioneer Rocket” (Volume 13 #4) electron concentration in the vicinity of touch” the silent satellite. On 13 October and “Pioneering Space—Parts I and II” the spacecraft was higher than theoreti- 1959, the last of the 12 Bold air- (Volume 14 #2 and Volume 14 #3). cally expected, perhaps a result of the launched ballistic missiles (ALBMs) 16-August geomagnetic storm, but the was launched from a B-52 on an inter- Notes project director, Carl Graves, suggested cept course with Explorer 6 at perigee as 1 Paul Glazer, interviewed by Gideon Q U E S T 19:1 2012 47 Marcus, 6 March 2010. archive. 45 Gleghorn interview. 2 Paul Coleman, interviewed by Gideon 23 Space Technology Laboratories, Space 46 Scientific Findings from Explorer VI, Marcus, 10 August 2006. Electronics Corporation, STL Press 281. Release, 1959, NASA archive. 3 Space Technology Laboratories, A devel- 47 Space Technology Laboratories, opment plan for 2 interplanetary probes 24 Space Technology Laboratories, Development Plan for Able 3-4, STL (Able 3-4), (Los Angeles, STL, 14 January Hallamore, STL Press Release, 1959, Internal Memo, 1 June 1959, NASA archive 1959), 2-1. NASA archive. in Washington D.C. 4 John Taber, interviewed by Gideon 25 Paul Coleman, interviewed by Gideon 48 Taber interview, 9 November 2009. Marcus, 9 November 2009. Marcus, 16 September 2010. 49 Glazer interview. 5 Chuck Sonett, interviewed by Gideon 26 NASA, Early Explorer VI Findings, Press 50 Coleman interview, 10 August 2006. Marcus, 8 March 2006. release, 15 August 1959. 51 Coleman interview, 16 September 6 Space Technology Laboratories, 27 NASA, Early Explorer VI Findings, Press 2010. Hoffman Electronics, STL Press Release, release, 15 August 1959; Space 1959, NASA archive in Washington DC. Technology Laboratories, Radiation 52 Space Technology Laboratories, Experiments, STL Press Release, 1959, Environmental Testing, STL Press Release, 7 NASA, Explorer VI Launching Vehicle, NASA archive. 1959, NASA archive. Press Release, 7 August 1959. 28 Scientific Findings from Explorer VI 53 Glazer interview. 8 Space Technology Laboratories, Gulton (NASA document SP-54, U.S. Printing Industries, Inc., STL Press Release, 1959, 54 Constance McLaughlin Green and Office, 1965), 220. NASA archive. Milton Lomask, Vanguard A History 29 Space Technology Laboratories, (Washington D.C. NASA 1970), 292; See 9 Space Technology Laboratories, University of Chicago, STL Press Release, http://history.nasa.gov/explorer.html Explorer VI Multiplexer, STL Press Release, 1959, NASA archive. accessed 30 July 2011. 1959, NASA archive. 30 Space Technology Laboratories, 55 Gideon Marcus, “Pioneering Space, 10 Adolph K. Thiel, “The Able series of Explorer VI Experiments, STL Press Part II,” Quest (14:3 2007), 18. space probes,” STL memorandum, 20 May Release, 1959, NASA; Scientific Findings 1960, 2. 56 NASA, Early Explorer VI Findings, Press from Explorer VI, 87. release, 15 August 1959. 11 Taber interview, 9 November 2009. 31 Space Technology Laboratories, Radio 57 NASA, Explorer VI, Press release, 7 12 Davis Dyer, TRW Pioneering Technology Propagation Laboratory, STL Press August 1959. and Innovation since 1900 (Boston: Release, 1959, NASA archive. Harvard Business School Press, 1998), 58 Scientific Findings from Explorer VI, 99- 32 Space Technology Laboratories, 230. 100. Explorer VI Experiments. 13 Thiel, 17-18. 59 Thiel, 18. 33 Scientific Findings from Explorer VI, 14 Taber interview, 9 November 2009. 299. 60 Glazer interview. 15 John Taber, interviewed by Gideon 34 Scientific Findings from Explorer VI, 61 See http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/ Marcus, spring, 2011; NASA, Explorer VI 306. spacecraftDisplay.do?id=1959-004A 15 Launching Vehicle, Press release, 7 August August 2010 35 Scientific Findings from Explorer VI, 1959. 308. 62 NASA, Explorer VI, Press release, 7 16 Taber interview, spring, 2011. August 1959. 36 Space Technology Laboratories, 17 NASA, Explorer VI, Press release, 7 Explorer VI Experiments. 63 Scientific Findings from Explorer VI, August 1959. 279. 37 Paul Coleman, interviewed by Gideon 18 Space Technology Laboratories, Marcus, 10 August 2006. 64 “STL's 'Paddlewheel' Sends TV Pictures Multiplexer, STL Press Release, 1959, From Outer Space,” Sentinel, 1 October 38 Space Technology Laboratories, NASA archive. 1959 Explorer VI Experiments. 19 Space Technology Laboratories, 65 NASA, Satellite Relays Earth Image, 39 Space Technology Laboratories, Radiation Inc STL, STL Press Release, Press Release, 28 September 1959. Explorer VI Experiments. 1959, NASA archive. 66 Chuck Sonett, interviewed by Gideon 40 NASA, Explorer VI, Press release, 7 20 Space Technology Laboratories, Marcus, 8 March 2006. August 1959. Motorola STL, STL Press Release, 1959, 67 Scientific Findings from Explorer VI, NASA archive. 41 George Gleghorn, interviewed by 253. Gideon Marcus, 15 March 2010. 21 Space Technology Laboratories, 68 Scientific Findings from Explorer VI, Gilfillan Bros., STL Press Release, 1959, 42 Glazer interview. 117. NASA archive. 43 Taber interview, 9 November 2009. 69 Scientific Findings from Explorer VI, 22 Space Technology Laboratories, 44 Glazer interview. 119. Rantec, STL Press Release, 1959, NASA

Q U E S T 19:1 2012 48 70 NASA, Scientific Findings of Explorer VI, 78 Scientific Findings from Explorer VI, 87- 86 See http://www.designation-systems. Press release, 28 September 1959. 89; See http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/ net/dusrm/app4/ws-199.html, accessed experimentDisplay.do?id=1959-004A-09 30 April 2010. 71 Scientific Findings from Explorer VI, (accessed 5 May 2011). 226. 87 Yoshihide Kozai and Charles A. Whitney, 79 Scientific Findings from Explorer VI, “Anticipated Orbital Perturbations of 72 Scientific Findings from Explorer VI, 300. Satellite 1959 Delta Two,” SAO Special 162, 205. Report #30, part 1 (1959). 80 Scientific Findings from Explorer VI, 73 Scientific Findings from Explorer VI, 305. 88 See http://usspaceobjectsregistry. 193. state.gov/registry/dsp_DetailView.cfm? 81 Scientific Findings from Explorer VI, 74 Scientific Findings from Explorer VI, id=12, accessed 30 April 2010. 306. 251. 89 K. Moe; “Absolute Atmospheric 82 Scientific Findings from Explorer VI, 75 Scientific Findings from Explorer VI, Densities Determined from the spin and 308. 263, 265. orbital decays of Explorer VI,” Planet Space 83 The Able series of spacecraft, 18; 76 Scientific Findings from Explorer VI, Sci 1966, Vol 14, 1065 to 1075. August 15, Explorer 6 Update. 251. 84 Scientific Findings from Explorer VI, 12. 77 Scientific Findings from Explorer VI, 214. 85 Scientific Findings from Explorer VI, 279.

HOW GENERAL DYNAMICS INTEGRATED THE CAPE

By Tom Leech And every evening many of those South America with Chevron doing oil same people headed for the dozens of exploration. He was one of several Editor’s Note: An earlier version of this hotels, bars, and restaurants that had members of the “Astro” team who head- article appeared in the San Diego Union, sprung up over the past decade since the ed to the Cape and its West Coast coun- 6 December 1998 as “Never a Vacancy: U. S. missile and space programs made terpart, Vandenberg Air Force Base, The Day San Diego Integrated the Cape Canaveral their central base of whenever an Atlas missile was nearing Cape.” This article illustrates that not all operations. launch. They were responsible for final stones from the space age have been But there was one glaring excep- checkout of the guidance and computer turned over yet. tion to the camaraderie that pulsed software systems, which steered the *** through the space programs. None of the Atlas along its proper path. people staying in those hotels or served Wayman “Mac” McIntosh was a In the spring of 1963, Cape in those restaurants were black. black software engineer and computer Canaveral, Florida, was a hotbed of Represented among America’s finest specialist assigned to Kaukonen’s team. activity for America’s space and inter- technical professionals doing work all A native of the Chicago area, McIntosh continental ballistic missile defense test day long at the Cape were many black had come to Astronautics in 1960 from programs. The Cape was the site of engineers, yet not one of them was able Systems Development Corporation in , the program which had to spend the night in those hotels near the Los Angeles. Mac had traveled to the already placed John Glenn into orbit, and launch base until the day Everett Cape with the team before 1963 for final there were six other Mercury astronauts Kaukonen, a white guidance engineer guidance system checkout. But he never in line ready for their turns. from General Dynamics, decided spent the night near the site. “I would fly These were heady times at the enough was enough and picked up the to Miami,” he said. “All the others would Cape for the engineers, technicians, and phone in his San Diego office. His call fly to the Cape. Then each day I com- scientists from all around the nation who that day brought a swift end to the Cape’s muted 200 miles from Miami to the regularly converged there to get rockets long-entrenched segregation system. Cape.” ready for launch or to make the final That was the start of General Dynamics The program underway in spring tune-ups on complex systems, which integrating the Cape. 1963 was called Project FIRE. Part of the would soon be launched into space. On Kaukonen had hired onto the Apollo program, it was an any given day, thousands of people scur- General Dynamics Astronautics Division early test to make sure the Apollo astro- ried around the many launch sites, block- in 1961, following a tour of duty in nauts could safely reenter the Earth’s houses, and readiness rooms.

Q U E S T 19:1 2012 49