Atlas Centaur AC-2 Press Kit

8/8/2019 Atlas Centaur AC-2 Press Kit

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NEVWS RELEASENATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION400 MARYLAND AVENUE, SW, WASHINGTON, D. C. 20546TELEPHONES: WORTH 2-4155 -------- WORTH3-6925FOR RELEASE: SUNDAYNovember 24, 1963

RELEASE NO. 63-254

SECOND CENTAUR FLIGHT TEST (AC-2)SCHEDULED BY NASA

The second test flight of the Centaur space launchvehicle by the National Aero:.autics and Space Administra-tion is scheduled within the next several days. Themission, designated AC-2, will be attempted from CapeCanaveral, Fla., no earlier than November 26.

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In this second developmental flight, Centaur will notcarry a scientific payload. The burned-out Centahr secondstage -- weighing about five tons -- will go into orbit,however, and the weight of a spacecraft will be simulatedby developmental instruments located throughout the vehicleto gather flight performance data.

After burnout and separation of the Atlas booster andsustainer engines, the two second stage engines will beignited and burn for more than six minutes (380 seconds).If this performance is as planned, the empty Centaur stage --weighing about 10,200 pounds -- will be injected into Earthorbit with an apogee of 1,035 statute miles and a perigee of345 miles. This will result in an orbit of the Earth ina little under two hours. The launch azimuth will be 100.5degrees.

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BACKGROUND

Centaur is a two-stage launch vehicle which will takeadvantage of the high energy characteristics of hydrogenas a fuel to perform more complex deep space missions forNASA than have been attempted heretofore. Hydrogen offersmore pounds of thrust per pound of propellant consumed thanany other fuel now used in chemical rockets. It providesabout a 35 percent increase in launch vehicle capabilityover conventional kerosene-type fuels.

Since it is pioneering liquid hydrogen technology inflight, Centaur has broad applications in other major NASAprograms. kydrogen also will fuel upper stages of theSaturn I, I-B, and V vehicles and NERVA--nuclear enginefor rocket vehicle applications.

With its high-energy capability, Centaur will playa key role in launching U.S. scientific payloads of mediumweight. It will be capable of lifting some 8,500 poundsof scientific equipment into near-Earth orbit, 2,300pounds to the Moon, and 1,300 pounds to Mars or Venus.It is planned for use by NASA in launching the Surveyor soft-landing spacecraft to the surface of the Moon and, later,Mariner B spacecraft on missions about the near planets.

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Firs';, however, the vehicle must be proven in flighttest. This is the second of eight planned Centaur vehicletest flights.

Th first was attempted on Mky 8, 1962, and ended 55seconds after lift-off when a weather shield came off thesecond stage and was followed by a rupture of the hydrogentank which resulted in an explosion.

That flight was followed by a criticai reappraisal ofthe Centaur development program. Both gove.. ent andindustry Centaur program management was tightened andresponEibilities were more specifically defined.

Within NASA, Centaur management was transferred fromthe Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Ala. to theLewis Research Center, Cieveland, Ohio, to free Dr. Wernhervon Braun's team at Marshall l r Their vital Saturn develop-mnti work an" to take advantage of Lewis' long experiencein propulsion research.

Under Lewis direction, extensive design changes weremade in the Oentaur vehicle and a vigorous ground testprogram was oegun.

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-5-The At-2 configuration is not the same as the Centaur

which will perform operation missions. To simplifyperformance requirements on this flight, for instance,second stage insulation panels and the nose cone fairingwill not be jettisoned.

In the operational Centaur, the RL-10 engines willhave the capability of being started, shut down andrestarted in space to accomplish changes of direction andvelocity. In the AC-2 mission, however, there will beonly a single ignition of the engines.

Lift-off thrust of the Atlas booster stage is 367,000pounds. The Centaur stage is powered by two RL-10 engineswith a thrust of 15,000 pounds each.

Centaur is a project of the Vehicle and PropulsionPi-ograms Division of NASA Headquarters' Office of SpaceScience and Applications.

It is being developed by General Dynamics/i.stronauticsunder the direction of NASA's Lewis Research Center. The.RL-10 ngines are produced by Pratt anJ Whitney AircraftDivision of United Aircraft Corporation under technicaldirection of NASAb Marshall Space JVlight Center. Launch

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by GD/A will be supervised by Goddard Space Flight Center'sField Projects Branch.

More than 300 other contractors are participating inthe Centaur development effort.

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FLIGHT OBJECTIVES

Major test objectives co the AC-2 mission art to:1. Demonstrate the structural integrity of the

Atlas Centaur vehicle.2. Verify the Atlas Centaur separation system.3. Demonstrate the ability of the Centaur propul-

sion system to be ignited in space and to burnfor 380 seconds.

4. Evaluate the accuracy of the Centaur guidancesystem.

In addition, the mission will serve to evaluate AtlasCentaur vibration, elastic behavior and structural adequacy;determine environmental levels; verify trajectory and orbitparameters; and evaluate performance of major subsystems.

In appearance, the AC-2 vehicle closely resembles thevehicle used for the first Centaur test mission. A numberof significant changes have been made, however, both in thespace vehicle itself and in flight procedures.

One important change is in the engine chilldown pro-cedure -- described in detail later -- which results in anincrease of some 50 pounds of payload. Improved RL-10engines will be used on AC-2, Second stage insulation panels

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and the payload nose fairing, normally jettisoned afterthe vehicle leaves the atmosphere, will remain on through-out the AC-2 mission since no payload is being carried.

A new separation system, consisting of linear-shapedexplosive charges which cut through the interstage adapterand retro-rockets mounted on Atlas will be used for thefirst time. Baffles have been added to the Centaur liquidoxygen tank to prevent sloshing.

To determine how well the flight objectives are methj AC-2, a wealth of information will be radioed back toground stations during the flight.

Of the 1180 data measurements to be radioed fromCentaur, some 320 are devoted to the upper stage. AmaJority oC the upper stage instrumentation will gatherdata on cnginc sequenuing, autopilot operation and structuralbehavior.

The 160 booster stage measurements are primarily torecord the normal functions of engines and guidance systems,plus standard vibration, bending and temperature measurements.

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TRACKING

Centaur will be carefully tracked during powered andorbital portions of its flight to obtain information on itsperformance.

Initial tracking down the Atlantic Missile Range willbe done by stations at Cape Canaveral, Antiqua, Grand Bahama,San Salvador, and Ascension Islands.

Following injection into orbit, a 960 megacycle beaconattached to the Centaur stage wili be tracked for its ten-hour lifetime by the Deep Space Network of stations locatedat Johannesburg, South Africa; Woomera, Australia; and Gold-stone, Calif. This network is operated by the Jet PropulsionLaboratory which is contracted to NASA by the CaliforniaInstitute of Technology.

DSN is the network which will be used to track theSurveyor spacecraft when Centaur launches this spacecraft onits lunar missions.

Precision tracking data for a longer period of time willbe supplied by the Smithsonian Astrophysical observztory'sworld-wide network of Baker Nunn cameras.

This tracking data will be used to accurately determineparameters of orbital injection at the time of burnout whichin turn will be a measure of the performance of the vehicle.

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LAUNCH COMPLSX 36

Launch Complex 36 now comprises two pads. AC-2 will belaunched from 36A which was used for the first time on May 8,1962: when tIe first Centaur test flight was attempted.Construction on 36B was begun last March under direction ofthe U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and it is due for completionin late 1964.

Each ptd will include a service tower, propellant storagetanks and transfer lines and numerous electric ':stems to testand activate the vehicle, to fuel it by remote control, andto launch it. They will share a common blockhouse.

With the comple4tion of 36B, the Centaur program will havea dual launch capability so that one vehicle can be ready forlaunch while a second is being prepared for a mission.

The launch will be conducted by cD/A under direction ofthe Goddard Space Flight Center's Field Projects Branch whichacts as launch systems manager for the Lewis Research Center,

This is Field Projects Branch's firs; launch operationwith the Centaur but is has logged 19 strELight successes withthe Delta vehicle. FPB acts as launch operations systemsmanager for all NASA unmanned spacecraft at Cape Canaveralwhich use the Atlas Agene (except for Gemini target vehicles),Atlas Centaur or Delta vehicles.

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FLIGHT SEQUENCE

The first stage portion of the Centaur flight Is similarto that of the normal Atlas rocket. The booster's three mainengines and two verniers are ignited on the pad and the vehicleis released. After about 15 seconds of flight, the vehiclewill begin a progrwnmed pitchover, or tilting. The launchasimuth will be 100.5 degrees to make effective use of track-ing facilities.

After more than two minutes of powered flight, Lhe twomain engines are Jettisoned. The sustainer engine continuesto provide thrust. First stage power ends after nearly fourminutes of flight.

Insulation panels around the second stage fuel tanksserve to keep liquid hydrogen boiloff at an acceptable levelwhile on the pad and during flight through the atmospherewhen peak aerodynamic heating is encountered. The insulationpanels and nose cone fairing, the latter designed to protectthe payload, will be Jettisoned in later flights, but willremain a part of the AC-2 second stage throughout the mission.

At the time of Atlas sustainer engine cutoff--about fourminutes after liftoff--the Atlas will be separated from Centaurby linear-shaped charges, which cut through the int3rstageadapter, and eight retrorockets mounted on the aft end ofAtlas. Thi. will occur at an altitude of about l!O miles.

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-12-Immediately following Atlas/Centaur separation, Centaur's

two RL-10 engines will be ignited and burn for about 380seconds. This will place the Centaur in an eccentric earthorbit with a 1035 statute mile apogee and 345 mile perigee.

For the LG-2 mission, the hydrogen-oxygen engines willbe ignited only once, to demonstrate successful ignition andburn. During later missions, Centaur will fly into a parkingorbit about the Earth, coast until it is in the most advan-tageous position for & lunar or deep space trajectory, thenrestart its engines to accelerate the vehicle to escapevelocity.

In addition to the new separation system, a second majorchange in the Centaur flight sequence has been made sincetransfer of the project to the Lewis Center. Previously,because of aerodynamic heating during time on the pad andflight through the atmosphere, the boost pumps for the RL-10engines required a 24-second chilldown period followingAtlas/Centaur separation. This was accomplished by pumpingliquid hydrogen through the pumps and overboard, whichresulted in a payload loss of 3A pounds per second of pre-start time.

A new procedure premits chilldown of the pumps withliquid helium prior to launch, thus reducing the inflightprestart chilldown time to about four seconds.

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-13-VEHICLE DESCRIPTION

The Centaur space vehicle is a multistage, high-energy,liquid-fueled launch vehicle combining a modified Series DAtlas with a Centaur second stage. Both stages are of aconstant 10-foot diameter and use stainless steel tank con-struction developed for the Atlas program. The entire vehiclemaintains its shape through pressurization.

All main engines and the Atlas verniers are gimballedfor directional control.

The entire vehicle is 10 feet in diameter and 109 feethigh. Its fueled weight is about 300,000 pounds.

First StaoThe Centaur first stage is a modified Series D Atlas

space booster similar to that used for Mercury and Agenaprojects, except that the tapered nose has been eliminatedto accommodate the second stage. A 10-foot diameter inter-stage adapter and separation system have been added.

Two booster engines and one sustainer engine are poweredby liquid oxygen and a type of kerosene called RP-1. Theyare produced by the Rocketdyne Division of North AmericanAviation. In addition to the main engines, two small verniersprovide directional control. A total of 367,000 pounds cfthrust is produced in the first stage.

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The standard Atlas radio guidance is eliminated since anew inertial guidance system is carried in the second stage.

The first stage is about 60 feet in height, plus the13-foot interstage adapter. Fueled, the stage weighs about260,000 pounds.

Second Stage

The second stage, 28.5 feet in length and ten feet indiameter, weighs about 38,500 pounds fully fueled, plusseveral hundred pounds of insulation around the fuel tankto prevent excessive liquid hydrogen boiloff.

The second stage is powered by two Pratt and WhitneyRL-10 engines of 15,000 pounds thrust each. They are capableof being shut down and re-started during flight. Theseengines burn liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen.

Small hydrogen per-ox-1e rockets mounted on the peripheryof the second stage provide additional thrust for propellantullage control as vell as attitude control during coastperiods.

The payload, guidance and electronic equipment aremounted on the forward bulkhead of the liquid hydrogen tankand are protected by a plastic fiberglass nose fairing whichis jettisoned after the vebicle leaves the atmosphere.

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Guidance

The ve.itaur vehicle is controlled in flight by a singleinertial (self-contained) four-gimbal guidance system. Min-iaturization.of these inertial components, built by Minneapolis-Honeywell Regulator Co., allows an advanced, overall light-weight platform. In addition, each stage has its own autopilotcontrol system.

The guidance system was originally designed for theprecision task of launching a 24-hour synchronous communi-cations satellite but has been adapted to the current Surveyorsoft-landing lunar mission and Mariner planetary fly-bye.

The guidance system is calibrated before launch andcorrection factors are stored in the computer memory. Duringflight the guidance system provides steering commands to theAtlas sustainer and the Centaur stage. For the AC-2 flightthe guidance system will be flown "open loop"; that is, steer-ing commands will be monitored by telemetry for evaluationpurposes, but they will not steer the vehicle, Vehicle steer-ing will be accomplished by a program stored in the Centaurjrogramimer. This procedure is accurate enough for a testflight like AC-2 where the actual orbit achieved is notimportant.

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The inertial guidance system is comprised of five boxesmounted on the forward end of the Centaur stage. The 30-pound inertial platform has four gimbals, three gyros forstabilization and three accelerometers for measurements. The18.3-pound platform electronics unit contains amplifiers,resolvers, and relays. The 60-pound pulse rebalance unitcontains the accelerometer rebalance circuits and the systempower supply. The 65-pound computer consists of memory andarithmetic sections. The 9-pound signal conditioner processesinformation about the guidance system operation and feeds itto the telemetry system for post flight evaluation on theground.

RL-10 EngineTwo RL-10 engines are used to power the second stage of

the Centaur launch vehicle. Using liquid hydrogen and liquidoxygen as propellants, each engine generates 15,000 pounds ofthrust for a total of 30,000 pounds. The RL-10 is the firstsuch high-energy engine developed by the United States forspace applicatf on.

The RL-10, developed by Pratt & Whitney Aircraft Divisionof United Aircraft C-rporation, is under the technical directionof the NASA Marshall Space Flight Center. Six of these engineswill be used in the upper stage of the Saturn I vehicle.

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-17-The RL-10 dces not look like an evolut:onary step in

engine design from the outside, but the advances in internalengine design are immense. One such advance is multipleutilization of the fuel. Most rocket engines use a portionof the burning propellant to drive gas generators. Thesegenerators in turn drive the pumps to move the main body oipropellant to the thrust chamber.

The RL-10 eliminates this cycle. Liquid hydrogen at423 degrees below zero enters the cooling jacket around thethrust chamber. Inside the thrust chamber, hydrogen and oxygenare burning at temperatures around 6,000 degrees F. The hydrogenin the outer jacket cools the engine wall, protecting it fromthe destructive heat of the mixture buring inside. As itremoves heat from the engine, the hydrogen becomes a gas.

This gas, still cold at 100 degrees below zero, is expandedthrough a turbine to furnish the mechanical power needed topump more liquid hydrogen into the combustion chamber. Thesame turbine also furnishes the power to keep liquid oxygenflowing through pumps toward the thrust chamber. Thus, hydrogenserves two purposes before it is burned. It 3ools the thrustcnamber and drives the pumps in a "boot strap" system. It isburned only in the thrust chamber where it produces usefulthrust.

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-18-The RL-10 has a nozzle area ratio of 41 to 1, that is,

the nozzle's exhaust area is 40 times as large as its throat.It operates at a nominal chamber pressure of 300 pounds persquare inch.

Work on the RL-10 began in 1958. Seven months later thefirst engine thrust chamber was actually tested. Extensivetesting--more than 700 firings for an accumulated time of morethan 60,000 seconds-- followed.


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-19-LIQUID HYDROGEN

Hydrogen in its natural gaseous state has been known asa major element of our atmosphere for almost four centuries.Men have been trying to use hydrogen to fly for almost halfthat time -- since 1766 when the English chemist HenryCavendish announced that hydrogen or "inflammable air" waslighter than air.

Twenty years after Cavendish's work, the first "charliers"began to bob about in the skies above France. Named for theirinventor, J. A. C. Charles, these hydrogen balloons fell intodisuse when the explosive qualities of hydrogen became apparent.Hydrogen was not widely used again until the dirigible era thatended abruptly with the fatal flight of the Hindenburg in 1937.

Now, as a liquid fuel for Centaur, hydrogen has again en-tered the propulsion scene. But this time research and develop-ment preceeded the use of hydrogen. In fact, an entire newtechnology has been evolved for handling, controlling and utiliz-ing hydrogen in its liquid form.

Supercooled to 423 degrees below zero, this colorless, odor-less liquAd is powerful -- and tempermental. It must be kept atits cryogenic temperature of -423 degrees or it will vaporize.It is very lightweignt -- only one-fourteenth as heavy as air.

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As long as ignition is avoided, liquid hydrogen is chemicallyinert in the presence of all common materials including air, oiland oxygen. It is nontoxi ., nonirritating and noncorrosive. Itdoes not deteriorate or decompose from long-term storage.

Mixed with liquid oxygen in a rocket engine, hydrogen willprovide about 35 per cent more thrust for every pound than theconventional kerosene-type rocket fuels. In short, it is anideal rocket fuel.

NASA's Lewis Research Center did much pioneering work indeveloping the new technology for liquid hydrogen. In 1953, theLewis Center was far enough along in liquid hydrogen work to firean experimental liquid hydrogen/liquid oxygen engine with 5000pounds of thrust.

A decade later, in 1962, Lewis was assigned technical manage-inent of Centaur -- the evolutionary step between conventionalrocketry and high energy fueled vehicles. Centaur faced manyproblems in the beginning. Many on these problems demanded so-lutions near or even beyond the current state-of-the-art. But,as the problems were studied and clearly defined, they were metand solved.

One such problem centered around the rapid boiloff and violentexpansion of liquid hydrogen exposed to heat. Fuel storage tanksmust be carefully shielded from friction heat, the heat of the en-gines and even the warming rays of the Sun.


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-21-The cryogenic temperature requires tank construction

materials that will not freeze, become brittle and fail underthe stresses of space flight. The production of large quantitiesof liquid hydrogen require new processing systems, new storagecfacilities and new means of transporting the sensitive fuel.

Behavior ot liquiA hydrogen under weightlessness was anotherunknown and vital question. It is hoped that development flightslate in tl e Centaur R&D program will provide more vital informationon the weightlessness problem. Does the liquid hydrogen gatheraround the walls of a half-filled tank? Will it pass throughthe pumps into the ignition chamber? Is the shielding adequateto protect it from violent boiloff in the increased heating nec-essary in lift off? How does it behave during steering maneuvers?During coasting?

Zero gravity fields can be simulated for brief times in air-craft or drop towers. But most of these questions can be completelyanswered only in actual flight.

Chemical rockets such as Centaur are the backbone of NASA'scurrent program. But taming liquid hydrogen for use in chemicalengines is a stepping stone toward the eventual use of liquidhydrogen in nutclear rockets. The lightweight, cold liquid hydrogencan be passed through a nuclear reactor. As it passes through, itheats up and the resulting hot gas can be expanded through a rocketnozzle to provide thrust.

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Although Centaur is pioneering in practical use of thenew liquid hydrogen technology, its potential as a rocketfuel has been known for a long time.

In 1903, Konstantin Tsiolkovsky, a Russian theoretician,wrote "Treatise on Space Travel,'.' urging that a rocket engineusing liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen be built.

Six years later, Dr. Robert Goddard, the American rocketpioneer, listed liquid hydrogen in his notebook as an excellentpotential rocket propellant. He further proposed a method forregenerative cooling of a hydrogen engine. In 1910, he announcedthat it might be possible to produce hydrogen and oxygen on theMoon. Recent research tends to confirm this. NASA scientistsspeculate that reactor-powered rockets of the future may landon the Moon or planets and convert their reactor to a power plantfor processing Moon minerals into fuel for the return trip.

In 1921, Dr. Goddard fired a gaseous hydrogen rocket.Literary interest in liquid hydrogen continued through these earlyphases of'rocketry but liquid hydrogen was still a laboratorycuriosity and not available in the quantities necessary for actualexperimentation.

In 1945, the first significant firing of a liquid hydrogenengine occurred at Ohio State University. Two years later,

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-23-Aerojet-General Corporation developed a 3,000 pound thrustengine using liquid hydrogen. Then in 1953, the NationalBureau of Standards solved another problem with liquid hydrogenby devising a nethod to keep it from rapidly evaporating instorage.

As interest in liquid hydrogen grew, it oecame more available.The first production-line plant for liquid hydrogen began operationin 1947. Its output was a low 12 pounds an hour.

When Pratt and Whitney received the contract to buildCentaur's RL-10 engines, the U.S. Air Force built the firsttonnage production facility next to the P&W Florida Researchand Development Center in West Palm Beach. This facility takescrude oil and natural gas, breaks it down into hydrogen gas,carbon dioxide, and other products and then refrigerates andpurifies the hydrogen. The end product -- liquid hydrogen --is believed to be 99.99999 per cent pure, rankingz it among thepurest materials known tr, man.

The current interest in liquid hydrogen is well-indexed byits consumption. In 1961, industry, university and governmentresearch used six million pounds of liquid hydrogen. In 1963, thefigure is nearly six times greater -- 35 million pounds. Estimatesfor 1966 run as high as 95 million pounds.

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Lightweight hydrogen has been called the ultimate fuel.The Sun itself "burns" hydrogen in its internal thermonuclearreactions that provide light and heat to our solar system.Fusion rockets duplicating the energetic reactions of the Sunare in the infancy stages of research but hydrogen will findmore immediate use in nuclear rockets.

With additional research and the Centaur development pro-gram, liquid hydrogen will develop to the desired end-pointwhere the now-exotic fael will become commonplace.

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-25-TEST PROGRAM

4Because of the many problems to be overcome in developinga space vehicle system employing liquid hydrogen technology,Centaur is being subjected to one of the most extensive groundtest programs in the history of U.S. rocketry.

Ground test facilities are being used at the Lewis ResearchCenter, General Dynamics/Astronautics in California, Pratt andWhitney in Florida and Connecticut and at subcontractor facilitieslocated throughout the country.

At GD/A, maJor Centaur test facilities are located in threeareas: Pt. Loma, Sycamore Canyon and Edwards Rocket Test Site,near Edwards Air Force Base.

At Pt. Loma, near San Diego, a multiple test stand facilityis in operation conducting cryogenic tests of propellant tanks,structural tests of tanks, insulation panels and nose fairings,dynamic tests of separation systems, and functional tests of coastphase attitude control systems.

At Edwards Rocket Site, a heavy-walled propulsion typevehicle is used for exhaustive captive firing.

Full-duration captive firings of the complete Centaur vehicleare conducted at Sycamore Canyon near San Diego to verify functionaloperation of all airborne systems, plus development of launchcountdown procedures.

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Ultimate in the Centaur ground test program will be aCombined Systems Test Stand (CSTS) now under construction forNASA at GD/A, San Diego, where both the Atlas and Centaurvehicles are produced.

The $6 million CSTS, scheduled for completion in late 1964,will permit cGmplete pre-launch ground testing of the Centaurvehicle and Surveyor spacecraft prior to shipment to CapeCanaveral. It is anticipated the facility will reduce consider-ably time-on-the-pad required prior to Centaur missions.

In the CSTS, the Atlas will be horizontal. Centaur, withSurveyor mounted on top, will stand vertically near the Atlas.All three systems will be mated electrically and will functionas if on an actual mission.

Prior to completion of CSTS, an interim combined systems teststand is in use at GD/A to check out the Atlas-Centaur combinationwith the Surveyor payload.

At the Lewis Research Center's Plum Brook Station nearSandusky, Ohio, a full-scale Atlas booster has been erected andis undergoing a series of structural dynamic tests to determinehow it will react during flight through the Earth's atmosphere.A second stage test vehicle will be mated to Atlas in late 1963to continue structural testing of the Atlas-Centaur launch vehiclesystem. Shortly thereafter a dynamic model of the Surveyor space-craft will be mated to Centaur for complete combined systemstesting. -more-


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-27-Centaur engineers at Lewis have modified an altitude

wind tunnel, now called a space power chamber, to accommodatea Centaur test vehicle for extensive environmental testing.Engine and electrical systems will be tested in a simulatedspace environment up to Centaur engine ignition. These testswill continue for possibly two years with the vehicle beingmodified periodically.

A second area in the space power chamber was used to con-iuct Atlas-Centaur separation tests using a full-scale "whalebone"Atlas configuration and a mock-up Centaur vehicle. These tests,conducted at a simulated altitude of 97,000 feet, successfullydemonstrated a new method of separation using flexible linear-shaped charges and eight 500-pound thrust retrorockets mountedon the aft end of Atlas. This system is being tested for thefirst time in actual flight on the AC-2 mission.

Lewis engineers also used the Center's 10 x 10-foot supersonicwind tunnel to study hydrogen venting characteristics of a 1/10thscale model of Centaur.

The RL-10 engine has been fired extensively in Lewis'Propulsion System Laboratory altitude chamber, which can be ex-hausted to simula-e approximately 90,000 feet altitude. A singleRL-10 engine can be gimballed while under test. Pre-launch chill-down of the engine pumps with cold helium also was studied in thechamber. -more-


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-28-Pratt and Whitney test facilities at its West Palm Beach

Research and Development Center include two horizontal single-engine stands and a vertical dual--engine stand for test firings.All three stands have steam ejector systems to simulate altitudeconditions.

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PROGRAM PARTICIPANTSThe Centaur project is under the overall direction of

NASA's Office of Space Science and Applications, headed byDr. Homer E. Newell. Dr. Richard B. Morrison directs theLaunch Vehicle and Propulsion Programs Division.

Technical direction of the project is under NASA's LewisResearch Center, Cleveland, Ohio. Dr. Abe Silverstein isDirector of Lewis. Bruce T. Lundin is Associate Director forDevelopment. David S. Gabriel is Centaur Project Manager.

Prime contractor for Centaur is General Dynamics/Astronautics,San Diego, Calif. Grant L. Hansen is a vice-president of GD/Aand Centaur program director.

Technical direction of the RL-10 engine is the responsibilityof NASA s Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Alabama.RL-10 project manager for MSFC is Rodney Stewart.

Associate prime contractor for the RL-10 is Pratt and WhitneyDivision of United Aircraft Corp., Hartford, Conn. The engine isassembled and tested at P&W's West Palm Beach, Fla., plant. P&W'sproject manager is Gordon Titcomb.

Centaur launches will be supervised by Goddard Space FlightCe.'.er's Field Projects Branch, Cape Canaveral, under Lewisdirection. Robert Gray is in charge of Field Projects Branch.

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Under Lewis contract, Space Technology Laboratories.,Redondo Beach, Calif., has provided technical support to the 4Centaur program by evaluating vehicle and ground supportequipment design and performance in order to better determinerequirements of the development program.

The guidance system was developed by Minneapolis-HoneywellRegulator Co., Minneapolis, Minn., and the system's computer byLibrascope Division of General Precision, Inc., San Marcas, Calif.

The MA-5 first-stage propulsion system was built byRocketdyne Division of North American Aviation, Inc., CanogaPark, Calif.

Boost pumps for the RL-10 engines were designed and builtby Pesco Products Division, Borg-Warner Corp., Cleveland, Ohio.Turbines for the boost pumps are built by General Electric Co.,Lynn, Mass.

Bell Aerosystems Co., Buffalo, N.Y., makes the attitudecontrol rockets for the second stage and the hydrogen perioxidepropellant tank.

Telemetry equipment is provided by Texas Instruments, Inc.,Dallas, Tex.; Collins Radio Co., Dallas, Tex.; and Motorola, Inc.,Scottsdale, Ariz.

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Atlas Centaur AC-2 Press Kit

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