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""NOtl VII.

TGP SECRET BYEMAN

TALENT

KEYHOLEIS) NATIONAL RECONNAISSANCE OFFICE

WASHINGTON, D.C.

OFFICE OF THE DEPUTY DIRECTOR

September 4, 1969

.Dr. McLucas,

The attached report of the HEXAGON

Review Committee was used as the basis for thebriefing given to the NRP Executive Committeeon June 20, 1969. The report has been preparedfor f i le to be avai lable for l a te r review.

d R J e d ~ F. Robert Naka

Attachment Report of the HEXAGON Review Committee

HEXAGON CORONA GAMBITCOMTaOl ,,,0..BX.E.:

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TALENTKEYHOLE

REPORT OF THE HEXAGON REVIEW COMMITTEE

June 20, 1969

GENERAL

This survey of the HEXAGON Pro jec t responds to a DNRO

reques t o f June 4, 1969 to r epor t to the NRP Execut ive Com

mit tee on June 20. The shor t but in tens ive review had th e

ob jec t ives of

Assess ing the probab i l i ty t ha t ani n i t i a l HEXAGON launch date of

December 1970 can be met

Determining th e confidence of missionsuccess fo r i n i t i a l HEXAGON launches

Recommending to the ExCom a plan to

opt imize ex i s t ing co l l ec t ion capab i l i t i e s while minimizing cos t .

The Committee c Robert Naka, DDNRO

des ignee , Chairman; CIA/OSP--the HEXAGON

Sensor Subsystem Pro jec t Off ice (SSSPO); andCol . Lewis S. Norman, J r . , Vice Direc tor of SAFSP.

I t was c l e a r t h a t in the t ime ava i lab le the Committeeshould not a t tempt an exhaust ive t echn ica l review of e i the r

th e HEXAGON Pro jec t or of othe r pro jec t s which could providea capab i l i ty fo r a t ime-phased co l l ec t ion over lap . The

Committee concerned i t s e l f with comprehensive eva lua t ion of

those aspec ts of th e HEXAGON and other pro jec t s which wered i r e c t ly r e levan t to the review ob jec t ives .

CONCLUSIONS AND R£cOMMENDATIONS

Upon complet ion of i t s study, the H E X ~ G O N Review Com

mit tee reached the fo l lowing conclus ions :

HEXAGON CORONA GAMBIT

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TALENTKEYHOLE

The probabi l i ty that the date of thei n i t i a l HEXAGON launch wil l not be

delayed in excess of one month is50 percent , tha t the delay wil l notexceed three months i s 75 percent ,and tha t the delay wil l not exceedsix months is 95 percent .

The confidence of mission success forindividual i n i t i a l HEXAGON launchesis 75 percent .

In view of these circumstances,adequate col lect ion overlap could beprovided i f CORONA launches were

rescheduled from the current ly planned

6 in F'Y 19706 in F'Y 1971

to

5 in F'Y 19705 in F'Y 19712 in F'Y 1972.

No new CORONAs need be bought a t this

time.

Supported by these conclusions, the Committee recommends that :

The HEXAGON Project be funded to theminimum level necessary to meet theDecember 1970 i n i t i a l launch date.

The CORONA launch schedule be revisedto provide for

5 launches in F'Y 1970

5 launches in F'Y 19712 launches in F'Y 1972.

The need for a buy of additional CORONAvehicles be reviewed in December 1969.

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TALENTKEYHOLE

SATISFACTION OF COLLECTION REQUIREMENTS

The Committee f i r s t directed i t s attention to theUnited States In te l l igence Board (USIB) collect ion requirements, specif ical ly those for HEXAGON. In discussions withthe NRO/SOC, it was noted that complete sa t i s fac t ion ofcurrent USIB search requirements i s not achieved by CORONAalone. Increased sat is fact ion could be provided by usinga combination of CORONAs and GAMBITs; HEXAGON wil l providenear 100 percent sat is fact ion. I t was not obvious, however,that the user community considered CORONA collect ion inadequate.

Most of the remaining CORONA vehicles in the inventorywould have a mission l i fe t ime approaching 20 days each com

pared with 15 now general ly flown, therefore the missionl i fe t ime of f ive of the remaining CORONAs i s comparable tos ix or eight of the older CORONAs (approximately 100 missiondays per .ti s e a !",: year) . The Committee was convinced tha tthe i r recommended change in the CORONA launch schedule (seepage 2) would maintain the current level of search col lec t ionsa t i s fac t ion and would extend the period of overlap withHEXAGON. The current HEXAGON and recommended revised CORONAschedules would then appear thus.

CY 1970 CY 1971

J A S 0 N D J F M A M J J A S 0 N D J F

Current HEXAGON IJ /J /J

Revised CORONA lJ fl /J f1

The recommended overlap sa t i s f i es several contingent s i tua t ions involving schedule s l ips and/or unsuccessful f l ights .As long as the f i r s t successful HEXAGON f l ight occurs bySeptember 1971 (a 9-month delay from December 1970), theoverlap with CORONA wil l maintain the current level of search

-------------------cal-l-ection-satisracti-on-.----Extendtng--t edu-l-e-oy---s ix months into FY 1972 wil l require of FY 1972funding. H ~ w e v e r , these funds would not be required shouldsuccessful ~ E X A G O N f l igh ts occur before a l l CORONAs have beenlaunched. .

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TALENTKEYHOLE

The Committee also considered other s teps to insurecontinuance of both search and survei l lance col lec t ion:

A contingent buy of new CORONAs

Refurbishing and flying the remainingGAMBIT (KH-7) payloads

Buying one or two addit ional of thecurrent GAMBIT (KH-8) ser ies , flyingthem a t high al t i tudes against theHEXAGON surveil lance targets (withworst resolut ion equivalent to thebest achievable with HEXAGON), andconcentrat ing the remaining CORONAs

against the most di f f icu l t to sa t i s fyrequirement-- that of semiannual inbloc search.

The l a t t e r al ternat ive vir tua l ly ful ly sa ct ionrequirements. I t would cost an estimated inFY 1971 for addit ional vehicles . The seve n thecurrent program for FY 1970 are in part to provide a backupcapabi l i ty for the GAMBIT Vehicle 23 configuration. I fVehicle 23 is a success, one or more of the FY 1970 GAMBITvehicles can be flown a t high a l t i tude . (No change in theGAMBI T camera is required i f photos are taken a.t a 1 t i tudesof 110 nautical miles or below. Flights above 110 nm would

requi re a modest one-time change to the camera to extend theoperating range of the s lan t range compensat film drive speed. This cost is estimated a t .)However, as GAMBIT was designed as a survei l lance and technica l in te l l igence col lec tor , i t s camera is not sui ted tosearch as are the CORONA and HEXAGON pan cameras. To sa t i s fyboth search and survei l lance requirements would require continuing CORONA. This option best sa t i s f i e s a s i tuat ionwhere HEXAGON is not used.

The second option, f lying the older GAMBIT series payloads, would involve major costs and require a t l eas t

19 months' lead time. The Sate l l i t e Control Network wouldhave to be reoutf i t ted to t rack and command such a vehicle .- --- -- N e w - . A g E : > ~ a s - ~ n d ~ m u c - h - - o u t ...of ....pr-oduc-t-i:on--hardwa-r e - w o u - l d - - b e - ~ - ~ - - - - - ~ - - - - ~ . - - ..

needed. This option was considered clear ly uneconomicaland would not sa t i s fy search requirements.

The f i r s t option is closely al l ied with the Committee'srecommendation to revise the CORONA schedule to insure overlap.

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TALENT

KEYHOLE

I f the revised schedule i s adopted, reorder lead t ime fornew CORONAs does not occur unt i l December 1969. In the

intervening timeHEXAGON

wil l have progressed through severa l major system level assemblies and tes ts , and we sha l lbe in a much bet ter posit ion to determine whether a s l ipin HEXAGON wil l occur. Having had more tes t ing time on theHEXAGON cameras, a bet ter assessment of re l i ab i l i ty couldbe made. The Committee urges tha t a decision to procureaddit ional CORONAs be deferred unt i l December 1969. Shoulda reorder ry, three un mat t o t a l of ; s ix uni ts , .of FY 197 ld probably over i n i t i a lcosts of e i ther a three- or s ix-uni t buy.

PROBABILITY OF MEETING A DECEMBER 1970 LAUNCH DATE

Sensor Subsystem (Perkin-Elmer)

The most c r i t i ca l , and indeed the pacing, HEXAGON component is the sensor subsystem. This Committee receiveddeta i led briefings at Perkin-Elmer, the sensor subsystemcontractor , on progress in design, fabricat ion, and t es t .Of par t icular concern was the fi lm t ransport system, theservo system, the thermal analysis of both the opt ical barsand the two-camera assembly, and the s t ruc tura l analysis.Perkin-Elmer has expended conSiderable e f fo r t in these c r i t i ca l areas. In par t icu la r , a thorough servo analysis ,including the effects of s t ruc tura l and thermally induced

disturbances, lends credence to Perkin-Elmerts convictionthat successful operat ion of the sensor i s highly probable.Thermal analyses were also exhaustive, resul t ing in a verygood understanding of opt ical system performance. Work onthe film t ransport system led to considerable refinementand simplificat ion with consequent improved performance.The Committee also noted that in the s ix months sinceDr. A. F. Donovan of Aerospace Corporation had conducted asystems engineering level audit of HEXAGON (a t General Martin 'srequest) informal assessment of HEXAGON sensor subsystemprogress has been described as "remarkable." In general ,the Comm:ttee was sa t i s f ied that the technical s ta tus ofthe s e n s ~ r was indeed good.

--- -- ----Th-e--\;ommit"tee--a-lso--not-ed- -"tha-t,-after---cons-iderabl-e--e-ffor-t--- - ----on the part of the SSSPO, Perkin-Elmer management had streaml ined the i r in ternal functions to provide t igh te r and moreeffect ive technical management and cost cont rol . The possi ble exception i s in cost management of subcontractors.

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TALENTKEYHOLE

The Committee found no major known problems with thesensor subsystem. Reliabi l i ty causes continued concern,

largely because of the number of electro-mechanicalcomponents of which the sensor is composed--many of whichcannot be made redundant. Since near perfect ion throughexhaustive tes t ing i s the only rea l approach to high re l i a b i l i t y , the Committee believes continued prior i ty emphasishere, as well as with elect ronic components, i s essen t ia l .

Impor tan t ,bu t of lesser concern, i s the question offilm propert ies . Film base thickness varia t ions and filmre la t ive humidity pose di f f icu l t but , in the Committee'sview, solvable problems.

Sate l l i t e Basic Assembly (LMSC)

The next most c r i t i ca l HEXAGON system element, thesa t e l l i t e basic assembly (SBA) , was then examined. The SBAcontractor , Lockheed Missi les and Space Company (LMSC), hashad much experience in spacecraft design, manufacture, andt e s t ; and few unknown problems are expected. In the caseof the SBA, problems are largely engineering in nature andseveral solutions are avai lable .

The Committee did not consider re l i ab i l i ty a majorproblem, for the SBA i s composed of many components that

can be made funct ional ly or otherwise redundant. Certaincomponents, such as the orb i t adjus t engine and the propell an t tankage, are not redundant; but they represent currents ta te -o f - the -a r t and can be made demonstrably qui te re l iab le .

Not so obvious are the incipient problems of operat ingthe spacecraft as an ent i ty . Past experience points to theprobabil i ty tha t system problems wil l ar i se . Time is necessary for the i r resolut ion. LMSC, as sa te l l i t e in tegrat ingcontrac tor , i s aware of th is s i tua t ion . LMSC and Perkin-Elmermust exhib i t close cooperation i f major system problems areto be avoided. System level engineering analysis and auditare lagging; should th is cont inue, some system problems maybe discovered in terms of damaged hardware from sneak c i r

cui ts and unsuspected t ransients ra ther than from errors onengineering drawings. These circumstances are the greates t- - c - a u s ~ e - - o r u n - c - e r - t a T i r t y - a D o u t - - m e e t - i n g - - t n e - e s t a D I i s h e a ~ D e c e n f o e F

1970 i n i t i a l launch date.

After considering a l l factors , the Committee is confi dent that with adequate funding HEXAGON can meet the i n i t i a l

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TALENT

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December 1970 launch date. As s ta ted in the conclusions onpage 2, the Committee agreed with the SSSPO evaluation of

possible schedule delays.A

lesser funding level wouldimmediately produce a launch s l ip but no greater confidencein a firm i n i t i a l launch date (for , though emerging problemsmight be solved during a sChedule s l i p , there is no guaranteethat the problems would reveal themselves in a timely fashion) ,However, only those aspects of the system associated withsuccessful launch and operation of the basic sensor subsystemneed be funded a t levels necessary to achieve the December 1970i n i t i a l launch date. Other elements of the system (such asthe ter ra in camera, associated integrat ion costs , and i t soperat ional software costs) can be deferred without any effec ton the basic HEXAGON vehicle .

CONFIDENCE OF MISSION SUCCESS

Factors assuring success of the f i r s t HEXAGON missionsare wedded to those factors assuring achievement of a speci fied i n i t i a l launch date. However, before a useful est imateof all-system success can be determined, i t is necessary

To examine each major system element fori t s impact on probable mission success

To assess the c r i t i ca l technology

To evaluate expected launch and f l igh t

condit ions.

Sensor Subsystem

The sensor subsystem represents the greates t advancein new technology. I t i s a complex redundant mechanism whosesuccessful operat ion depends on excellence of functionaldesign and thoroughness of tes t ing. I t s most c r i t i c a l com ponents--those associated with the film t ransport and i t sal l ied servo system--are of new, untr ied designs. We believethe intensive at tent ion given to these system aspects impartsa high confidence of successful operat ion. The Committeeassesses the s ingle shot probabil i ty as 88 percent that thesensor wil l survive the launch environment and operate for30 days with acceptable opt ical performance--if not perfect lywithin specif icat ion.

Sate l l i t e Basic Assembly

The sa t e l l i t e basic assembly represents current s ta te of- the-a r t . However, it i s an ent i re ly new s t ruc ture ,

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conta in ing some here tofore un t r ied hardware - - i . e . , th e prope l

l a n t tankage with i t s gAller ied fue l l i ne s . The bas ic s t ruc

t u re i s very long and qu i te f l e x ib l e , both in tors ion andbending modes. The f i lm supply mounting i s s t a t i c a l l yinde te rmina te , which de fea t s r i g i d s t r u c t u r a l ana lys i s .

Hence, a thorough t e s t ing program of f l i gh t -qua l i t y hardwarei s e s s e n t i a l to s t ruc tura l in tegr i ty and to determinat ion ofmodes of s t ruc ture mo.vement which might be coupled in to the

sensor . For tuna te ly , guidance and co n t r o l , t e l eme t ry , command, power ( inc luding so la r a r rays ) , and o r b i t ad jus t enginehave had (or wi l l have) considerab le pr io r f l i g h t exper ience ,

These systems also are more amenable to func t iona l redundancy.Based on these fac to rs , th e Committee assessed the s ing le shot

probab i l i ty tha t th e s a t e l l i t e bas ic assembly w i l l survive the

launch environment and opera te acceptably fo r 30 days in o r b i t

as 90 percen t (probably conserva t ive) .

Launch Vehicle

The launch veh ic le , Titan II ID, i s a d i f f e r e n t conf ig

ura t ion of th e Titan booste r family ; i t s major d i f fe repce

i s t ha t the Ti tan t r ans t age i s n ot used. Other componentsof th e Ti tan IIID have been thoroughly f l i g h t t e s t ed andproved. Because of pas t exper ience with th e launch veh ic le ,

the Committee assesses the s ing le shot probab i l i ty o f

success fu l Titan IIID operat ion throughout the launch phaseas 95 percen t (probably conserva t ive) .

Recovery Vehicle .

The f i na l e s se n t i a l element i s the success fu l func t ion

ing and recovery of each recovery veh ic l e (RV). The HEXAGON

RVs a re new, but are a sca led up "DISCOVERER" shape. Theparachu te design has been flown on the PRIME Pro j e c t and wi l lbe sca led for the HEXAGON recovery veh ic l e s . An extens ive

t e s t program i s under way, including high a l t i t ude drop t e s t sto s imula te a l l recovery sequences occur r ing a f t e r i n i t i a lr e - e n t ry , Again using exper ience as a bas i s , the Committeeassesses as 98 percent the s ing le sho t probab i l i ty t ha t eachind iv idua l recovery vehic le survives th e launch envi ronment ,opera tes success fu l ly in orb i t fo r i t s pa r t i c u l a r spec i f i ed

l i f e t ime ( the l a s t RV must opera te 30 days in o r b i t ) , and i ssucces s fu l ly recovered.

General Mission Success

The Committee ca l cu l a t e s as 75 percent the s ing le shot

probab i l i ty t ha t each i nd iv idua l HEXAGON veh ic l e w i l l survive

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TALENT

KEYHOLE

launch, opera te acceptably fo r 30 days on o r b i t , and havesucces s fu l f i r s t RV recovery. The assessment fo r a l l fourrecovery veh ic l es places the probab i l i ty of success c lose r

to 70 percen t . (This l a t t e r f igure i s not di rec t ly equa t

ab le to mission success in te rms of produc t re turned

because the f i r s t recovery veh ic l es genera l ly br ing backthe major i ty o f c r i t i c a l t a rge t s as a consequence of t a rge tp r i o r i t i e s . ) The Committee f inds t ha t the 75 percent proba b i l i t y f i gu re i s fo r a l l i n t e n t s i den t i ca l with the HEXAGON

Pr o j e c t spec i f i ed probab i l i ty requirement .

I n i t i a l HEXAGON Mission Success

For the i n i t i a l HEXAGON l aunch , what i s the probab i l i tyof success fu l ly recover ing good photographs in the f i r s t RV?The f i r s t HEXAGON vehic le wi l l be operated under condi t ionstending to improve probab i l i ty of miss ion success and to

provide fo r recovery o f the most s ign i f i can t information;t hus , a comprehensive grasp of veh ic l e per formance can bega ined . Spec i f i ca l ly , the f i r s t veh ic le wi l l be placed in

a "benign" orb i t - -one which wi l l not t ask the thermal con t ro lsystem and which has a s u f f i c i en t l y high per igee so t ha t noorb i t - sus ta in ing maneuver w i l l be requ i red pr i o r to recoveryo f the f i r s t RV. The f i r s t RV i t s e l f wi l l be fu l ly i n s t r u mented so t ha t i t s performance can be ca re fu l ly measured.Under se r ious cons idera t ion i s programming th e cameras sot ha t f i lm i s t ranspor ted in the forward d i rec t ion only (andno t reversed as i s normal between each photo opera t ion ) .

Although some f ilm would no t be exposed under these circums t a n c e s , t he re i s l e s s chance o f a f i lm t r anspor t malfunc t ion .This technique would be added insurance t ha t some exposedf ilm would be re turned so t ha t ac tua l camera performance on

o r b i t can be measured. Once the f i r s t re -en t ry veh ic l e i srecovered , the f i lm t r anspor t system could be operated inthe normal forward and reverse cyc l e and o ther opera t ions ,

such as o r b i t a d j us t , could be begun. The f i r s t few f l igh t swi l l not car ry the t e r ra in camera, and the add i t iona l weightcar ry ing capaci ty wi l l be u t i l i z e d by th e i n s t a l l a t ion ofextra ba t t e r i e s . This wi l l help guard aga ins t s o l a r arraymalfunc t ions and provide s u f f i c i e n t power to i n su re re turn

of the f i r s t re -en t ry vehic le with i t s load of f i lm.

The Committee assigned no percentage probab i l i ty to

these techniques , bu t it i s qui t e c l e a r t ha t they enhanceth e l ike l ihood of succes s fu l r e tu rn o f exposed f i lm in thef i r s t recovery veh ic le .

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TALENT'KEYHOLE

EFFECT OF FUND LIMITATION

The Committee examined the s i t u a t i o n which would a r i s eshould HEXAGON be funded in FY 1970 a t a l eve l l e ss thant ha t recommended. The s ment of the system i sth e sen so r ed below the reques ted

amount of s ix-month program s l i p would beexpected . A reduc t ion would r e s u l t in a twelvemonth s l i p . Other elements o f th e system which are not

pacing a t t h i s t ime appear to be as se n s i t i v e to reduc t ions

as does the sensor , but de f in i t i ve f igure s were d i f f i c u l tHowever, th e Committee agrees t h a t a combined

reduct ion in s a t e l l i t e bas ic assembly ands a t e l l i t e in teg ra t ing con t rac to r funding (both LMSC) wouldr e s u l t in a s ix-month s l i p . The amount of reduc t ion l ead ing

to a twelve-month s l ip was not c l e a r l y i de n t i f i e d , and cons iderab le work on th e p a r t of the con t rac to r would be neces

sa ry to develop cred ib le f igures . However, in th e Commit tee 'sview, the launch date s e n s i t i v i t y to funding l imi t a t ions hadbeen t e s ted enough to expose the problem adequate ly so nofu r ther explora t ion was conducted . I t was ev iden t t h a t fundl imi t a t ions would have an immediate, unfavorable e f f e c t on

schedu l ing .

SUMMARY

Funding a t the l eve l requ i red to ach ieve a December 1970i n i t i a l launch date i s the prefe rab le opt ion . The probab i l i ty

of a successful HEXAGON f l i g h t by the t h i rd launch, June 1971,i s c lose to 95 percen t under these condi t ions . The pressure

on th e co l l ec t i o n overlap can be r e l i eved by s t re t ch ing

CORONA launches n to FY 1972. This would e n t a i l 'expendi tures of in CORONA launch and opera t ing

cos t s in FY 1972, which may not ac tu a l l y be needed if HEXAGON

f l i e s success fu l ly pr io r to our committ ing th e l a s t two

CORONAs to f l i gh t . Immediate pressure on FY 1970 funds fo r

a new CORONA buy can be r e l i eved by de fe r r ing a dec i s ion u n t i lDecember 1969 a t w h i c : ~ t ime a more accura te assessment of th e

HEXAGON program can be made.

The Committee f ee l s s t rong ly t h a t i t s recommendationsare proper a t t h i s t ime. However, th e Committee urges t h a t

th e s t a t u s of both CORONA and HEXAGON be care fu l ly t racked

in th e nex t few months so t ha t any depar tu re from expectedcond i t ions can be quick ly i d e n t i f i e d and a new course ofac t ion formulated . Such depar tu res might take the form o f

MANOL[ VIA COl<'"O<lOO BYE-13l46-69

C O P V - = - = - _ O ' _ . " . - = : - _ C O . l l SBY EM AN,TALENT-KEYHOLE TOP SECRETIICt.UO[O FItOM AutOMU1C '1[c;.ItAO.. tv " ' G [ 10 0' 11 ' POGU

-oOD OIA[(:TIV[ 5100 , D OO[S NOT A"'LY

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TOP SECRET BYEMAN tOtu .o t . $Y$f(M

TALENT

KEYHOLE

a major technical problem in HEXAGON which would force amajor slippage or any si tuat ion which would cause CORONA

to be flown a t more frequent in tervals than those recommended. In any case, a clear determination should be madein December 1969 on whether to in i t ia te a further CORONA

buy.

F. Robert NakaChairman

COMtltO'''O BYE-13l46-69

BYEMAN TALENT-KEYHOLE TOP SECRET"AWOl( VIA

COPy_.. .". .--_OF.. . . , . . .".- ::--_tO ..,U

p . . . . ( . ~ . l l OF ·11C-ONT-waf-sy-5T£. [IC1UOro- ".OM AUlOMA-TlC JUGA.D' JlG-

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~ / 7 7 f / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / 7 / / / / / / / 7 / / / / / / / / : / h .. ~ - . ~ ' . ~ TOP SECRET

CONTROL NO. BYE-12676-70, Copy 2

REFERRED TO RECEIVED REI..EASED SEEN BY

OFFICE SIGNATURE DATE TIME DATE TIME NAME A OFFICE SYMBOl.. DATE

Mr. P/DDS&T/CI

Room LaMJ. ev

~ . Af"' l»»fI /I

(lki?, I'.A.J... 'L . . . . . - L L ( ! ~ ) t?

( /

Handle Via Indicated Controls

BYEMAN

Access tothis document will be restricted to those persons

cleared for the specific projects;

HEXAGON CORONA.•..•.•.••.•.•..•...• .•........•........•. .GAMBIT

.•.............•.... •••..••.•

.•••..•....•.•..•.•.• ....•....•.•....•.... ..............•.•.•.. ...•......•..........

WARNING

This docum.... t contoins information affecting th e notional sec:uritYlof th e United States within the meaning

of the espionage laws t:l. S. Code Title 18, Sections 793 and 794. The law prohibits it s transmission or

the revelation of it s c:ontents in any manner to an unauthorized person, as well as its us e in any manner

prejudic:ial to the safety or interest of th e United States or for th e benefit of any foreign government to th e

detriment of th e United Stotes. It is to be seen only by personnel espec:iolly indoc:trinated and authorized

to receive information in the designated control chonnels. Its security mUJSt be maintained in accordance

with regulations -pertaining to BYEMAN Control System.

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, "A N O l £ ~ ; ; ' ATOP SECRET ,-J)'EMAN

COMTROl SVST£"

// /

/{SJ NATIONAL RECONNAISSANCE OFFICE

WASHINGTON, D.C.

///O F F I C E ~ E DEPUTY DIRECTOR

March 3, 1970

MEMORANDUM FOR THE HEXAGON REVIEW COMMITTEE

SUBJECT: Discussion Section for the Second Report

of the HEXAGON Review Commit.tee

REFERENCE: Second Report of HEXAGON Review Committee,BYE-13478-69, dtd November 4, 1969

The attached Discussion Section for the Second Reportof the HEXAGON Review Committee is t ransmitted for yourrecords. You wil l note tha t this is the document ci ted

under "Sources of Data" on page 2 of the reference.''{It ' f '

The discussion section to accompany the Third Report

of the HEXAGON Review Committee (BYE-12546-.70, dated970) has been issued under separate cover byoff ice as BYE-7524-70, dated February 27, 1970.

F. Robert NakaChairmanHEXAGON Review Committee

AttachmentBYE-13479-69, Same Subj.;

Distr ibut ion123 Gen. King4 Mr. Crowley5 NRO

HEXAGONCOHTROlNO BYE-12676-70

HANOlE VIA

copy COPIES

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TOP SECRET BYEMAN'j

CONTROl sYSTEM

November 4, 1969

MEMORANDUM FOR FILE

SUBJECT: Discuss ion Sect ion for the Second Reportof the HEXAGON Review Committee

REFERENCE: Second Report of HEXAGON Review Committee,BYE-13478-69, dtd November 4 , 1969

Of the copious amount of data made ava i lab le to theHEXAGON Review Committee, the fo l lowing a re some o f the key

' ' { ' I ' ,. .J f

i tems impact ing on the conclus ions :

1 . LMSC (SBAC/SVIC)

a. Schedule . Many key miles tones due to have beencompleted s ince l a s t June have been met on t he i r scheduledcomplet ion da tes . Others , l i ke the s t a t i c t e s t veh ic le andth e dynamic t e s t veh ic le , have s l ipped from three weeks to

seven weeks bu t have no t impacted on th e i n i t i a l · launch d a t e .Although Phase I of th e s a t e l l i t e development veh ic l e ( the

system q u a l i f i c a t i o n and pad checkout un i t ) i s about th ree

weeks behind schedu le , LMSC f e l t t ha t the t h i rd and f i n a l

phase would be on schedu le . The del ivery o f the midsec t ionfo r the f i r s t f l i g h t u n i t w i l l probably be two and one -ha l f

weeks l a t e , but again LMSC f e l t t h a t the t ime was recove rab le .

The black box qua l i f i ca t ion program showed an extremely heavyconcent ra t ion o f e f f o r t during the October 1969 t ime pe r iod .

The SDV-3 a f t sec t ion module showed a l so a heavy assembly andt e s t impact during th e Octbber to November 1969 per iod as did

th e f i r s t f l i gh t u n i t ' s a f t sec t ion module during December 1969and January 1970. The cur:rent two-sh i f t opera t ion a t LMSC was

f e l t to be adequate fo r t h ~ s work load.

b . R e l i a b i l i t y . LMSC repor ted the fo l lowing s t a tus ont h e i r re l iab i l i t ;y an a ly s i s : '

1 i

( 1 ) Par t s StresS 80% Complete

(2) Fai lu re Modk & Effec t s 70% Complete

(3) Worst Case 20% Complete

HEXAGON CORONA GAMBITCONTROl HoBYE-13479-69

COPY Of COPIES

TOP SECRET.PAG£ OF PAG£SYEMAN £ICl.UOED r,OM AUTOMATIC REGRADING

b1 6CONTROL $YSTEM

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HANf)LE VIA:

TOP SECRET BYEMAN C O N T R O ~ SY Sf ' "

c . Problem Areas. The fol lowing includes both Com

mit tee and LMSC suggested problems as o f t h i s t ime:

(1) The ac t ive thermal con t ro l in the fo r ward sec t ion was in troduced i n to th e system design a t a f a i r l y l a t e date and was the r e s u l t o f

Perkin-EImer ' s end- to-end grad ien t requirementto avoid fi lm s t i c k i n g . Qual i f i ca t ion of thetemperature con t ro l e lec t ron ics assembly i s dueto be completed in February 1970 and i s c lea r ly

the pacing element o f the SDV-3 forward sec t ion .

(2) The maste r / s lave PCM mult ip lexer subcon t rac to r had exhibi ted

d i f f i c u l t i e s to date in meeting performance andschedule . LMSC f ee l s t ha t t h i S " ' Q ~ A. problemhas now been so lved .

(3) The o r b i t ad jus t engine had exper iencedIsp degradat ion dur ing the deboos t burn. Redundanthea te rs have been added Mr f l i g h t use to providehea t ing o f the prope l lan t ; t e s t i ng of t h i s changei s cur ren t ly underway.

(4) The high f a i l u r e r a t e s o f a c e r t a i n s o l a r

array diode caused a l l of these diodes to be r e p l a c e ~ with newer,ones us ing improved techniques and pro

cesses. .

The new board design has been requa l i f i edand i ~ / n o w in r e l i a b i l i t y t e s t i ng .

2., GE/(Command Programmer)/

a .

problem.Utica has solved the super f l a t pack produc t ion

b.schedu le .

The minimal command system (MCS) i s ahead of

The extended command system (ECS) fo r SDV-3 hada minor low temperature problem bu t i s due fo r del ivery toSVIC on November 20, 1969. The ECS fo r the f i r s t f l i g h tun i t i s due fo r del ivery on December 15, 1969 fo r a

January 1970 need da te .

3 . TRW (Software)

a . A sa t i s fac tory Miles tone 2 (p re l iminary des ign)

was achieved on September 30, 1969 and con t rac t awardedOctober 1, 1969.

b. I n i t i a l ope ra t iona l conf igura t ion i s scheduled fo r

September 25, 1970 with f i na l opera t iona l conf igura t ion on

September 10, 1971.

CONTROL NO BYE-13479-69

C O P Y ' _ . " , , - - _ O ,

___COPIES

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4. VAFB

a . The se rv ice tower has s l ipped three months, caus

ing an equiva lent s l i p in the benef ic ia l occupancy date fromOctober 31, 1969 to January 30, 1970.

b. Despi te t h i s f ac t , fee l s tha t a l l th e remainin g key dates can be.met:

(1) SDV-3 a r r ives a t the pad on September 17,1970 and i s the re fo r 54 work days .

(2) The launch complex ac.c.ep. t ance i s Decem- ' \ber 3 , 1970. . '

3) The f i r s t f l i g h t uni t " ' I ~ ' o n th e pad ten

days pr io r to the December 17, 1970 launch da te (the\booster has been a t th e pad s ince July 20, 1970). '

5. McDonnell-Douglas (MWC)

a . The main parachute (made by Goodyear) i s not as good as tha t used with th e MK-5 RV. The ba l lu te fa i l ed i t ~ deployment t e s t ( the requirement i s a '60 to 70 percent

probab i l i ty of catch on the f i r s t pass ) , but th e problem appears to be a Q. A. problem (and a d i f f i c u l t one) and not

a design p r o ~ l e m . b. . ~ h e B-52 and bal loon drop t e s t program i s s l i gh t l y

behind schedule.

c . There i s a r e l a t i ve l y minor problem with access/ t h r o u g h the thermal " t en t . It

6 . Perkin-Elmer (SSC)

a. Schedule.

(1) A ll of the t e s t s scheduled for the

engineering model have been s a t i s f a c t o r i l y comp le ted except fo r those ,pending t e s t s associa ted

with Chamber "M' al though completed l a t e r thanor ig ina l ly scheduled.

(2) Completion of two-camera assembly t e s t ing on th e development model i s on schedule fo r

November 19, 1969. The DM i s plus eleven daysagains t th e scheduled February 20, 1970 sh ip date

COHTROLHO BYE-13479-69HANOLE VIA.

tOPV_=-_OF___ CO'11S

TOP SECRETBYEMAN ,AGt_=3_0F___ PAGISEXCLUDED FROM AUTOMATIC REGRADING

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" ; ~ ~ . 1 H.

H"MOll VtA

TOP SECRET BYEMAN COIfTROL S YSTU

iI

because of the current 6-day, 10-hour per day work

week. Many problem areas which have had scheduleimpact, l ike la te delivery of key electronic boxesand compatibi l i ty problems with t e s t equipment, <

have been solved through "work arounds."

(3) The f i r s t f l ight uni t i s on schedule toa January 27, 1970 completion of two-camera. assemblyte s t ing and i s also plus eleven days against i t sscheduled ship date to SVIC on April 21, 1970.Astigmatism caused by the folding f l a t has, in a l lprobabi l i ty , been resplved as was the longitudinalcolor problem on the f i r s t two sets of glass .

Overtime and shortening of several remainingassembly and t e s t cycle t imes, based on developmentmodel experience, would allow additional pad i fthere are a ~ y unfores¢en schedule s l ip problems.

b. R e 1 1 a b l 1 1 t ~ . About, 2,000 electricaJ/mecbanical tunc ..

tions fln.d moPe f i t r i 0,000: items at the l'B.rta level hB.ve beenevaluated to date. Only two or three t ruly random elec t ronicfa i lu res have occurred to 9ate on the engineering model.Catastrophic fa i lure mode ~ n a l y s i s has been extensive.

Ic . P r o b l em Areas,

(1) The optical · bar torque motor may beundersized because of· the excessive f r ict ion ofthe rubbing opt ica l bar seal needed for film pathpressurizat ion. The correct ive action will be touse double commutation of motor windings as arenow used in the drive!capstans.

(2) Therma.lly ibduced local deformations inthe folding f l a t , a.s well as the previously ment ioned gravity-induced astigmatism, h'ave causedsome concern with regard to camera performance,but neither appears c: t i t ica l .

i

(3) The electroil.ic box qual t e s t programcal l s for an extremely concentrated e ~ f o r t in theNovember 1969 through!March 1970 time period.Qual of four of the s ix brushless motors and thes ix encoders in the sensor subsystem between nowand February 1970 is also t ight .

CONTROL 100 BYE-13479-69HANDLE YIA

C O P ' f ' _ ~ _ O '___

CO"'1S

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TOP SECRET BYEMAN' CONTIIOt S"fI"

7. CORONA

a. Current problems re la ted to the re l i ab i l i ty of UTBto be flown on future missions and the impact on re l iab i l i tyof the phase-down of the program.

b. The cost est imate for three addit ional systems i fthere were a reorder i s as follows, assuming a l l three wouldbe launched in FY 1972:

FY 1970 FY 1971 FY 1972 FY 1973 TOTAL

based on a December 1969 go-ahead.

c. The minimum lead time from "go':'ahead" to " f i r s tlaunch" of a reorder was as follows:

Main camera 23 monthsDISIC camera 14 monthsAgena 24 monthsThorad 24 months

/I

d. Assuming a February 15, 1970 "go-ahead" for aFebruary 15, 1972 launch ( three months af ter s t"

CORONA) and a May 15, 1970 termination, about wouldbe non-recoverable.

e. The cost savings of not having to launch currentCORONA vehicles during the planned one year of overlap isas follows:

Delete Cumulative Cost Savings

CR-S (Nov 71)CR-S, 16 (Sept 71)CR-S, 16, 15 (May 71)CR-S, 16, 15, 14 (Mar 71) !

CR-S, 16, 15, 14, QR-2 (JaI) 71)1

S. GAMBIT "HIGHBOY"

a. The following c h a n g ~ s would have to be made to theexis t ing GAMBlT configuration in order to ' fly in. the "HIGHBOY"mode:

CONTROlNO BYE-13479-69HA'H01.E VIA

(O.V___ O ,___ COPl15

TOP SECRETBYEMAN 5XCLUDED FRbM AUTOMATlC REGRAOING .AGE OF ..AU SCOIITROL SVSTEM

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• --J

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TOP SECRET BYEMAH CONTROL nstiN

(1) Photographic Payload System.

(a) Film dr ive speed change a f f ec t ing the meter ing r o l l e r diameter , th e

gear r a t i o ,outpu t .

and the motor speed dr ive

(b) The dr ive ran.gerange compensator.

of the s l a n t

(c) The slit widths in the slit

p la t e .

(d) The frequency of the . groundscene modula.tion in the f Q ~ u : ; ; .. sensor •

(e) Addi t iona l thermal analys is

which might r equ i re add i t iona l hea te r s •./

(2) S a t e l l i t e R e c o v ~ : r y Vehicle . Change thebackup t imer .

(3) Sa te l l i t e ' Con t ro l Sect ion . Addi t iona lthermal ana.lysis which might r equ i re add i t iona l

ba t t e ry capaci ty .

b. T h ~ / f o l l o w i n g launch and de l ta cos t opt ions werepresented , / including both modif ica t ions and schedule r e v i

s ion e f ~ < f t s :..

o p t . i ~ Launch (FY) Cost (FY)

70 71 72 70 71 72 Tota l

1 0 1 0

2 0 2 0

3 0 1 1

I f the combined GAMBIT and missions do not exceedtwelve per yea r , there w i l l be no launch fac i l i ty impact .

CONfROLNO BYE-13479-69

COpy_-:-_o ... . , . .--

__cOPIu

BYEMAN TOP SECRET£XelUO'EO J'Ro.M AUTOMATIC R'EGItAI)'MG P A G [ . _ . . . ; : 6 ~ o , _ - = . 6 _ P A G I SONTROL SYSTEM

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