Lunar Orbiter B Press Kit

8/8/2019 Lunar Orbiter B Press Kit

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NAlll 'HJL Al N AAI11(S AND SPACE /,OMINISTRATION W'WVASHIN( )N DC 20546 W(

FOR RELEASE: FRIDAY P.M.November 4, 19669 RELEASE NO: 66-28C

PROJECT: LUNAR ORBITER B(To be launched no earlierthan November 6, 1966)

CONTENTS


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NA)IONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION WO 2-4155NEWS WASHINGTON,D.C. 20546 TELS* WO 3-6925FOR RELEASE: FFiTDAY P.M.November 4, 1966

RELEASE NO: 66-286

SECOND ORBITERLAUNCH SCHEDULED

IN NOV. 6-11 PERIOD

The United States is preparing to launch the second in aseries of photographic laboratory spacecraft to orbit the Moon.


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g U2LUNAR ORBIER

APOLLO

s I'm -


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The basic task of this Lunar Orbiter is to expand thefindings of Lunar Orbiter I by obtaining detailed photographicinformation on various areas on the Moon's surface to assesstheir suitability as landing sites for Apollo and Surveyorspacecraft.

Orbiter B has been assigned 13 primary target sites, locatedgenerally within the northern half of the Apollo zone ofinterest on the Moon's front face. Other areas of the Moon on


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In addition to its photographic task, Lunar Orbiter Bwill monitor micrometeoroids and radiation intensity in thevicinity of the Moon. After more than two months in orbit,Lunar Orbiter I had not experienced any micrometeoroid punc-tures in its detecting instruments. Its radiation countersclearly reflected the effects of a series of solar flareswhich took place after its photography was complete.

Both micrometeoroid and radiation measurements are usedprimarily for spacecraft performance analysis since the


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-4-At a point ranging from 730 miles to 215 miles from the

Moon's surface, depending on the actual launch date, a liquidfuel retro engine will fire to slow the spacecraft so it willbe captured by the Moon's gravitational field. As a satelliteof the Moon, Lunar Orbiter will enter an initial ellipticalorbit about 1,150 by 125 miles.

Orbiter will be tracked precisely by the Deep Space Net-work for seven to 11 days -- depending on the day of launch --before its retro rocket will be fired again on Nov. 17 to place


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-5-All of Lunar Orbiter's photographs will be transmitted

to NASA Deep Space Network stations after site photography isfinished. They will be received in reverse order from whichthe pictures were taken. Lunar Orbiter B is scheduled to com-plete final picture transmission on Dec. 13.

NASA will disseminate lunar site photographs to members ofthe scientific community for interpretive studies. The U.S.Geological Survey will employ the Lunar Orbiter photographs asbasic material in its efforts to derive a more detailed under-


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-6-Tracking and communications for the Lunar Orbiter program

are the responsibility of the NASA Deep Space Network (DSN),operated by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Cal.DSN stations at Goldstone, Cal.; Madrid, Spain; and Woomera,Australia, will participate in the mission. Photographic datagathered by Lunar Orbiter will flow from each DSN station tothe Eastman Kodak Co., for reassembly processing, thence tothe Langley Research Center, for preliminary evaluation.


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-7-LUNAR ORBITER SPACECRAFT

The Lunar Orbiter program was announced by NASA in August,1963, as one of three major projects for unmanned explorationof the Moon in advance of Project Apollo.In the following two years, three Ranger spacecraft,carrying television cameras, returned a total of 17,259 close-

up photographs of the lunar surface en route to crash landingand destruction on the Moon.

Surveyor I, launched last May 30, went on to achievesuccessful soft-landing on the Moon's surface. It has sincemeasured important surface properties -- for example, how mruchweight the lunar crust will support -- and transmitted 11,150close-ups of the Moon's surface from its position in the Seaof Storms.


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VELOCITY UPPER STRUCTURAL-sCONTROL ENGINE - MODULE4 /> ATTITUDE HEAT SHIELD\ , THRUSTERS / J-COARSE-- iFUEL ,


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-8-Lunar Orbiter will examine such areas so that Surveyor's

findings can be applied over a full-sized landing site with alltopographic features of significant size located and measured.Since Lunar Orbiter can obtain more than 3,000 square miles ofhigh resolution (three feet) photographs on each mission,formidable demands are placed on the spacecraft's capability togather information.In December 1963 NASA selected The Boeing Co., Seattle, tobe prime contractor for the program, and a contract was negotiated

in May 1 54.


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SPACECRAFT CONFIGURATION

The Lunar Orbiter spacecraft is a flying photographiclaboratory, equipped with the necessary controls to positionthe camera correctly over the site to be viewed, and the meansto extract the information contained in each photograph andsend it back to Earth.In flight configuration, Lunar Orbiter is a truncated conefrom whose base project four solar cell panels. It carriestwo antennas on rods extended from


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Camera System

The technological ability to compress a complete photo-graphic laboratory within an egg-shaped pressure shell with allparts weighing no more than 150 pounds makes the Lunar Orbitermission possible. The package itself includes two cameras--onefor medium and the other for high resolution photography. Thecameras will view the Moon through a protective window ofquartz, which in turr is protected by a mechanical flap in thethermal blanket which covers most of the spacecraft. The flap,or camera thermal door, is opened and closed by command at thebeginning and end of every photographic pass over a section oflunar surface.


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The gray scales are very important because they containthe key to correct interpretation of the Lunar Orbiter's photo-graphs. Specifically, they provide the photometric calibra-tion which will make it possible to estimate slopes on theMoon's surface by measuring film densities.

-more-


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CAMERA PROCESSOR READOUTFilm Supply Wets Video(3)osupply Signals toCommunications

upply Processor SystemLooper amera Drum AMPLIFIERLoooperWebTake-upI a\ PHOTO CELL

\ 7T-.--- X- 2- i;FLIFLourcet\\I DryerTaeu

g> *s Looper131 Lens24" Focal | 3Length Lens

PHOTOGRAPHIC SUBSYSTEM

... t4.


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Photo Taking ProcessLight gathered by the 24-inch lens is turned through aright angle by a mirror before it reaches the film, while the

medium resolution lens passes light directly to the film.Because of the camera's mechanical design, the two simultaneousimages are not placed side by side on the film, but are inter-spersed with other exposures.Because the spacecraft will be moving at 4,500 mph atperilune (or lowest point in orbit about the Moon) and in viewof the relatively low film exposure speeds, the camera systemhas been provided with a device to eliminate blurring of theimage. This image motion compensation is performed by aspecial sensor and a mechanical drive to move the film platenslightly while an exposure occurs.The special sensor is a vital component of the camera system.


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Distance Traveled by Spacecraft7 During Single ExposureDirection . Iof Fliglht /Vffz

\- - I,


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-13-High resolution photographs made when the V/H sensorwas turned off were of excellent quality, and the source ofthe problem was traced to the electronic circuits controllingshutter timing and operation.Because it was believed that the system was over-sensitiveto stray electronic signals, the shutter triggering circuitsin the camera system aboard Lunar Orbiter B have been changedto make them less sensitive.After exposure, the film moves forward to a storage orbuffer area between the camera and processor. The bufferregion or looper is provided to take up the slack between thecamera -- which can make up to 20 exposures on a single orbitalpass -- and the processor. The looper is a system of pulleyblocks which can be separated to store exposed film withoutslack. The looper can hold as many as 20 frames.


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Photo Processing SystemNext phase of the Lunar Orbiter's photographic systemis a processor, in which the exposed film is chemically de-

veloped by the Eastman Kodak "Bimat" process.The Bimat method uses a processing film or web whosegelatin layer has been soaked in a single developer-fixersolution of photographic chemicals. The film is slightlydamp to the touch but little free liquid can be squeezedfrom it.When the exposed film passes onto the processor drumand is mechanically pressed against the Bimat web, the chemi-cal processes of negative development begin. Silver halideis reduced to silver in a few minutes, and undeveloped silver


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Photo Readout Process

Read-out is one of the most exacting tasks the LunarOrbiter photographic system is required to perform.There is no proved way of storing information which can com-pare in compactness with an image composed of silver grains ina gelatin emulsion on photographic film.The read-out method used by Orbiter must capture as muchas possible of the film's densely-packed information and changeit into a stream of electronic signals which can be trans-mitted to Earth.A film scanner, in which a flying spot of light and suita-ble optical elements are linked with a photomultiplier, is theheart of the read-out equipment.


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SLight Collector OpticsPhotomuultiplier Tube

ViFLo SignCNNto Transmnitter\ Amplifier

FILM SCANNER


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As the spot of light passes through the image on the nega-ive, it is modulated by the density of the image, that is,he denser portions transmit less light than sections of lowerensity.After passing through the film, the light is sensed byphotomultiplier tube which generates an electronic signalproportional to the intensity of the transmitted light. Theignal is amplified, timing and synchronization pulses areadded, and the result is fed into the communications link as theunar Orbiter's composite video signal for transmission toarth.The flow of film through, the Bimat processor cannot beeversed once started because the dry film would stick to the


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Electrical Power SystemLunar Orbiter carries a conventional solar panel-storagebattery type of power system, with provisions for voltageregulation and charge control.Primary source of power is an array of four solar panels,

each slightly more than 13 square feet in area. There are10,856 solar cells on the spacecraft panels--2714 per panel.Each is an N-on-P silicon solar cell, 0.8-in. square,protected by a blue reflecting filter.In full sunlight, the Lunar Orbiter solar panels willproduce about 375 watts of power. Total weight of tfearray, including the stowage and deployment mechanisms, is70 pounds.


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Attitude Control SystemDuring the course of its mission, Lunar Oribter will becalled on to perform accurately a larger number of attitudechanges than previous lunar spacecraft missions have required.From launch through final photographic readout, Lunar Or-biter I acted correctly upon 4,446 commands and performed 347separate attitude maneuvers, a technological achievement with-out precedent for an unmanned spacecraft.

Its attitude control subsystem has been designed to ac-complish these spacecraft events precisely and repeatedly,while retaining enough flexibility to respond to changes or-dered by ground command.Principal elements of the attitude system are the program-mer, inertial reference unit, Sun sensors, Canopus (star) track-er, an electronic control and switching assembly, and a set ofreaction control thrusters.


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While Lunar Orbiter is in cruise or coasting flight,the inertial reference unit keeps track of small oscilla-tions Which can be expected to occur and provides signalsto the attitude control jets for corrective action whenneededIn lunar orbit, the inertial reference unit furnishesa memory of the positions of the Sun or Canopus whenever thespacecraft is in a position from which its sensors cannotsee either one or both of the basic celestial reference bod-ies. Occultation is the technical term describing thatcondition, and it will occur during a portion of every lunarorbit. The Sun, for example, is expected to be occultedabout one-fourth of the time. Inertial reference unit accu-of the Sun or


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The star tracker is designed to produce a series of recog-nition signals from which a star map can be constructed byground controllers. The map permits a positive determinationthat the tracker has locked onto Canopus bather than some otherstar within its field of view.

In flight, the Canopus tracker is used ror the first timeafter the Lunar Orbiter has passed through the Van Allen radia-tion belts -- some six hours after launch. It is located on theLunar Orbiter's main equipment mounting deck, and looks outwardthrough an opening in the thermal blanket.During the flight of Lunar Oribter I, signals from theCanopus tracker were intermittently masked by interference,

particularly when the spacecraft was in full sunlight. Whenit passed into the shadow of the Moon, the interference disap-peared and the tracker furnished a direct and positive lock onCanopus.


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Velocilty Control SystemIn a typical Lunar Orbiter mission, at least three andperhaps four changes in spacecraft velocity will be requiredafter the launch vehicle has completed its work.Plans call for one and possibly two mid-course cor-

rections, if necessary, but the most critical velocitychanges will have to be made in the vicinity of the Moon.There the spacecraft's velocity control engine mustexecute a precision firing maneuver to slow Orbiter just

enough to allow it to enter an orbit around the Moon.After several days of careful orbit tracking and


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Tank pressurization will be commanded a short timebefore the first midcourse maneuver. When the maneuveris to begin, the attitude control system places thespacecraft in an attitude based on ground computationsand the programmer transmits an opening signal to solenoidvalves on the fuel and oxidizer lines. Thrusting beginswhen the fuel and oxidizer mix and burn in the engine'scombustion chamber.While thrusting, the accelerometer in the inertialreference unit constantly measures the change in velocityas it occurs, and when the desired increment is achieved,the solenoid valves are commanded to close and the enginestops firing.The velocity control system is capable of as much as710 seconds of operation and at least four engine operatingcycles.


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The transponder receives a transmitted command fromEarth and passes it to a decoder where it is stored tempora-rily. The command is then re-transmitted to Earth throughthe transponder to verify that it has been correctlyreceived. When verification is confirmed, an executesignal is sent from Earth causing the decoder to pass thecommand along to the programmer for immediate or later useas required. The command transmission rate is 20 bitsper second.

In the tracking and ranging mode, the transmittingfrequency of the transponder is locked to the frequency ofthe signal being received from Earth in a precise ratio.The signals can then be used to determine the radialvelocity of the spacecraft to an accuracy of about one footper second. When interrogated by the Deep Space Network rangingsystem, the transponder signal will measure the distancebetween the Earth and the spacecraft with an accuracy of


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By contrast, the high gain antenna which will come intouse when pictures are transmitted is quite directional)havinga 10-degree beam width. It is therefore equipped with a ro-tational mechanism so that it can be correctly pointed towardthe Earth station receiving its transmissions.The high gain antenna is a 36-inch parabolic dish of light-weight honeycomb construction. It is mounted on the end of a52-inch boom and is deployed after heat shield jettison in thesame way as the low gain antenna. The antenna dish and feed

weigh only two and one-third pounds.A motor driven gear box at the base of the high gain an-tenna boom allows the boom to be rotated in one degree stepsto point the antenna accurately toward the Earth receiver.

Temperature Control SystemLunar Orbiter is equipped with a passive temperature con-


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On Orbiter's upper surface, the heat shield on which thevelocity control engine is mounted is insulated, and the entiresurface of the spacecraft within those boundaries is coveredwith a multilayer thermal blanket composed of alternating layersof aluminized mylar and dacron cloth. The high reflective alumi-nized mylar will effectively prevent solar heat from reaching theinterior of the spacecraft.

During flight from the Earth to the Moon, Lunar Orbiter'stemperature inside the thermal blanket will vary between 40 and100 degrees F. In lunar orbit, the spacecraft internal tempera-tures will range between 35 and 85 degrees F.All external parts of the spacecraft are capable of with-standing full sunlight for an indefinite period.

LUNAR ORBITER TASKSLunar Orbiter B's primary assignment is to obtain detailed


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DIRECTIONOF TERMINATORTRAVEL DIRECTION OF EPH OT iMOON ROTATION

| E g s ~r "OF TARGETlh;1l .lul SITE EQUATOR

UMBE l BT 39 21/| / | l l , ~\ -AREA OF ITRS

PHOTOGRA PHY OF TA RGET S TE S


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Meteoroid and radiation data are primarily gathered forspacecraft performance analysis but also are of considerablescientific interest.Lunar Photography

Lunar photography is Orbiter's principal assignment, andthe entire project has been built around the requirement to ob-tain high quality photographs of large areas of the Moon's sur-face in such fine detail that objects as small as a card tablecan be distinguished.From such photographs, in combination with Surveyor data,Project Apollo mission planners can work with confidence towardthe selection and certification of suitable landing sites forApollo's Lunar Module.Both the spacecraft and Mission B have been designed toyield a maximum of scientific information about the lunar areasto be photographed. The camera system will be employed in sev-


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To make Orbiter's photography as useful as possible, pic-tures will be taken shortly after local sunrise on the Moon, sothat sunlight falls on the lunar surface at a shallow angle.That lighting situation will permit the best use of photometrictechniques to obtain the maximum amount of topographic and geo-logical information from the photographs. As the spacecraft con-tinues orbiting, the Moon turns on its axis beneath it, bringingthe 13 primary target sites successively into camera view.

At each primary target site, the camera will make at leasteight exposures at intervals of about two and one half seconds.Some sites will receive a total of 16 frames of coverage by tak-ing eight frames on each of two successive orbits. One will re-ceive 24 frames of coverage, using eight frame sequences on eachof three successive orbits. The first primary site, over whichthe camera will be operated for the first time, will be photo-graphed with 16 frames on one orbit followed by four additionalframes as close to the site as possible. That sequence will fill


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The following table lists the primary target sites scheduled to be photographed byLunar Orbiter B. Each site is designated by Roman numeral II followed by the letter P(standing for primary) plus the site number from one to 13.Lunar Orbiter Mission B Primary Site LocationsCoveiage Site CenterOrbit No. Site Frames Mode Latitude / Longitude General Description

6 lIP-i 16 Fast 400 o'N 36055'E An average regional mare areain the eastern part of MareTranquillitatis with super-imposed intersecting rays.These rays are moderately dif-fuse, with darker inter-rayareas near the deformed craterMaskelyne F.

11 IIP-2 8 Fast 2045'N 34000'E This area appears to be a vol-canic complex in southeasternMare Tranquillitatis where cra-som ters have been subdued by vol-canic material or where cratersare generally absent. The gen-eral area was photographed inmedium resolution by LunarOrbiter I.

13 TIP-3 8 Fast 4 0 20'N 210201E An average regional mare area14 8 in the western part of MareTranquillitatis. Diffuse raysfrom the crater Arago extendacross most of the site, and anorth-northeast trending ridgecrosses the middle of the area.

Ai~.@..


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PHIOTOGRAP.HICOVERAGEMISSIONSTARGETREAS

'WOTOGcl cov2$Gct22 oaAce o0 W(20$osWso I 0. *K*tUb .. 2, 2. twONA 2ISOWU020-*Xcn sotus n- 1 v


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SI TES SELECTED FOR LUNAR ORB ITER MISS ION 11

IU7 5

45 0W 45 0ESite No. Latitude Longitude Coverage Site No. La t tude Longiue Coverage

I 4010' N 36055'E IX 16 8 0005 ' N 1000 ' w 3X 82 2045 ' N 34000'E I X8 9 1000'N 13000 ' W 1X 83 4020I'N 210201E 2X8 10 3028 ' N 27010'W 2X 84 4045'N t5 04rE 1X8 11 0005'S 19055'W 2X 85 ?036' N 24048'E I X 8 12 2025 ' N 34040'W 2X 86 0045'N 24010'E 2X8 13 1030'N 42020 ' W 2X 87 2010 ' N 2000 ' W 2X 8


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15 IIP-4 8 Fast 4045'N 15 45'E Smooth upland plains areanorth of the crater Dionysius.The area is covered lightly byrays from Dionysius, but slopesand relief appear relativelylow for uplands. Low escarp-ments occur in the eastern por-tion of the site.

16 IIP-5 8 Fast 2036'N 24048tE Area in the Mare Tranquillitatiscontaining the impact point ofRanger VIII. If th e Ranger .zi-pact crater can be located, itmay yield useful information unsoil mechanics in an averageregional mare area.

20 iiP-6 8 Fast 0045'N 24'0 1E The western portion of Site A-321 8 Fast photographed by Lunar Orbiter I.It lies in the southern part ofMare Tranquillitatis near thecrater Moltke, and contains thesmoothest area found furing pre-liminary evaluation of lunarOrbiter I photography.

30 IIP-7 8 Fast 2OlOtN 2000'W This site is located in the31 8 Fast northwestern part of SinusMedii at the mare-upland con-tact. A dark area at the con-tact is of specie.;L interest asa potential landing site.34 IIF-8 8 Fast 1 0 05tN 10OO'W This site lies in the central35 8 Fast portion of Sinus Medii and in-36 8 Fast cludes some of Site A-5 photo-graphed by Lunar Orbiter I. Dif-fuse rays and crater fields ap-pear to cover the central area.Low risge structures are alsopresent. The darker areas areof particular interest.


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39 IIP-9 8 Fast 1000'N 13000'W The site is centered on a mod-erately dark area between twolarge Copernican rays east ofSinus Medii. Positive relieffeatures suggest possible vol-canic origin for this dark areaor, alternatively, simply theabsence of rays.40 IIP-10 8 Fast 3028'N 2'0 10'W Diffuse rays extending south-41 8 Fast west from the crater Copernicuscover the entire area. Smalldarker patches may be only mod-erately cratered or older ter-rain may be locally subdued bymaterial thrown out of Copernicus44 IIP-ll 8 Fast 00 5'S 190 55'W A moderately dark inter-ray area45 8 Fast bounded by uplands on both Eastand West. A small Copernicanray and domical structures are

present. A portion of the areawas photographed by Lunar Or-biter I.46 IIP-12 8 Fast 20251N 34040'W A ray-covered mare area south-47 8 Fast east of the crater Kepler. Adark area at the upland-marecontact in the Western portionis the most interesting section.52 IIP-13 8 Fast lC30N 420201W Two rays extending southwesterly53 8 Fast from the crater Kepler transectthe site, but dark mare covers

most of the area. It is a north-ern extension of the Site 9.2area photographed by Lunar Or-biter I and may have small por-tions similar to the area inwhich Surveyor I rests.


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SelenodesyMajor uncertainties about the detailed nature of the Moon'sgravitational field were dispelled by the scientific contribu-tions of Lunar Orbiter I, and as a result the flight of Lunar Or-biter B has been designed with considerably more confidence.Although we now possess enough knowledge of the lunar gra-vitational field to operate spacecraft freely in lunar orbit,there is a requirement for much more detailed study anc Lunar Or-biter B. like its predecessor, will be tracked with care to addto what has already been learned.The Moon, according to the best existing analysis, is rela-tively "smooth," that is, its gravitational field does not appearto possess large or unusual variations. It is sufficiently non-uniform to produce small changes in the track of any satellitearound it, and these small changes, suitably evaluated by complexcomputer programs, permit scientists to deduce from tracking data


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Meteoroids are most evident when they penetrate the Earth'satmosphere and produce the streaks of light called meteors asthey burn to destruction. NASA's Explorer satellites XIII, XVIand XXIII and the three large Pegasus satellites provided directmeasurements of the meteoroid population in orbits near the Earth,but similar measurements near the Moon and in translunar spacehave been made only by Lunar Orbiter I.The 20 pressurized cell detectors mounted on Lunar Orbiterwere made in the instrument shops of the Langley Research Center.Each is shaped like a half cylinder seven and one-half inches long.The puncture-sensitive skin of each half cylinder is berylliumcopper 1/1,000-inch thick. The detectors are mounted girdle-wiseoutside the Lunar Orbiter's thermal blanket, on brackets attachedto the fuel tank deck of the spacecraft.A total surface area of three square feet is provided bythe 20 cells.


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ATLAS-AGENA D LAUNCH VEHICLEAn Atlas/Agena D launch vehicle will boost Lunar Orbiter Bfrom Launch Complex 13 at Cape Kennedy to an approximate 115-mile-high parking orbit before injecting the spacecraft on its lunartrajectory.The upper-stage Agena must start the spacecraft on its wayto the Moon through a narrow "translunar injection point" some119 miles above the Earth's surface. Injection velocity is 24,I4oomph, plus or minus an allowable error of less than 54 mph.The accuracy required of the launch vehicle is so great that,with no midcourse maneuver, Orbiter must not be more than 10,000miles off its aiming point after traveling more than 221,000 milesto the Moon.

of No-


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LAUNCH VEHICLE STATISTICSThe Atlas/Agena D Lunar Orbiter launch vehicle is under thedirection of NASA's Lewis Research Center, Cleveland, Ohio.

Total Height on pad 105 feetTotal Weight on pad 279,000 pounds

Atlas Agena DHeight 68 feet 23 feetDiameter 10 feet 5 feetWeight (at liftoff) 261,000 pounds 15f600 pounds


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-35-DEEP SPACE NETWORK

The NASA Deep Space Network (DSN) consists of a number ofpermanent space communications stations strategically placedaround the world; a spacecraft monitoring station at CapeKennedy, and the Space Flight Operations Facility (SFOF) inPasadena, Cal.Permanent stations include four sites at Goldstone, in

the MoJave Desert, Cal.; two sites in Australia, at Woomeraand Tidbinbilla near Canberra; Robledo site, near Madrid,Spain; and Johannesburg, South Africa. All are equipped with85-foot-diameter antennas except the one at Goldstone whichis 210 feet in diameter. One other site, now under construc-tion near Madrid will be known as Cebreros.The DSN 4s under the technical direction of the Jet Pro-


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Supply - - Edge Data71nmm Negative

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Kinescope Camera Tape

P T DA Telemetry A R S M'PP.1OTOGRAPHIC DATA ACQUISITiON, RECONSTRUCTION., AND REASSEMBLY


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Stations of the network receive radio signals from thespacecraft, amplify them, process them to separate the datafrom the carrier wave an! transmit required portions of thedata to the SFOF in Pasadena via high-speed data lines, radiolinks, and teletype. The stations are also linked with theSFOF by voice lines. All inrcoming data are recorded on mag-netic tape.

The DSN stations assigned to the Lunar Orbiter projectare the Echo station at Goldstone, Woomera, and Madrid.Equipment has been installed at these stations to enable themto receive picture data from the Lunar Orbiter spacecraft. Sincethese three stations are located approximately 120 degrees apartaround the world, at least one will always be able to communi-cate with the spacecraft as it travels toward the Moon.The Space Flight Operations Center (SFOF) at JPL, the


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-37-Data Acquisition

The Lunar Orbiter spacecraft was designed for maximumcompatibility with existing equipment installed at DSN sta-tions. Additional equipment installed at the three DeeDSpace Network stations assigned to the Lunar Orbiter pro-ject includes three racks of telemetry and command equipmentand four racks of equipment associated with the processingand recording of photographic information from the space-craft.Spacecraft tracking and ranging is accomplished byexisting DSN equipment at the stations. Telemetry data,including spacecraft housekeeping information and datagathered by meteoroid and radiation sensors is routed toperformance telemetry equipment and recorded on magnetictape. The output from this equipment is fed directly tohigh speed data lines or teletype.


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EDGE DATA 1 (A) SPACECRAFT FILM FORMAT

7 HIGH RESOLUTION FRAME- RESOUMTION70mm :1

// 2.67mm X 57.15 mm

(B) GROUND FILM FORMATT-I35 mm 1 .-7",216.875"'

(C) REASSEMBLED PHOTO (D) COMPOSITE OF ONE HIGH RESOLUTION FRAME-1- (6.2 REAbSEMBLED PHOTOS1 1~4.3737

(14 STRASML

PHOTO REASSEMBLY

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Lunar Orbiter B Press Kit