Project Ranger a Chronology

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JPL/HR-2

PROJECTRANGER: A CHRONOLOGY

R. Cargill Hc..ll

Jet Pro pul on LaboratoryC a l i f o r n i a Institute of Technology

Kational Aeronautics and Space Administration

A p r i l 1971


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FOREWORD

The Ranger Project w a s a l andmark i n t h e development of t h i s n a t i o n 's

Manya p a b i l i t y f o r f l y i n g unmanned m i s s io n s t o t h e Moon a nd t h e p l a n e t s .

o f t h e s p a c e s c i e n c e s an d t e c h n o l o gi e s t h a t w e r e l a t e r t o p ro ve so i m p o r t a n t

t o both soft- lan ded and manned lunar miss ions , and t o th e au tomated explo-

r a t i o n of t h e ne a r p l a ne t s , w e r e conceived and developed out of Ranger

exper ience

.I n t h i s sense, Ranger w a s a p io ne er e f fo r t -a f m i t f u l and h i g h l yf e r t i l e s ee db ed o u t o f wh ic h t h e Un it ed S t a t e s thrust i n t o d e ep s p ac e h a d

many of i t s o r i g i n s . T h i s c hr o no lo gy r e c o r d s t h e p r i n c i p a l e v en t s -t h e

successes and f a i l u r e s , t h e accomplishments and disappointnents--of th os e

c r i t i c a l y e a r s , 957-1965.

W. H. P i c k e r i n g , D i r e c t o rJ e t Propuls ion Labora tory

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CONTENTS

PAGE

FOREWORD . . o . . . . . . . . . . . . o . * * . . . . . . . . ~ o iii

L I S T O F F I G U R E S . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . v i iPREFACE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . x i

I . INTROWCTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1JPLBackground . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3Project Eianger, Some C o n s i d e r a t i o n s . . . . . . . . . . 1 5

11. RANGER ~ O N O L C G Y,A SUMMARY. . . . . + . . . . 31111. RANGERPRELIMINARYEVENTS, 1957-1959 . 41

I V . RANGER BLQCKSI AND 11, 1960-1* 137

. . . 347- _

V. RANGER BIX)CKS 111, IT, AND V, 1963-1965

APPENDIX A: L u n a r Miss ions , 1958-1965 . . . . . . . . . . . . 521APPENDIX B: Ranger Schedule His tory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 525APPENDIX C: Ranger P e r f o n r a n c e H i s t o r y . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 529APPENDIX D: R a n g e r F i n a n c i a l H i s t o r y . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 533APPENDIX E: Ranger Cost H i s t o r y . . . . . . . . . . , . . . . . 53'7APPENDIX F: Ranger Manpower History . . . . . . . . . . . 541APPENDIX G: Ranger Pro jec t Organiza t ion , lgbCbl965 . . . . . . 545APPENDIX H: Ranger Space Science . . . . . . . . . . . 553APPENDIX I': Ranger Spacecraf t Major Subcont rac tors . . . . 559GMSSARY OF TEW, ABBREVIATIONS ANDACRONYMS. . . . . . . . . . 565~ I I M . . . . 9 o . . . . . . . . . . . o . . , . . . . . . . . e 573

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L I S T OF FIGURES

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FIGURE

1. C a l t e c h S t u d e n t s a n d A s s o c i a t e s a t S t a t i c T e s t of Rocket Engine

i n t h e Arroyo Seco, October-November 1936. L e f t t o R ig ht :

R. S c h o t t , A.M.O. Smith, F.J . Malina, E . S . Forman and J . W.

Parsons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2. C a l t e c h ( JP L) R o ck et R e s ea r ch F a c i l i t y o n t h e A r ro yo S e c o, F a l l

of 1940.

H i l l s i d e . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . = . . . . . .3. J P L from t he Arroyo Seco, 1952 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4. O r i g i n a l B u i l d i ng s w e r e Located on th e k ink of th e

Arroyo Seco a t Right Center . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

T e s t P i t s Appear a t t h e F a r Ri g h t A g a i ns t t h e

JPL i n 1970.

5. Success! D r s . von Braun , Van Al len , and P ick er ing wi th Ful l -

S c a l e E x p l or e r I S a t e l l i t e Model a f t e r O r bi t w a s Confirmed . .6 . Explorer I . . . . . . 4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7. Proposed Juno I V Launch Vehicle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8. Pioneer 111 Lunar Probe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9. Vega Launch Ve hi cl e . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

10. Vega Thir d S ta ge and Payload . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11. Proposed Vega 6 S p a c e c r a f t D e s i g n , i n Lau nc h P o s i t i o n

. . . . .12. Propo sed Vega 6 S p a c e c r af t D e si gn , i n C ru i s e P o s i t i o n . . . . .13. Proposed Vega Sp ac ec ra ft E l e c t r i c a l Power System . . . . . . .14. Cont rac tua l and Techn ica l Di r ec t i on fo r Vega Program . . . . .15. Proposed Vega 1 Lunar Orbiter Spacecraft Design Showing Power

system . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . " . .

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U S T OF FIGURES

FIGURE

1 6.17 .

Luna 111 P h ot o gr a ph s o f t h e F a r S i d e of t h e Moon

Propo sed E vo lu ti on of NASA-JPL Unmanned Spa ce cr af t f o r Deep

. . . . . . .

18 .1 9 .20 .

21.22 .23 .24 .25 .26 .27 .28 .29 .30 .31 .32 .

33 .34 .

S p ac e E x p l o r a t i o n . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . .

. . . . . .

Deep Space F li g ht Missions Proposed f o r JPL. 1959

JPL Vega Thi rd St ag e i n Te st Stand . December 1959

Vega Thir d Sta ge Sp ace cr aft I nt er fa ce . Hexagonal Symmetry.

December 1959 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .JPL S-1 Spa cecr af t Pre l im inar y Des ign ( i n Cr ui se Mode) . . . .Spacecraf t Packaging . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Component Loca tio n Pla n. S-1 Sp ac ec ra ft . . . . . . . . . . . .Agena B S t a g e . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Agena B Propuls ion Sys tem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Ranger 1 an d 2 S c i e n t i f i c I n s t ru m e n ta t i o n P l an s

Ranger 3. 4. and 5 TV Experiment Diagram . . . . . . . . . . .Proposed ADF Lunar Capsule Sur v iv a l Sphere

R ang er l a n d 2 Spa cecr af t Design. Ap r i l 1960

Ranger 1 and 2 Space craf t Design. Ju ly 1960

. . . . . . .

. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . .

Ranger 3 . 4 . and 5 Spa cecr af t Inboard Pr of i l e . Ju ly-Augus t 1960

Lunar Capsule Mockup Showing Inscr ume nta t ion i n t h e Sur vi va l

Sphere . Seismometer and Related Equipment Appear i n t h eS p he r e on t h e R i g h t . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Ranger Block I PTM and Noseshroud Mockup . . . . . . . . . . .Proposed Ranger Block I1 S p a c e c r a f t C o n f i g u r a t i o n . Te rm i na l

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LIST OF FIGURES

FIGURE

3 5 . Proposed Ranger Block I1 Spacec raf t Conf igura t ion , Cruis e Mode,

February-March 1961 . . . . . . . . . . , . . . , . . . . . .36. Proposed Ranger Block I1 Spacec ra f t Con f igu ra ti on , T e r m i n a l

Des cent Mode, February-March 19 61 . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3 7 . Ranger Block I1 Lunar Capsule System . . . . . . , . . . . . ,3 8 . Ranger 1 n J P L Te s t Complex . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3 9 . Ranger Launch Vehicle System with Ranger 1 S p a c e c r a f t . . . . .4 0 . Block I1 PTM on Shake Table w it h Gama Ray Boom Extended . . .4 1 . Planned Ranger 1 and 2 S p a c e c r a f t Tr a j e c t o r y . . . . . . . . .4 2 . Ranger Block I11 Spa cec raft Model i n Cru ise Node, August-

September 1961 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4 3 . Ranger Block I1 S p a c e c r a f t . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4 4 . Prop osed SURMEC Payload . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4 5 . Ranger Block I1 F l i g h t P l an . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4 6 .

4 7 . Hel io c en t r i c Or b i t o f R ang er 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4 8 . Ranger 4 a t AMR, Technic ians Adjus t ing O m n i Antenna . . . . . .4 9 . Ranger 4 a t AMR, Technicians Adjusting Omni Antenna . .50.

Ranger Block I1 Planned Te r m i n a E Maneuver Sequenc e of Eve nts

Fi na l Prep ara t ion of Ranger 4 f o r Movement t o Launch Complex 1 2

atAMR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .51. Mariner 2 Spacec ra f t a t JPL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5 2 . Proposed Lunar Sur fac e Photo-Reconnaissance Capsule . . . . . .53. Modified Ranger Block 111 Spacecraf t Conf igura t ion , February

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L I S T OF FIGURES

FIGURE PAGE

54 . Ranger Block I11 TV cameras. Wide Angle Cameras Located a t

Center i n Both Banks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40 255 . a n g e r 6 i n JP L Space Simulator . . . . . . . . . . . . , . . 40756. Northorp-proposed Ranger Block V Spacec ra f t Con f igu ra t i on . . . 41 857. Ranger 6 i n J P L Systems T e s t Complex . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42 258. Ranger Launch t o Impact Tr a j e c t o r y . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42 95 9 , Ranger 7 a t AMR, ESA, Prepa ra to ry t o J-FACT . . . . . . . . . . 45660. Launch of Ranger 7 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45961. Ranger 7 Lunar Sur fa ce Closeup, w it h Impact Area I d e n t i f i e d . . . 4 6 162 . Members of t h e Ranger Exp erimente rs Team Examining Pictures

Returned by Ranger 7 .

E.A. Whitaker, R.L. Heacock, G.P. Kuiper . . . . . . . . . . 46263. Ranger I n j ec t i on Con s t ra in ts , Typica l Launch to th e Moon . . , . 49 364. Ranger Kidcourse Maneuver . - . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49465. Ranger Block 111 Te r m i n a l Maneuver Sequence of Events . . . . , 50466.

Foreground, Le ft t o Right:

Ranger 9 Photogrpah of the Crater Alphonsus with Impact Area

I d e n t i f i e d . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0667 . Ranger 9 Photograph, Closeup of t he Crater Floor . . . . . . , . 50768. Ranger Spacecraft and Atlas D-Ageiia B Launch Vehicle System,

Blocks I , 11, and I11 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 513


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PREFACE

A l a rg e t o p o g r a p h i c a l map of t h e v i s i b l e s i d e o f t h e Moon h a s

o c cu p ie d t h e n o r t h w a l l of t h e lo b b y o f t h e m a in a d m i n i s t z a t i v e b u i l d i n g

a t th e J e t P r o p u l s i o n L a b o r a t o ry s i n c e 19 65 . On i t s f a c e , t h e p o i n t s of

impac t o f Ranger spacecraf t are s u rr o un d ed by t h e s i g n a t u r e s of p e r s o n n e l

who too k p a r t i n P r o j e c t R a n g e r. Today, t h e map commands no more t h a n a

cursory g lance f rom passers -by long accustomed t o i t s presence , o r un-

f a m i l i a r w i tb i t s s i g n i f i c a n c e . N e v e r t h e l e s s , f o r a l l of th os e who par-

t i c i p a t e d i n t h a t p r o j e c t , i n g ov er nm en t, i n i n d u s t ry, a nd e s p e c i a l l y a t

JPL, i t r e p r e s e n t s a c a p st o n e t o a n i m p o rt a nt seg men t i n t h e h i s t o r y of

U ni te d S t a t e s a s t r o n a u t i c s .

R an ge r- -t he f i r s t U . S . d ee p- sp ac e v e h i c l e in v o lv i n g f u l l a t t i t u d e

s t a b i l iz a t i o n and ins t rumente d payload--was deve loped by th e J e t P r o p u l s i o n

L a b o r a t o r y f o r t h e N a t i o n a l A e r o n a u t i c s a nd S p a ce A d m i n i s tr a t i o n .

Ranger vehic le , conce ived a t JPL i n t h e l a t e 1 9 5 0 ' s as a f i r s t - g e n e r a t i o n

i n t e r p l a n e t a r y s p a c e c r af t , w a s des igned ,. developed , and flown between 1959a nd 1 9 65 t o r e t u r n s c i e n t i f i c and e n g i n e e r i n g d a t a fr om c i s l u n a r s p a c e a nd

t h e s u r f a c e o f t h e Moon, and l a t e r t o suppo r t t he Apollo manned lu nar landi ng

program as w e l l .

The

Work on w h a t w a s t o b ecom e P r o j e c t R a ng er b e ga n s h o r t l y b e f o r e t h e

cr ea t i on of NASA and th e t ra ns fe r o f JPL t o that agency i n 1958. Because of

i t s p o s i t i o n i n time, Ranger became a proving ground f o r sub sequent unmanned

deep space miss io ns conducted by NASA and JPL: t h e o r g a n i z a t i o n a l s t r u c t u r e

a n d m a n a g e r i a l r o l e s a n d i n t e r f a c e s a m o n g NASA, JPL, A i r F or ce , t h e s c i e n t i f i c

c o m u n i t y, a n d i n d u s t r y were f i r s t e s ta b li s he d ; r e q u i s i t e deep -space f l i g h t

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operations and technology were developed; t e chn iques fo r decon t amina t i on

and s t e r i l i z a t i o n of s p a c e c r a f t were o r ig ina t e d ; an d su ppo r t i n g sy s t ems

a n d f a c i l i t i e s were cons t ruc t ed . Numerous t e ch n i c a l and o rg an i za t i ona l d i f -

ff -cu l t ies - -both novel and pro sa ic in nature--were encountered and e ven tua l l y

r e s o lv e d d ur in g t h e c o u r s e of t h i s e n t e r p r i s e ; t h e y were, i n t ur n, a product

of t h e magnitude and complexity of th e work, a nd t he some t imes con f l i c t i ng

a t t i t u d e s a n d p e r s p e c t i v e s of t h e p a r t i c i p a n t s in vo lv e d. The e a r l y f l i g h t

f a i l u r e s and ultimate s u c c es s t h a t m arked t h i s p r o j e c t r e f l e c t e d t h e s e con-

d i t i on s ; t oge the r t he y c on s t i t u t e t he l eg a cy bequeathed t o s e cou d-ge ner a ti on

NASA unmanned lun ar and pl an et ar y f l i g h t p ro je ct s .

This chronology i s a f i r s t s t e p toward a co mple t e h i s t o ry of

P r o j e c t Ra ng er , s e q u s n t i a l l y i d e n t i f y i n g m aj or p o l i c i e s , p ro bl em s, d e c i s i o n s ,

a nd o t h e r r e l a t e d e v en t s a s s o c i a t e d w i t h t h i s e ff or t- -f ro m t h e f i r s t s e r i o u s

cons ider a t ion g iven unmanned deep-space f l i g h t dur ing th e In t e r na t i on a l Geo-

p h y s i c a l Ye a r 1957-1958, t hr ou gh t h e f i n a l f l i g h t m i s s io n of Ranger 9 i n

1965. I n a d d i t i o n , some items are included which, a t f i r s t g la nc e, a pp ea r

u n re l a t ed bu t which d o have impor t ant " s i t u a t i o na l va lue ;" t h a t i s , t hey

rep re s en t ou t s i de deve lopm en ts which had an e f f e c t on t h e co ndu c t of P r o j e c t

R an ge r o r r e f l e c t i n s t i t u t i o n a l - 'la nge s r e s u l t i n g f rom t h e e x p e ri e nc e o f f e r e d

by P r o j e c t Ranger and o t h e r conte mpor ary NASA-JPL unmanned deep -spa ce program s.*

*For example, a number o f a l t e r a t i o n s i n t h e o r g a n iz a t i o na l s t r u c t u r e

of JP L ar?d NASA f a l l i n to t h i s c ategory , a s w e l l as changes i n t h e ba si c NASA-C a lt e ch c o n t r a c t , s c i e n t i f i c i n t e r e s t i n s el en ol og y, and t h e e v o lu t io n ofproces ses by which sci en ce could more adequate ly be join ed t o th e unmanned--and eve n manfled--deep-space programs.


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For th e rea der, one cavea t : t h i s work i s no t a h i s t o r y ; a n y

c h r o no l o gi c a l r e c a p i t u l a t i o n o f e v e n ts d o es n o t n e c e s s a r i l y e x p l a i n c a us e

at.4 ef fe c t . Hopefully, however, t h i s chronology w i l L provide a u s e f u l

source of re fe renc e f or major e vents and achievements from which ce r t a in

pa t t e rn s o f r e l a t i o ns h ip may be a sc e r t a i n ed , and fu r t h e r s t udy under t aken .

The author i s indebted t o numerous ind iv i du al s who as s i s t ed i n

th e ta sk of res earc h o r who took t i m e t o review and c r i t i q u e e a r l y d r a f t s

of t h i s chronology. Spec ia l thanks are du e Lee D. Sa eg es se r, NASA Ar ch iv is t;

Eugene M. Emme, NASA H i s to r i a n ; E dgar M. Co yt ri gh t, NASA, Di re ct or , Langley

Research Center; Oran W. N i c k s , NASA, Deputy As so ci at e Adm ini str at or of t h e

O f f i c e of Space Science and Appl ica t ions ; James 3 , k i l s o n , P5.D. can d ida t e ,

UCLA His to ry Depart ment; Ton: Ca rr o l l , B.S. candida te , Ca l tech His tory Depar t-

ment ; Barney Huber, JPL, As s i s t an t t o th e Dire c tor (deceased) ; Brooks T. Morr is ,

3PL, bfanager,Qua l i t y Assurance and Re l i a b i l i t y D iv i s i on ; M. L or e t t a S te war d ,

former ly wi th JPL Cent ra l P i les ; Viv ian S. Pr i tchard and Jack G. Jackson, JPL

Technica l Informat ion Divis ion; James D. Burke, JPL, Pl an s and Programs Div isi on;

Harris M. S chu r me ie r, D eputy Ass i s t an t L abo r a to ry D i r ec to r f o r F l i g h t P r o j e c t s ;

t h e s t a f f s of t h e J P L Libr ary and Cent ral Document Control--most es pe ci al ly to

Sharon Onak, JPL Reference Libr ar ia n ; and to L i l l i e Duryea, who possessed the

te na c i ty and s tamina necessary t o complete typ ing of t h i s work over a two-

yea.: period.

RCH

J e t B o p h i o n Labomtor~lC a Z i f o r n h I n s t i t u t e of Techno ogyPasadena, California


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INTBODUCTION


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INTRODUCTION

J P L Background

A f t e r i t s founding i n 1926, th e Guggenheim Aer onau tica l Lab-

or a t or y, Ca l i f orn ia I n s t i t u t e of Technology (GALCIT) r ap id l y developed

i n to one of t he na t i o n ' s l e ad in g s choo l s of a e r onau t i c s under t he guid a nce

of D r . Theodore von Karman. Beginning i n 1936, the or et ic a l and em pir ica l

exper iments on th e per formance of var iou s type s of so l id - and l iqu id -

p r o p e l l a n t j e t propuls ion engines w e r e conducted by several g r a d u a t e s t u d e n t s

and r h e i r a s s oc i a t e s . They hoped even tua l l y t o co ns t r uc t a h igh -a l t i t ud e

sou ndi ng roc k e t ; h oweve r, t h e i r u l t ima t e a s p i r a t i on s were d i r ec t e d t oward

f l i g h t be yond t h e ea r t h ' s a t mosph ere.

f o r t h i s w ork w a s a c c ep t ed by t h e I n s t i t u t e a nd , w i t h t h e s u p p o rt o f

D r . von Karman, t hc -s e e f f o r t s ga ined o ff i c i a l r e co gn i t i on as t h e GALCIT

Rocket Research Project . '

U ni te d S t a t e s t o f o r m a l l y s po ns o r r o c ke t r e s e a r c h ; p u b l i c a t i o n of t h e

r e s u l t s of r o c k e t r e s e a r c h and exper iments dur ing t he next few ye ar s drew

i n t e r e s t f ro m o th e r q ua r t e r s , and fo rma l gove rn me nt su ppo r t f o ll owed i n

1

In 1937, a c o n t r i b u t i o n of $1,000

C a lt e ch t h u s became t h e f i r s t u n i v e r s i t y i n t h e

'A review of the courses of s t ud y a v a i l a b l e a t t h i s t i m eappears i n "The Da nie l Guggenheim Graduate School of Aer ona utic s oft h e C a l if o r ni a I n s t i t u t e of Technology: A Hi s to ry of t he F i r s t Ten

Years," Bu l le t in of the ' Ca l i f or n ia I n s t i t u t e of Technology, Vol . 4 9 ,No. 2, Pasadena, Calif., May, 1940, 3-5.

2Frank J . Malina, "Origins and Fi r s t Decade of th e J e tPropuls ion Laboratory," The His tory of Rocket Technology, E. M. Emme( ed .) . ( P e t ro i t : Wayne S t a t e Un ive r s i t y P r e s s , 196 4 ) , 50.


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1939-1940. (Figure 1. )

On J un e 25 , 1940, t h e Army A i r Corps awarded Caltech a c o n t r a c t

t o cont inue des ign and deve lopment of s o l i d and l iq u id -pr ope l la n t roc ke t

m o t or s f o r t h e p r o t e a n a p p l i c a t i o n t o " su pe r- pe rf or ma nc e" o f a i r c r a f t .

I n a c c e pt i n g t h i s c o n t r a c t C a lt ec h h el d no e x p e c t a ti o n t h a t t h i s s pe -

c i a l i z e d r e s e a r c h a n d d ev el op me nt e f f o r t w ou ld c o n t i n u e b ey on d c o n c l u s i o n

o f h o s t i l i t i e s i n E u r o p e , w hi ch ha d b eg un i n t h e p r ec e d in g ye a r.

r e s u l t , tem po rar y f a c i l i t i e s w e r e er ec te d t o accommodate th e p r o j e c t ; c o n -

s t r u c t i o n b eg an i n A ug us t, 1 94 0

J e t P r o p u l s i o n L a b o r at o r y i n t h e A rr oy o S e co on t h e western edge of

Pasadena.

t h i s c a n y o i l were t o l e r a t e d by t h e r e s i d e n t s i n n ei g h bo r i ng c om m un it ie s

as a n o t h e r i n c on v e n ie n t p a r t o f t h e "war e f f or t " t h a t , l i k e r a t i o n

s t am p s , w ou ld n o t p e r s i s t . ( F i g u r e 2.)

4

A s a

5a t what i s new th e prese n t s i t e o f t h e

T he d i s s o n a n t s o un d s t h a t s o o n b eg an t o reverberate o u t o f

3Cf. F.J. Malina and A.M.O. S m i t h , " F l i g h t A n a l y s i s of aSounding Rocket," Jo ur . Aero. S c i . , Vol. 5, 1938; Mal ina , Ts i en , Parsons ,Smith, and Bollay, Report of t h e GALCIT Rocket Research Pro jec t , Repor tNo. RRP-1 GALCIT, A p r i l 10, 1957; F. J. Mal ina , "Rocket ry i n Cal i fo rn i a :P lans and Progress of t h e GALCIT Rocket Resee rch Group," As tr on au ti cs ,No. 41, J ul y 1938; and F.J. Malina, Repo rt on th e Rocket Motor and i t sA p p l i c a t i o n s as an A u x i l i a r y t o t h e Po wer P l a n t s o f C o n v en t i o na l A i r c r a f t ,RRRP-GALCIT Report No. 2 , August 1938.hands of D r . von Karman as a member of t h e Na ti on al Academy of S ci en ceCommittee on Army A i r Corps Research , t h a t was l a r g e l y r e s p o ns i b l e f o rs t i m u l a t i n g g o v e r n m e n t i n t e r e s t .

I t w a s t h i s l a s t r e p or t , i n t h e

4Theodore von Karman, a book revi ew of "A ssi ste d Take-Off ofAi rc ra ft ," th e James Jackson Cabot Fund l e c t u r e by Rear Admiral Calv in M.B o l s t e r , N or wi ch U n i v e r s i t y, N o r t h f i e l d , V t . , Pub l ic a t io n No. 9 , 1950,i n ARS Jo ur na l, No. 85, Jun e, 1951, 92-93.

F. J . Malina , "Rocket Research and Development: Exc erp ts fromL et te r s Wri t te n Home by Frank J. Malin a Between 1936 and 1946," 33,unpub., copy i n JP L H i s t o r i c a l F i l e s ( h e r e a f t er r ef e r r ed t o a s JPLHF).


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7

I n th e new f a c i l i t i e s o ff -campus dur i ng Wor ld War X I , t h e

GALCIT Rocket Research P ro je c t deve loped th e f i r s t res t r ic te d-b urn ing ,

" c a s t a b l e , " s o l i d - p r o p e l l a n t r o c k e t m o t o r s, a nd h y p e rg o X c r e d f um in g

n i t r i c a c i d - a n i l i n e l i q u i d - p r o p e l l a n t r o c k e t m o to rs w hi ch w e r e employed

f o r j e t - a s s i s t e d t a k e o f f (JATO) o f a i r c r a f t . S i n c e C a l te c h w a s n o t

e q u i p p e d f o r, n o r d i d i t w i s h t o e ng ag e i n , f a b r i c a t i n g l a r g e n um be rs o f

t h e s e r o c k e t u n i t s , p r o d uc t i on f o r t h e a rmed services w a s undertaken by

th e Aero je t Engineer ing Corpora t ion (now th e Aer o je t Genera l Corpora t io n)

formed by members of t h e GALCTT R oc ke t R e s e ar c h P r o j e c t i n 1 9 4 2 .6

R e c e i p t of B r i t i s h i n t e l l i g e n c e i n fo r m a ti o n c on ce rn in g t h e

imminent appearance of t h e German V-2 r o c k e t i n t h e E ur op ean t h e a t r e

of ope rat ion s caused t h e GALCIT Rocket Resebrch P ro je c t t o examine t h e

m i l i t a r y p o t e n t i a l of long-range missi les , a nd , a f t e r a n a l y s i s , d e ve lo p-

ment of th ese vehic les w a s recommended t o t h e U. S. m i l i t a r y services.

This s tudy proveda

t u r ni n g p o i n t i n t h e c o u r s e o f C a l t e ch ' s a s s o c i a t i o n

with rocketry; what had begun as a s t u d e n t - l e d i n v e s t i g a t i o n of rocke t motor

e f f i c i e n c y an d u t i l i t y , a nd ha d grown t o i n c l u d e d ev el op me nt of t h e s e

7

units f o r a p p l i c a t i o n i n a i r c r a f t , now w a s extended and formal ized t o

'Theodore von Karman w i t h Lee Edson, The Wind and Beyond(Boston: L i t t l e , Brown and Company, 1967), 256-257

I Theodore von Karman, Memorandum on the Possibility of Long-

Range Rocket Pro jec t i l es , and H. s . Tsien and F. J . Malina , A Review and_ _P r c l i m i n a r y A n a l y s i s of Long-Range Rocket P r o j e c t i l e s , combined andr e l e a s e d as Memo J P L - 1 , November 20, 1 9 4 3 .


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a

8embrace resea rch and deve lopment r e l a t ed t o t a c t i c a l guided miss i l e s .

On Ju n e 2 2 , 1944, Army Ordnance awarded Caltech a c o n t r a c t t o d e s ig n

and develop complete long-range missi les a nd s u i t a b l e l a un c h in g e q u i p -

m e n t .

b u i l d a h i g h - a l t i t u d e s ou nd in g r oc ke t- -w as u l t i m a t e l y r e a l i z e d i n t h e

The o r i g i n a l o b j e c t i v e of t h e C a lt e c h g r a d u a t e s t u de n t s - - to

work performed under t h e new c o n t r a c t .

In o r d e r t o u n d s r ta k e i t s new mission--with continued res ea rc h

and development work assu red f o r some y e a r s t o coma--the GALCIT Roc ket

R e se a rc h P r o j e c t w a s reorganized and renamed the J e t Propuls ion Labora-

t o r y (J PL) , GALCTT, on November 1, 1944. ( A t t h a t t i m e t he word "rocket"

w a s s t i l l i n s uc h b ad r e p u t e , e v e n 4 1 academic c i r c l e s , t h a t C a l t e c h

dec ided aga ins t employing the t e r m in naming th e new or ga ni zat io n: " I t

i s f o r t h i s r e a s o n t h a t t h e L ab or at or y a t C a l t e c h i s c a l l e d t h e J e t

P r o p u l s io n L a bo r at o ry r a t h e r t h a c th e Rocket P rop uls ion Labora tory." )10

D r . Frank J . M al in a, o rg a n i z e r of t h e o r i g i n a l g r a d u a t e s t u d e n t r e s e a r c h

'There was, however, an ot he r cla nd es t i ne w a r t i m e r o c k e t p r o j e c td i r e c t e d by C a l t e c h f o r t h e O f f i c e o f S c i e n t i f i c R e s e a rc h an d De ve lo pm en tu n de r t h e l e a d e r s h i p o f D r . C. C. Lau r i t s en , which began i n l a t e 1 9 4 1 .Thi s group designed and developed se ve ra l types of unguided, un-re-s t r i c t e d - b u r n i n g s o l i d - p r o p e l l a n t b a r r a g e r o c k e t s l a t e r used by nava lf o r c e s i n t h e P a c i f i c a g a i n s t Ja pa ne se -h el d i s l a n d s .mately grew i n t o t h e Naval Ordnance Test S t a t i o n (NOTs) a t Inyokern ,C a l i f o r n i a a f t e r Cal tec h wi thdrew from t h e e f f o r t a t t h e c l o s e of t h e

Th is prog:cam u l t i -

~ -~ -

w a r .L i t t l e , Brown, and Company, 1948; an d, Howard S e i f e r t . "Twentv-five Years

Cf . mate r i a l i n Jo hn E . Buschard, Rockets, Guns and Targets- (Bos ton :

of Rocket Development," J e t Propulsion, November 1955, 594-603; also,

"Rocket Research and Devel.opment ,'I Engineer ing and Sc ience , Vol. 7 , No. 11,December 1944, 16. An a d e qu a t e h i s t o r y of t h i s p r o j e c t i s n o t y e t w r i t t e n .

'F. J . Malina, The J e t P r o p u l s i o n L a b o r a t o r y, GALCIT, Memo JPL-3 ,June 2 5 , 1945, 10.

"F.L. Wattendorf and F. J . Ma li na, "Theodore von Karman, 1881-1963," b__ c s t r o n a u t i c a Acta, Vol. 10, 1964, 85.


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9

i n t h e 1 9 3 0 ' ~ ~ e ca ne t h e f i r s t D i r e c t o r o f JPL an d, i n 1 94 6, n e was

succeeded by D r . Louis G. Dunn, I n a d d i ti o n , a seco nd pha se of con-

s t r u c l i o n b e g a n a t t h i s time i n w hi ch p er ma ne nt f a c i l i t i e s were erec ted- -

t o the con s te rn a t ion of some of t h e nearby surburb an res idents --and new

employees w e r e h i r e d . ( F i g u r e 3. )

Proceeding f rom an accumula ted exper t i se i n r o c k e t e n g i n e

technology-, undez th e new mandate JPL continued t o de sig n and develop

t h e l i q u i d - p r o p e l l a n t WAC C o r p o r a l s o u n d i n g r o c k e t , t h e C o r p o r a l t a c t i c a l

mis s i l e , an d t h e s o l i d - p r o p e l l a n t L o ki a n t i - a i r c r a f t r o c k e t an d S e rg e an t

miss i l e s y s t e m d u r i n g t h e l a t e 1940's and 1950's . F l i g h t t e s t i n g o f

t h e s e v e h i c l e s t o o k p l a c e a t White Sands Proving C-ound i n New Mexico,

a n d, f o l l o w i n g p r e c e d e n t , p r o d u c t i o n f o r t h e ar me d services w a s a l s o

t u r n e d o v e r t o i n d u s t r y. During the same p e r i o d t h e L a bo r at o ry a l s o

p ar t ic ip at ed i n t h e V-2 Bumper-WAC program ( i n which a WAC Corpora l

sounding rocke t w a s s t a g e d a t o p a V-2 r o c k e t f o r h i g h - a l t i t u d e r e s e a r c n ) ,

and p loneered i n th e deve lopment of F'M-FM r a d i o t e l e m e t r y a n d v a r i o u s

ra d io and in e r t i a l gu idance systems f o r t he Army Ordnance which w e r e used

"For seve ra l y ea rs a f t e r t h e w a r concluded there w a s a g r e a td e a l of a g i t a t i o n a n d c o n c er n e x p r es s e d, espec ia l ly among land deve l -o p e r s i n n ea rb y L a Canada and Altadena, over t h e cont inuance and expan-s i o n of t h e L a b o ra t o r y. F l y e r s were c i r c u l a t e d t h a t JPL w a s l i a b l e t oblow UF a t an y t i m e . Val Larsen, former business manager a t JPL, rec-o l l e c t s a t t e n d i n g a community meeting a t a L a C ac ad a s c h o o l i n w hi ch t h eowner of a c e r t a i n p i e c e o f p r o p e r t y c ha rg ed t h a t l a t e a t n ig h t a m h -Lances would leave t h e La b o r at o r y b e a r i n g t h e b o d i e s o f t h o s e e m pl oy ee swho had been k i l l e d i n rocke t t e s t s c on d uc te d d u r i n g t h e d ay. ( I n t e r -view with V. C. Lar sen , May 28, 1968, JPLHF.) JPL i n s t a l l e d noi ses u p p r e s s o r s i n i t s r o c k e t t e s t s ta nd s and , about 1950 , moved te s t in g ofall r o c ke t e n g in e s t o t h e O R D C I T Test S t a t i o n i n t h e d e s e r t a t whatis now Edwards AFB; b y t h a t time the commotion had subsided.


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11

i n th e Corpora l and Sergeant miss i l e s , and which were r e f in e d f o r u s e i n

the Jup i t e r I n t e r med ia t e Range B a l l i s t i c Missi le (IRBM) .D r . d i l l i a m H. Picke r ing , a p r o f e s s o r a t C a l te c h i n e l e c t r i c a l

engipeering and a s p e c i a l i s t i n t el ec o mm u ni ca ti on s, w a s named Director of

J P L i n 1954 ai abou t t he time JPL began co l la bo ra t io n wi th th e Army

Ordnance and the Office of Naval Research (ONR) on a p r op o sa l t o c o n s t r u c t

and l au nc h an a r t i f i c i a l e a r t h s a t e l l i t e .

p l an s c a l l e d f o r a f i ve pound e a r t h s a t e l l i t e t o be launched by a Redstone

rocke t as a f i r s t s t a g e v e h i c l e w i t h c l u s t e r e d L o ki s o l i d- p r op e l la n t

r o c k e t s as upp e r s t age s .

JP L recommended su bs t i t u t i ag subsca l e Se rgean t r o cke t s f o r t h e uppe r

s t a g e s i n p l a c e o f L o ki i n o r d e r t o i n c r e a s e t h e p ay lo ad c a p a b i l i t y of t h e

v e h i c l e sild a t t h e same time im pr ov e o v e r a l l r e l i a b i l i t y. T h is a p pr oa c h

was r.dopted by t h e Army-Navy team when t h e s a t e l l i t e proposal, named

O r b i t e r , w a s formal ly submi t ted for review i n th e Department of Defense i n

ea r l y 1955.

O r i g i n a l ONR-Army Ord nance

Afte r eva lua t i ng t he p roposa l f o r Army Ordnance ,

12

Orb i t e r, l a t e r t o become known as Explorer, w a s on8 of t h e f i r s t

formal s a t e l l i t e p roposa l s drawn up i n t h i s c oun t ry, bu t :.t w a s never

devel oped unde r t he o r i g i n a l t i t l e . On Septe mber 9 , 19 55, s h o r t l y a f t e r

President Eisenhower announced that a Uni t e d S t a t e s s a t e l l i t e would be

constructed and launched as p a r t o f t h e Un it ed S t a t e s c o n t r i b u t i o n t o

1 2 D r. Homer J . Stewart, comments on the JPL-Orbiter s a t e l l i t ee f f o r t , i n a l e t t e r to th e au thor, March 13 , 1964.


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t h e I n t e r n a 3 o n a l G eo ph ys ic al Year, a s p e c i a l c o m m it te e i n t h e D ep ar tm en t

of Defense announced se le cA on of th e Naval Research Lab ora tor y 's Vanguard

s a t e l l i t e as t h e o f f i c i a l A merican p r o g 11n.'~ Wit h t h i s d e c i s i o n , w or k

o n t h e O r b i t e r p r o g r a m w a s t e rmina ted a t J P L w h i l e t h e p r e l i m i n a ry d e s i g n

phase w a s ncar ing comple t ion . However, work on th e Orb i t e r upper s t ag es

b e g a n a g a i n , t h i s t i m e as p a r t o f a n o t h e r pr og ra m.

I n September 19 55, Army Ordnance commissioned J P L t o c o n ti n ue

work on t h e s u b s c a l e S e rg e an t u p pe r s t a g e s f o r t h e R e d st on e missi le . The

Reds tone wi t h J P L u p p e r s t a g e s w a s c h r i s t e n e d J u p i t e r C, an d was i n t e n d e d

f o r u se as a r e e n t r y t e s t v e h i c l e (RTV) t o v e r i f y d e s i g n of a nose cone

f o r t h e Army J u p i t e r IRBM th en under development. l4 JPL went on t o com-

p l e t e d e s i g n o f t h e h ig h- sp ee d u pp er s t a g e s i n Ja n u ar y 19 56 , an d t h e f i r s t

p r o o f - te s t v e r s i o n o f t h e J u p i t e r C was s u c c e s s f u l i y f i r e d on s c h e d u l e ,

September 20 , 1956. The, RTV program was concluded i n August 1957,

w i t h t h e f i r s t s u c c e s s f u l re co ve ry o f a J u p i t e r r e e n t r y n o s e - c o n e .15

When So vi et Sp utn iks I and I1 were launched i n October and November 1957,

t h e Army had a t hand i n t h e J u p i t e r C a s a t e l l i t e l a un c he r o f t h e O r b i t e r

13U. S . Congress , _ Inqui ry in to S a t e l l i t e an d Missi le Programs,P a r t I , Prepare dness In ve st ig at in g Subcommittee, S ena te Committee on ArmedS e r v i c e s , 8 5 t h Co n gr es s, 1st and 2nd Sessions, November and December,1957 , 315-316.

I4A. R. Hibbs, "Development of th e High-speed Sta ges f o r t h eRe-ent ry Tes t Vehic le , ' ' Pu bl ica t io n No. 68 , Ap r i l 1.3 , 1956 .

I5Juno, PL Brochu re, n.d ., c i r c a 1959, 5 (JPLHF, 3-153).


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c lass . On November 8, 1957, t h e Department of Defense, aware of develop-

m ent d i f f i c u l t i e s en c ou nt er ed i n t h e c o n s t r u c t i o n a nd t e s t i n g of t h e

Vanguard s a t e l l i t e r ocke t , au tho r i zcd Army Ord na nc e t o p r epa re t o l au nch

a n e a r t h s a t e l l i t e . 16

Major Genera!. John B. Med ari s, Commanding Ge ne ra l of t h e Army

B a l l i s t i c Missi le Agency (ABMA) pledged a f i r s t l au nc h w i t h i n n i n et y d a y s ,

and work began immediately on refurbishing seve ra l Redstone-Jupiter C

r o c k e t s fhaL had been s tor ed upon conclus ion of th e RTV program. The

as signmen t g iven JPL con s i s t ed o f f ab r i c ac i ng t h e s econd and t h i rd s t a ge s

use d i n t h e RTV p rogram toe ge the r w i th t h e fou r th - s t age s a t e l l i t e r o c k e t .

I n a d d i t i o n , t h e L a b or a t my was r e s p o n s i b l e for the necessary space- to-

ground s a t e l l i t e communicat ions and ins t r ume nta t i on , and th e in t eg ra t i on

o f s c i e n t i f i c ex pe r im e nt s i n t o t h e c y l i n d r i c a l body of the s a t e l l i t e . A

l ight-weight phase-locked loop ra di o system, knovn as Microlock , tha t

pe rmi t t ed t r a ck ing and r e ce ip t o f t e l eme t ry da t a f rom a low-power

t r a n s m i t t e r f l ow n i n t h e r e e n t r y n os e c on es f o r t h e RTV program w a s

a d ap te d f o r u s e i n t h e s a t e l l i t e program.17

were a c t i v a t e d a t Cape Canaveral , ani . new stat ions w e r e s e t up a t Ear th -

quake Valley e a s t of San Diego, Ca l i f or n i a , and a t S ingapore , a nd i n N i ge r i a .

Micro lock ground s ta t ions

16R. C a r g i l l H a l l , "Origins and Development of t h e VanguarG an dExplorer S a t e l l i t e Programs," The Airpower His tor ian , Vol. 11, No. 4,October 1964, 110.

17Cf. E. Rechtin, "The J e t Propulsion Laboratory Microlock System,"P u b l i c a t i o n No. 88 , January 27, 1957; also, W.K. Vic to r, H.L. R i c h t e r , anaJ .?? . Eyraud, "Explorer S a t e l l i t e E l e c t r o n i c s , " Te c h n i c a l Release 34-12,January 29, 1960.


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The nlnety-day de ad li ne w a s m e t . Americas f i r s t s a t e l l i t e ,

Explorer I , was s u c c e s s f u l l y l a u n c he d an d pl a c ed i u o r b i t o n J a n u a r y 31 ,

1958. For JPL as w e l l as t h e Un it ed S t a t e s t h i s event marked the

b e g i m i n g o f a new era o f s c i e n t i f i c e x p l o r a t i o n of o u t e r s p a ce b y

means o f r e m o t e l y c o n t r o l l e d s p a c e c r a f t . S h o r t l y t h e r e a f t e r , a s t h e

United S t a t e s began l a rg e - sc a le p r e p a ra t i o n s f o r t h i s a c t i v i t y , a phased

program for deeo space explora t ion w a s e s t a b l i s h e d a t JP L an d ASMA under

th e auspic es of the Advarxed Research Pr oj ec ts Agency.

1 9 5 8 t h i s e f f o r t a n d a l l contract functions and the Government-owned

On December 3 ,

f a c i l i t i e s a t JPL were t r an sf er re d f rom th e Army t o the newly c rea ted

Nati onal Aerona utics and Space Admin istra t ion i n supp ort of NASAs

c i v i l i a n s p ac e m i ss io n . 18

For th e second time C a l t e c h s J e t P r o o u l s i o n L a b o r a t o r v re-

d i r e c t e d i t s r e s e a r ch a nd d ev el op me nt e f f o r t s , i n t h i s case from miss i l e

s ys te m p r o j e c t s t o l u n a r an d p l a n e t a r y p r o j e c t s ; new f a c i l i t i e s w e r e

e r e c t e d , a n d a d d i t i o i i a l e n g i n e e r s

were employed.

and I V , w e r e launched i n December 1958, and March 1959, r es pe cti ve ly .

S ince then , JPL has beer. respons ib le for a number of history-making

pr oj ec ts executed fo r t he NASA Offi ce of Space Scie nce and Applica t ion s:

s c i e n t l s t s arid sup por t pe rsonn el

The f i r s t NASA/AZ%/IPL l u n a r pr ob es, Pi on ee rs III

RaRger, t h e f i r s t U-S . l u n a r i mp ac t p r o j e c t ; t h e h i g h l y s u c c e s s f u l l u n a r

sof t - lande r, Surveyor; and th e Mar iner p la ne t a ry probes th a t have inves-

t i g a t e d Mars and Venus. I n ad di t i on , under t he NASA Off ic e of Tracking

18Executive Order 10793, 23 F.K. 9 40 5, c i t e d i n Ro b er t L. Roshol t .An Adm?:.-,istrative Hi sto ry of NASP , 1958-1963, N k A SP-4101, Washington, D.C;1966, 4 ; .


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and Data A c q u i s i t i o n , J P L developed and opera tes the NASA Deep Space

Network (DSN)--derived from th e e ar l y Explore r/Micro lock effo rts --a world-

wide syste m which t r ac k s, commands, c o n t r o l s a n d receives d a t a f r o m l u n a r

a nd p l a n e t a r y s p a c e c r a f t . The L z b c r a t o r y a l s o h a s co n t i nu e d Lo p u r s u e

b a s i c a n d a p p l i e d r e s e a r c h i n s u p u o r t o f t h e s e s p a c e pr og ra ms .

f l i g h t p r o j e c t s h av e t h u s f a r r e tu r ne d a w e a lt h of s c i e n t i f i c i n f or m a ti o n

on t h e p h y s i c a l c o n s t i t u t i o n o f o u r n ea r by c e l e s t i a l n ef sh bo r s a d h e

i n t e r p l a n e t a ry m e d i u .

p o s i t i v e an sw er s t o q u e s t i o n s co n ce r ni n g t h e o r i g i n o f t h e solar system

and l i f e wi t h i n it . ( F i g u r e 4 . )

NASA/.PL

These d a t a c m p r i s e a n i n i t i a l s t e p toward

Pr o j ec t Ranger, Some con s id era t io ns

P r o j e c t X a n g e r w a s born , r e ac h ed m a t u r i t y, a nd e x p i r e d i n t h e

r a t h e r b r i e f a l b e i t e xt re me ly a c t i v e p e r i o d i n a s t r o n a u t i c s b etw een

1959-1966. The conduct of t h i s re se ar ch and development eff ort -- t o

exas in e th e moon a t f i r s t hand--took p l a c e i n a n h i s t o r i c a l co n t ex t

c h a r a c t e r i z e d by c ir c u m s ta n c e s t h a t , o f t h e m se l v e s, a r e n o t r e a d i l y

apparen t i n tAe chronology, b u t which appear superimposed across th e

c om p le te s p e c t r m i o f e v e n t s . F or t h i s r e a s o n i t i s i n s t r u c t i v e t o n o t e

a nd b r i e f l y e x p l a i n t h e m ore i m p o r t a n t of t h e s e c i r c u m s t a n c es an d s i t L -

a t i o n a l c o n si d e ra t io n s a s - a n i n t e r p r e t i v e a i d : t h e y had a m a j o r i n f l u -

ence upon the manner i n which the p ro je c t deve loped , and , t o some ex te n ta t l e a s t , condi t ione d th e ou tcome. These des id er a t a may be roughly

d i vi d ed i n t o t h r e e b ro ad , i n t e r r e l a t e d , c a t e g or i e s : t e c h n i c a l , o p e r a t i ng

r o l e s an d o rg a n i z at i o n , a nd p a r t i c i p a n t a t t i t u d e s a nd p h i l a s o p hi e s of

o p e r a t i o n .


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Technica l Cons idera t ions .

c r a f t was conceived a t .JPL i n 1958-1959 as a b a s i c b u i l d in g b l oc k f o r

American unmanned plane tar y and luna r ex pl or at io n pr oj ec ts .

and i t s a s s o c i a t e d cpe r a t i ve sys te ms i nv olved a t echnologica l advance

which w a s n o t g r ad ua t ed o r a d d i t i v e i n n a t u r e , b u t r a t h e r more n e a r l y

approximated a mu lt i p l e jump i n complexi ty and ca pa bi l i ty ove r contem-

pcjrary United States deep space probes.

hundreds of pounds ra th e r than tens of pounds, and inco rpor ated e l e c t r i c a l

power der ived f rom deployable so la r panels as w e l l as from b a t t e r i e s ; i t

w a s a t t i t u d e s t a b i l i z e d on t h r e e ax es r a t h e r t h an spix, s t a b i l i z e d s o t h a t

s c i e n t i f i c i n s tr u me n ts a nd t h e s o l a r p a n el s c o ul d be p r o pe r l y p o s i t i o n e d ,

and w a s capable J f performing midcourse maneuvers t o re f i n e i t s t r a j e c t o r y

t o im pac t o r pe rmit a c lo se approach t o c e l e s t i a l bcd i e s ; i t employed a s t e e r -

ab l e h igh -ga in an tenna t ha t could be Bed up t o p l ane t a ry d i s t an ce s t o t r an smi t

e n gi n ee r in g an d s c i e n t i f i c d a t a , and i t possessed the nec essary onboard t imers

and computers t o ac cep t and ac t upon r e a l t i m e as w e l l as stored commands.

Th e f i r s t - ge ne ra t i o n Ra ng e r space-

Th e veh i c l e

Ranger w a s des igned t o weigh

T o suppor t lbnger and i L s s i s t e r unmanned deep spa ce f l i g h t

p ro j e c t s on t h e g round, nea co n t ro l sys t ems and t e s t f a c i l i t i e s w e r e

developed.

s t e e r a b l e , a n t e n n a s w e r e e s t ab l i shkd a t v a r i ous l oc a t i on s arou nd t h e

world, and a communications network between these stat ions and a

f l i g h t oper ation s command cente r a t J P L w e r e c r e a t e d t o g e t h e r w i t h t h e

necessary op era t ing procedures and da t a process ing equipment .

t e s t f a c i l i t i e s were designed and constructed a t the Laboratory which

could dup l ic a t e the environment encountered dur ing launch and f l i g h t i n

deep s pace , i nc lud ing mechanisms t h a t coul d v i b r a t e sp a ce c r a f t a t low

Deep space t ra c ki ng s t a t i o n s u t i l i z i n g l a r g e a pe r t u re ,

Environmental


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18

and high fr eq ue nc ie s, and vacuum chambers la rg e enough t o accommodate

comple te spacecraf t .Much of th e equipment and techniques th a t went i n t o t h i s com-

plex ente:prise duri ng th e l a t e 1950 's and ear ly 1960 ' s were n o t ava i l -

a b l e an d had t o be d e s igned , d e ve lo pe d , t e s t e d a nd i n t e g r a t e d i n t o t h e

complete system under short- term schedu les.

t r a n s i s t o r i z e d p ower c o n ve r si o n e qu ip me nt f o r u s e i n s p a c e c r a f t , f o r

example, w a s no t a v a i l a b l e and had t o be deve loped.

l i t t l e w a s known about the performance of electronic and mechanical com-

ponents i n th e hard vacuum of space , and thermal c on tr ol and equipment

packaging pro3lems had t o be so lved . I n orde r t o avoid contaminat ion

of c e l e s t i a l fudies from t e z r e s t r i a l o rg an is ms , s t e r i l i z a t i o n t e ch n iq u es

a l s o were f or m ul at ed a nd a p p l i e d i n t h e f a b r i c a t i o n of e a r l y R ang er s p a c e c r a f t .

Te ch ni ca l d i f f i c u i t i e s a s s oc i a te d w i th a l l of the se developments i n both

th e ground and space-borne segments of t h i s pr o je c t had t o b e r e s o l v e d ,

and t h e s t a te - o f- t h e -a r t f o r v i r t u a l l y a l l p ro j e c t subsys t e ms , w i t h t h e

p os s ib l e exc e p t i on of main s t ag e rocke t p ropul s i o n, had t o be r a p id ly

a dv an ce d i n o r d e r t h a t a m b it io us f l i g h t o b j e c t i v e s c o ul d b e m e t .

S a t i s f a c t o r y l i g ht w e ig h t

Conci l r ren t ly, very

19

Operating Roles and Organization. Es t i i b l i sh in g a v i a b l e

o p e r a t i n g r o l e u nd er NASA ausp i ce s as w e l l as adequate modes to or ga ni rz

and manage resource s fo r Pro je c t Ranger proved t o be ta sk s eq ual ly as

desanding as t h e c r e a t i o n of new equipment and the solution of t e c h n i c a l

" Sev era l e a r l y Ranger f l i g h t f a i l u r e s , f o r examp le , may b v ebeen caused by an imperfect understanding of th e zero-g environment pe cu l i a rt o a t t i t ude - s t a b i l i z e d spacec r a f t : exposed t e rmina l s cou ld ha ve be en sho r t - ic i r c u c t e d by f o r e i gn p a r t i c l e s f l o a t i n g i n the spacecraf t equipment modules . ! .

For the l a t e r Ranger and Miriner s p a c e c ra f t , a l l teKidiiais w e r e coated andin s u l a t ed t o r emove t h i s hazar d .

II 1


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problems of spacef l igh t .* ' Tr in c ip a l zmong the se ta sk s a t J P L were:

(1) re v is in g th e pre-1958 rese arch and development r o l e of the Labora tory

t o m e e t the demands of new missions; (2 ) a c q u i r i n g a n d i n t e g r a t i n g l a rg e

numbers of new emp lo yees i n t o t h e Lab o ra t ory s t r uc tu r e , a nd e s t a b l i s h i ng

a working relat ionsll ip between JPL/Caltech and NASA; and (3 ) r e o rga n i z ing

th e La boratory t o accommodate expansion of a c t i v i t i e s , a n d a d a p t i n g t o

the o rg a n i z a t i o n a l s u p e r s t r u c t u r e c r e a t e d f o r R anger t h a t e x i s t e d a bo ve

and independent of th e Laboratory.

The J e t P r o p ul s i on L a b or a to r y, l i k e t h e o l d e r e s t a b l i s h e d NACA

r e s e a r c h cen te r s which became components of th e Nat io na l A e ron a u t i c s and

Space Administrat ion, underwent a pronounced change i n i t s o p e ra t i ng r o l e

and method of performing work under c on tr ac t . JPL sh i f ted f rom a s up po r t

f a c i l i t y i n which guided m i s s i l e systems w e r e developed in-house and then

t u rn e d ov e r t o i n d u s t r l a l f i r m s f o r production and r e l e a s e t o a u s in g

government agency, t o become an opera t ing l i n e agency not only provid ing

NASA res ea rc h and development lea ding t o t he cr ea ti on of new lu na r and

p l an e t a ry s p a ce c r a f t sy s tems , bu t conduc t i ng spa ce f l i gh t o pe ra t i o ns as

w e l l . I n a d d i t i o n , t h e L a bo ra to ry u nd e rt o ok d i r e c t i o n of i n d u s t r i a l

f ir ms which performed spa ce systems e ngin eer ing and development services

under con t ra c t t o JPL. Dur ing t h i s t r a n s i t i o n JP L continued ir;-house

"The d i f f i c u l t t a sk of organiz in g and managing reso urce s fo r space-

f l i g h t ; p r o j e c t s w a s by no means unique; i t confronted and w a s coped withby a l l i n d u s t r i a l a nd g overnment a g e n c ie s e ngage d i n t h i s a c t i v i t y i n t h ee a r l y 19 60 ' s . A us ef u l survey of orga niz a t i ona l and cont rac t ing problemsinvolving goverr.ment space agencies i s containe d i n Government Opera tionsin Space , U. 5 . Congress, Th ir te en th Rep ort by t he Committee on GovernmentOpera t ions , U. S . House of Repres enta t ives , 89 th Congress, 1 s t Sess i on ,House Report No . 455, Ju ne , 1965. For a more opinionated review 0 2 t h esame s u b j e c t , se e H. L. Nieburg, a t h e N a m e of Sci enc e, (Chicago: Quad-r ang l e Books, Inc . , 1960) , pass im.

liP


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20

development of a number of f l i g h t p r o j e c t s ( i n c l u d i n g Ran ger a nd Ma r in e r)

t o o b t a i n d e s i r e d r e s u l t s as r a p i d l y as p o s s i b l e , a n d t o maintain a

c om pe te nc e i n t h o s e f i e l d s of t e c h no l o g y with which t he Labora tory w a s

p r i m a r i l y i n v o lv e d ( n e c e s sa r y f o r e v a l u a t i o n of c o n t r a c t o r c a p a b i l i t i e s

and f o r t h e d i r e c t i o n o f c o n t r a c t o r work i n p r o g r es s ) . Other s p a c e f l i g h t

p r o j e c t s , s u c h as Surveyor, were a s si g n ed t o a n i n d u s t r i a l sy st em s

c o n t r a c t o r u n d e r .JPL d i r e c t i o n .

Between 1958 and 1965 t h e number of p er so nn el employed a t J P L

ne ar ly double d, fzlom appr oxim ately 2,300 t o a peak of more than 4 , 0 0 0 ,

as t h e L a b o r a t o r y s t a f f e d t o m e e t i t s new assignment.21 (During the

same p e r i o d NASA expanded four fo ld t o undertake both manned and unmanned

space programs.) A t t h e same time--but un li ke N9CA f i e l d centers--

the Labora tory appeared on NASA o r g a n i za t i o n c h a r t s a s n e i t h e r f i s h n or

fowl; i t a l s o had t o e s t a b l i s h a s a t i s f a c t o r y w or ki ng r e l a t i o n s h i p w i t h

NASA,attempting t o resp ond bot h as f i e l d c e n t er a nd l i n e agen cy i n a n

o p e r a t i o n a l s e n s e , w h i l e r e m a i n i n g l e g a l l y a n o c - p r o f i t c o n t r a c t o r

f a c i l i t y op er a te d by t h e C a l i f o r n i a I n s t i t u t e of Technology. I t w a s a s i t -

u a t i c n i n wh ic h f ew were comfor tab le - -no t the l e a s t of which were a e r o s p a c e22

f i r m s t h a t t e n d e d t o resent t h i s p r i v il e g e d r e l a ti o n s h i p . An amenable working

')'After i t s f o r m at i o n i n 1944 ( w i t h a t o t a l of 1 7 0 employees) , thenumber of personnel employed a t J P L r a p i d l y i n c r e as e d u n t i l , by 1956, t h eLabcratory employed 1,500 and approximated i n s i z e i t s p a r e n t , C a l t c c h . Teny e a r s l a t e r t h e c h i l d w a s t wi ce t h e s i z e of t h e pare i i t ; p r e s en t l y , i n 1 9 7 0 ,th e t o t a l number of employees i s s t a b l e a t approximate ly 4,100.

22A b r i e f review of t h i s c o nd i t i o n i s c o n t a i n e d in "JPL ProgramGrowth Forces Increased Cont r ac t ing t o Indus t ry," Missiles and Rockets,Nov. 25, 1963, 181.

IF I


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21

r e l a t i o n s h i p w i t h NASA w a s e s t z b l i s h e d, b u t i t was n o t a c hi e ve d s w i f t l y n or

e a s i l y, a n d i t c o n t i n u e s t o b e r e f i n e d a nd i mp ro ve d.

F ina l . ly, th e Labora tory under took ai1 i n t e r n a l r e o r ga n i z at i o n t o

accommodate i t s new o p e r a t i n g r o l e a nd t o manage a d d i t i o n a l p e r s o n n e l , an d

a t t h e same t i m e a c te d t o m e e t i t s o b l i g a t i o n s i n t h e o r g a n i z a t i o n al

s t r u c t u r e c r e a t e d f o r P r o j e c t Ranger. When i t w a s formed as an independent

n o n - p r o f i t o rg a n i z a t i o n i n 1 94 4 , JPL a d o p te d a f u n c t i o n a l mat r ix t y p e

o r g a n i z a t i o n s i m i l a r t o t h a t of t h e p ar en t i n s t i t u t e ; t e c h n i c a l s e c t i o n s

w e r e c r e a t e d i n E n g in e e r in g D e s ig n , Mater i a l s , S o l i d P r o p e l l a n t s , e t c . ,

t h a t a p pr ox im at ed t h e d i v i s i o n o f d i s c i p l i n e p f ou nd i n u n i v e r s i t y d e p ar t -

ments . Personnel were d r a w n f r o m t h e t e c h n i c a l d i v i s i o n s a n d s e c t i o n s on

a t em po ra ry b a s i s a nd a s s i g n e d t o s u p p o r t wo rk i n a g i v e n m i s s i l e develop-

m ent e f f o r t . Wit h m in or a l t e r a t i o n s t h i s management s t r u c t u r e r em ai ne d i n

e f f e c t th r ou gh ou t t h e 19SO's; d e s i g n a te d p ro gr am o r p r o j e c t o f f i ces w e r e

n o t t o b e fo un d i n t h e o r g a n i z a t i o n a l t ho u g h t h ey e x i s t e d

d e f a c t o i n s p e c i f i c d e pa rt me nt s.

With t h e t r a n s f e r t o NASA and accompanying change i n mi ssi on

emphasis, JPL reviewed i t s e x i s t i n g o r g a n i z a t i o n s t r u c t u r e , an d a l s o

c o n t r a c t e d w i t h a m an agem ent c o n s u l t a n t f i r m t o p e r f o r m a similar

s t ud y i n 1959. Recommendat ions conta ine d i n t he se s tu d i es w e r e4

implemented i n 1960 wi th th e appoin tment o f a Deputy Di rec tor a t

2 % l i s t o r i c a l F i l e , O rg a n i z a t i o n C h a r t s , J P L , n. d. , bound copyi n th e JPLHF.

'?Im prov in g O rg a n i z a t i o n a l S t r u c t u r e an d A d m i n i s t r a t i v eP r o c e s s e s , J e t Pro pul sio n Laborato ry (Los fmgeles: McKimey & Company,I n c . , S e p t . , 1 9 5 9 ) .


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I

22

t h e L a b o r a t o r y a n d t h e c r e a t i o n of s e p a r a t e Lu na r an d P l s n e t a r y O ff i c e s

t o d e v ot e f u l l a t t e n t i o n t o t h e r e s p e c t i v e deep s p ac e f l i g h t p r o j e c t s .

Ranger and Surveyor ( lunar ) Pro jec t Off ices were e s t a b l i s h e d a n d r e p o r t e d

t o the f o r m e r o rg a n i z a t i o n , M a r i n e r ( p l a n e t a r y ) P r o j e c t s r e p o r t e d t o t h e

l a t t e r group. Perso nnel f rom t h e seve ra l t e c h ni c a l l i n e d iv i s i o n s (in-

c l u d i n g t h e sy s te m s e n g i n e er i n g f u n c t i o n ) an d t h e i r t e c h n i c a l s e c t i o n s

were a s si g n ed t o s u p p or t t h e v a y io u s p r o j e c t o f f i c e s i n a manner corres-

2 5p on di ng t o p a s t p r a c t i c e .

T h e m a t r i x o rg a n i z a t i o n t h u s e s t a b l i s h e d w a s b e l i ev e d t o b e t h e

m ost e f f i c i e n t m ethod f o r o rg a n i z i n g r e s o u r c es i n a s i t u a t i o n where JPL,

w i t h a l im i te d nuuiber of perso nnel r es t r ic te d by manpower ce i l i ng s , would

( a ) d e v el o p v e h i c l es / e q u i p m e n t an d co n du c t f l i g h t o p e r a t i o n s f o r a number

of s i m i l a r , c o n c u r r en t , s p a c e f l i g h t p r o j e c t s w i t h res t r i c tmi p e r i o d s of

p er fo rm an ce ( i n i t i a l l y f o r e c a s t a t a b o u t t h r e e years d l r r a t i o n p e r p r o j e c t ) ,

and (b) pursue o ther advanced research and deve lopment e ffor t s i n s u p p o r t

o f e x i s t i n g and p ro po se d f l i g h t p r o j e c t s . F u rt he rm o re , t h i s form of

s y s e m s managemeat permitted th e L a b o r a t o r y t o a p p ly t h e e n t i r e c a p a b i l i t y

of a n a p p r o p r ia t e d i s c i p l i n e o r g a n i z a t io n t o a g i v e n t e c h n i c a l p r ob le m

25The L ab o r a t o r y d e v el o p ed a nd o p e r a t e d s p a c e f l i g h t p r o j e c t sthro ugh t h e mechanism of a r e l a t i v e l y smal l p r o j e c t s t a f f . The p r o j e c tmanager w a s r e s p o ns i b l e f o r t h e s u p e r v i s i o n and i n t e g r a t i o n of t h e f o u rsystems i n t h e p r o j e c t : t h e s p a c e c r a f t sy st em ; t h e s p a c e f l i g h t op e r a t io n ss y s t e m ; t h e t r a c k i n g a nd d a t a a c q u i s i t i o n s ys te m; an d t h e l a u nc h v e h i c l esystem. The laun ch ve hi cl e system f o r Agena launches (Ranger and Mariner)

was managed f o r J P L by the Va r s h a l l S pa ce F l i g h t Center; l a t e r , managementw a s t r a n s f e r r ed t o t h e L e w i s Research Center.engin eer ing deve lopment and te s t in g were conducted in-hou se by th e appro-p r i a t e t e c h ni c a l d i v i s i on ; J P L d i v i s i o n s a l s o c o n t r o l l e d a t i d m o n i t o r e dt h e v a r i o u s s u b c o n t r a c t s i n v ol v e d.

I n th e R a n g e r P r o j e c t s y s t e m

I n t h e c a s e o f t h e S u r ve yo r P r o j e c t ,


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a t t h e t i m e I t appeared , and led t o a c r o s s - f e r t i l i z a t i o n o f k no wl ed ge

among t h e f l i g h t p r o j e c t s a nd be tw ee n t h e p r o j e c t s an d r e s e a r c h p e r s o n n e l

i n e a ch t e c h n i c a l d i s c i p l i n e . 2 6

z a t i o n , t h e n e c e s s a r y i n t e g r a t i o n a nd c o o r d i n a t i o n o f m y ri a d R an ger-

r e l a t e d o r g a n iz a t i o ns i n c l u d i n g J P L , NASA, USAF, .., rio us ad hoc gov ernm ent

c o m mi t te e s, s c i e n t i f i c g r o u ps , a nd h u nd r ed s o f s u b c o n t r a c t o r s w a s a l s o

achieved .

Over and beyond th i s i n t e r n a l r e o r g a n i -

Pa r t ic ip an t At t i tud es and Phi lo sophi es of Opera t ion . When th e

Nat iona l Aeronaut ics and Space Adminis t ra t ion was c r e a t e d I-y an act: of

Congress i n 1958, i t w a s i n i t i a l l y composed of t h e p e r s o n n e l a nd i n s t a l -

l a t i o n s of t h e o l d NACA r e s e a r c h centers , t h e NRL Vanguard team, a n d t h e

J e t Prop uls ion Labora tory i n Pasadena . Of t k s e elements, only Vanguard

arid JP L personnel possessed e xper i ence i n deve loping and inanaging space-

f l i g h t p r o je c t s, and members of t h e form er group s t i l l s h a r e d t h e o n u s o f

a d v e r s e p u b l i c i t y t h a t a c c o m p a n i e d +hiit e f f o r t . C o n v er s e ly, JP L, t o g e t h e r

with the 'Jon Braun m i s s i l e team i n H u n t sv i l l e, h a d r e c e i v e d n a t i o n a l

r e s p o n s i b i l i t y f o r t h e s p a c e c r a f t sy st em w a s i n i t i a l l y d e l e g at e d t o HughesAircraft Company under: a pr ime sys tem cont rac t f rom J P L ; t e c h n i c a l d i r e c t i o nw a s maintained by J P L v i a t h e S u r v e y o r P r o j e c t O f f i c e a n d t h e s u p p o r t i n gt e z h n i c a l d i v i s i o n s .in -house i n a manner s imi la r t o t h e Rarzger P r o j e c t i n t h e e a r l y 1 96 0' s.(See s t a t e m e n t s b y J . D . Burke and R . J . P a r k s i n J PL - In d us t ry 0 , n f e r e n c eProceedings , Pasedena : JPL, Nov. 19 , 196 0, p. 12 and p. 1 6 , r e s p e c t i v e l y ;and . s t a teme nt by W.H. P i d k e r i n g i n I n v e s t i g a 'i o n of Pio iec t RangeL, U, S .

t e e on Sc ience and Ast ronaut ics , U.S. House o R e p r e s e n t a t i v e s , 88 th Congress ,Second Session, No. 3 , p . 143.) A l l of the J P L s p a c e f l i g h t p r o j e c t s o p e ra t edunder th e r u l e s of NASA Gene ral Management In st ru ct io n 4-1-1, i s s u e d o nJan. 19, 1961.

P l an e ta r y f l i g h t p r o j e c t s were ordered and dsve loped

4ff1

iongress, Hearings before the Subcommittee on NASA Ove :si ght , of th e Commit-

26 P i c k e r i n g , I b i d . , p . 1 4 3 .-

I ,

I - 5


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r e c o g n i t i o n i n t h e s u c ce s s .of America's f i r s t s a t e l l i t e , E x p l o r e r I , and

t h e i r t e c h n i c a l c o m p e t e n c e w a s acknowledged and widely acclaimed.

A t th e beginliing of what ev en tu al ly became known a s P r o j e c t

Ranger, i n 1459, v i r t u d l y e ve ry on e a t J P L w a s aware, i n a v e r y r e a l

c o l l e c t i v e s e n s e , of t h e L a b o r a t o r y ' s d e m o ns t ra t ed t e c h n i c a l c om pe te nc e; 27

and t h i s a w a r e n e s s was r e f l e c t e d i n t h e a t t i t u d e s of L ab or at or y p e rs o nn e l

i n t h e i r r e l a t i o n s w i t h NASA H e a dq u a rt e r s, i c d u s i r y, t h e A i r Force, and

tL e s c i e n t i f i c comm unity. I f i t i s a t a l l p o s s i b l e t o c i r c um s cr i be t h e

combined a t t i tu de s which prev a i l ed a t J P L , i t c an b e s a i d t h a tt h e y c e n t e r e d a b o u t t h r e e p r i n c i p a .1 f o c u s e s a t t h i s t i m e :

d e c o r p s , e b u l l i e n t s e l f a s s u r a n c e an d op ti mi sm c o n c er n i ng t h e o ut co me

of J P L programs--coupled wieh a t endency t o " th i nk b ig" (no j o b i s to o

large or complex)--and t o overcommit i n r egar d t o under ta k ing new work

w i t h a l i m i t e d s t a f f . A s one JPL engineer l a t e r r e c z l i e d , "We were good

and w e knew i t , an d w e d i d n o t h e s i t a t e t o r e q u e s t pe rm is si on t o t a k e on

a a o t h z r c h i l d w h i l e s t i l l nine months pregnant."

a h i g h c s o r i t

28

27Le t t e r fron? D r . 1J.H. Pickering, JPL D i r e c t o r , t o NASA(JPLHF 2 - 4 0 7 ~ jA d m l n i s t r a t o r D r . T. Keith Glennan, Nov. 20, 1958.

28Dr. James Van Allen, a longt ime f r ie nd of D r . P i c k e r i n g ,observed i n T i m e Magazine:a lmos t o ffens ive .Mar. 8 , 1963, 79.Science Seminar, P a r t I , JPL Publ ica t ion 30-10, Aug. 5 , 1959, 16.

"They have tremendous e s p r i t a t JPL; i t ' sI t ' s like th e Marines."See a . 1 ~ 0 , comments by D r . Wil liam Pick er in g , Space

"Voyage t.o the Morning S t a r , "

I L


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The op er at io nz . philosophy29 exh ib ite d by JPL i n 1958-59 and

which, t o a c e r t a i n d e g r ee , c a r r i e d o v e r i n t o t h e e a r l y 1 9 6 0' s- -e s pe c ia ll y

i n Pr oj ec t Ranger--was la rg el y condit ione d by prev ious weapons system-

arsenal development experience, and by what might be termed a " l o c a l o p t i o n

credo." Design review , v e ri f i c a t i on , and developmetl t were accompanied by

a cons t ra in ed amount of ground te s t in g befor e a f i r s t f l i g h t .

iown f l i g h t s s u b s t i t u t e d f o r a nd p ro vi de d e q u i v al e n t d a t a on f l i g h t p e r fo r -

Actual shake-

mance th a t could o th erwi se only be approximated i n e la bo ra te ground t e s tcomplexes. For Pr oj ec t Ranger t h i s approach w a s r e i n f o rc e d , r a t h e r t h a n

weakened, be cau se ( a ) su f f i c i e n t f l i g h t s were programmed which all owe d f o r

e a r l y e n g in e e r in g t e s t f l i g h t s , (b ) ground t e s t f a c i l i t i e s f o r l a r g e r space-

c r a f t w e r e n o t y e t i n e x i s t e n c e when America's space programs got underway

(e.g., a vacuum chamber t h a t could a cc ep r a c ompl e t e space c r a f t a nd dup l i c a t e

the . envi ronment of ou te r sp ace was not completed a t JPL u n t l i 1962-1963),

and (c ) s t r i n ge n t s c hedu l e s between f l i gh t s had been ag reed upon whi ch l e f t

l i t t l e enough t i m e to incorpora te des ign improvements . (This l a s t c o n d i t i o n

w a s a l s o t h e r e s u l t o f a NASA-JPL de s ir e t o enhzace na ti on al pr e st ig e by

"bea t ing th e Russ ians" i n l u n a r e x p l o r a t i o n, l a t e r made e x p l i c i t n a t i o n a l

po l i cy i n Yro j ec t Apo llo. ) 30

-29The oper a t ion a l philosophy, or philosophy of operatioi;, i s

h e r e c o n s tr u e d a s t h e p r eva i l i ng cpproach t o , and processes employed in,

t he conduct o f a pp l i ed s c i e n t i f i c r e s ea r c h a nd deve lopmen t cpe r a t i o n s .

S e e , f o r example, comments of D r . Homer N e w e l l , NASA A s s oc i a t eAdmin i s t r a t o r f o r S p a c e Science and Applications, -est i .gat ion of E.ro.jectRanger, o p . c i t . , 45; a l s o , o u t l o ok o f t h e f i r s t NASA A dm in i s t r a t o rI)r. T. Kei th Glennan, c i t e d i n t he November 6 , 1964 Report of OSSA S t a f fMeeting, 5; James E. Webb, second NASA A dm in i s t r a t o r, i n & ronaut ic s a i dAeron autics , 1963: Chronology on Scie nce, Technology, and Po li cy , 460-461;

30


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26

The second major determin ant i n JPL oper a t ion a l philosophy, the

lo ca l option credo, stemmed i n l ar ge measure from the un iv er si ty back-

ground of thr-. Laboratory. ( In fa c t , s i nc e 1944 JPL personnel have of ten

worn two ha ts , holding respons ible posi t io ns a t the Laboratory and on

the teaching s ta ff ' a t Caltech i n the engineering or chemis t ry depar t-

ments, f o r example.) Local op ti on w a s a pr i nc i pa l source of the Labo-

r a t o r y ' s c r e a t i v e s t r e ng t h ; a t t h e same t i m e , when combined with the

expanded mission role with NASA, i t proved a handicap as w e l l .

This ethic, pervasive throughout JPL i n t h e e a r l y 1960's, h e l d t h a t

once resp ons ib i l i ty f o r an ass ignment w a s delegated in-house, a m i n i m u m

amount of follow-up w a s ca l l e d fo r, and a t echnica l subgroup exerc ised

more of t he important de ci sio ns concerning th e assignment tha n normally

would be found i n indus try or mi l i t ar y agencies. This approach to

de lega t ion of a u t h o r i t y c a l l e d f o r a high degree of a t t e n t i o n t o d ut y

and ingenuity on the part of a subgroup; i t w a s expected and, i n most

cases, received. However, thos e fo r whon var ious ass igned tec hni cal

work w a s performed oc ca sio na lly accepted work on assur ance and t r u s t

alone, and defended work th at subsequently proved in ade qua te i n terms

of design or performance. The introduction of s t r i ng e n t r e l i a b i l i t y

and qua l i ty assurance cc nt ro ls under the d i re c t i on of a s e p a r a t e c f f i c e

as a cross-check--as opposed t o pcim itt in g tec hni ca l se ct io ns t o

eva lua te and sign-off on t h e i r own work--eventually elim inat ed th i s

and, l e t t e r, W.H. Picker ing to A. Si lve r s t e i n , F eb ru a ry 3 , 1959, (JPLHF2-827).Space P r o ram?" Astronautics, January 1960, 8 3 - 8 4 ; and, I O M from Dr. W.H.Picker ing to Senior S taff , Subje ct: Study on E. x e l e r a t i n g t h e N at io n alSpace Program, April. 25, 1961. For Pr oj ec t Apollo, see Vernon Van Dyke,Pride and Power:?Jniversi ty of I l l i n o i s P re s s , 1964) , 144 ; camp:-ehensive t rea tment i nJohn M . Logsdon, The Decision to GL t o the Moon:National Interest (Cauibridge: K T ress, 1970).

JPL w as equally moved, se e D r . W.H. Pi c ke r ing , "DO W Have a

The Rationale- o th e Space Program (Urbana, I l l i n o i s :

Project Apollo and the

-


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shortcoming; however, i t h ad t h e e f f e c t o f making t h e t e c h n i c a l s e c t i o n s

m or e c o n s e r v a t i v e i n t h e i r a p pr o ac h t o p r ob l em - s ol v in g .

I n Washington, D.C., p e r s o n n e l a t NASA Headquarters who were drawn

from the NACA f i e l d c e n t e r s a nd Vanguard P r o j e c t d i d n o t e x p r e s s as w e l l

d e f i n e d a c on se ns us o f a t t i t u d e s as those found a t J P L i n t h e l a t e 1 9 5 0 ' s

and ea r ly 1960's . L i k e t h e i r c o u n t e r p a r t s a t J P S t h e y s h a r e d a n e q u i v a l e n t

e n t h u s i a s m a n d i n t e r e s t b u t were, i n g e n e r a l , m ore c a u t i o u s a nd l e s s

i n c l i n e d t o b e as s e l f - a s s u r e d d ue o - i t h e r t o a l a c k of p r i o r e x p e r i en c e

i n s p a ce f li g h t a c t i v i t y o r , as i n t he case of t h e Vanguard team, because

o f p r i o r e x p er i e nc e i n a s p a c e f l i g h t p r o j e c t wh ic h h ad a t t e mp t ed t o r a p i d l y*

a d v a n c e t h e s t a t e - o f - t h e - a r t . The phi losophy of opera t ion tha t evolved ,

however, w a s s a b s t a n t i a l l y d i f f e r e n t t h an t h a t fo un d a t JPL, an d i s sus-

c e p t i b l e t o some g e n e r a l i z a t i o n .

A s t h e o p e r a t i n g g ov er nm en t a ge nc y c ha rg e d w i t h t h i s n a t i o n ' s

c i v i l i a n s p a c e e ff or t- -w h ic h c a r r i e d w i t h i t s+ll he exot iona l appendage

i d e n t i f i e d as n a t i o n a l p r e s t i g e i n t h i s n ew es t of m an's t e c h n i c a l e nd ea vo rs- -

tho se i n ch arg e of NASA w e r e , a t t h e o u t s e t , p a r t i c u l a r l y s e n s i t i v e t o an d

concerned wi th Congress iona l approba t ion .

dctermined upon a c ou rs e of a c t i o n t o e n l i s t t h e services o f u n i v e r s i t i e s

By 196 0 NASA Hea dq ua rt er s had

f o r s u p po r t ,a n d i n d u s t r y as s ys te m s c o n t r a c t o r s f o r mo st space f l i g h t

p r o j e c t s r a t h e r t h a n r e l y i n g c o m pl e t el y u po n in - ho u se d ev el o pm e nt s a t f i e l d

c e n t e r s . 31 I n a d d i t i o n , H e ad q ua r te r s e s t a b l i s h e d s h a r p l y d e fi n e d r o l e s f o r

' h i o r t o s e r v i c e a l l oc at io i i of j u r i s d i c t i o n f 3r m i s s i l e s ands p a c e a c t i v i t i e s i n t h e e a r l y 1 95 O's , b o t h t h e A i r For ce and t h e Army werea v i d c o n t e s t a n t s f o r t h e s e t i2 s si o ns .a broad base of i n d u s t r i a l s ys te ms c o n t r a c t o r s f o r i t s procurement and w a sa b l e t o b r i n g more p r e s s u r e t o b e a r i n C o ng r es s an d i n d e f e n s e c o u n c i l s t h a nw a s th e Army, which tended t o pr ef er in-house development a t Army-operated

The A i r Force , however, re l ied upon


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t h e f i e l d c e n t e r s i n whic h f l i g h t p r o j e c t s were a s s ig ned t o Goddard (earth

o r b i t and manned fl i g h t ) , Mars hall ( boos ter sys tems), ar,d t o JPL (unmanned

dee p space ) , w i th r e s ea r ch cen t e r s (Ames, Langley, L e w i s ) performing the

bulk of s uppo rt ing res ea rch and development .32 To ensu re con t r a c t i ng t o

ind us t ry, and to co nt r o l c os ts and th e rap i d growth of the agency, manpower

c e i l i n g s w e r e imposed upon a l l NASA f i e l d c en te rs i nc lud in2 JPL.

t h e i n t e r n a t i o n a l p o l i t i c a l r a m i f i c a t io n s of s p a c e f l i g h t p r o j e c t s d et er mi ne d

t h a t i n i t i a l e mphasis w a s placed upon rap id f l i g h t development schedules .

By 1963-1964, however, th e gre at c os ts of t h i s ac t i v i t y combined with ea rl y

f l i g h t f a i l u r e s i n t he unmanned p rograms caused a t a c i t , a l b e i t m ajo r, s h i f t

i n e mphasis t o f l i g h t s u c c e s s ( i . e . , achievement of pr imary miss ion objec t ives)

on every launch.

F i n a l l y,

33

NASA management of space f l i g n ' i p r o j e c t s b y means o f c o w i t t e e s

w a s abandoned a f t e r t h r ee yea r s , r dp laced by a l a r g e l y p r o j e c t i z e d a nd l i n e

o r i e n t e d s t r u c t u r e i n whic h s u p e r v i s i on w a s e xe r c i s e d by r e spo ns i b l e NASA

H e z dq u ar t er s o f f i c e s t h a t , i n Le r a l i a , e s t a b l i s h e d o p e r a t i n g p o l i c y and

con f i r med t e ch n i c a l dec i s i ons and l a rge r con t r ac t a wa rd s ma de b y t he f i e l d

a r s e n a l s .long-range m i s s i l e assignments, and the A r m y w a s r ed i r e c t e d f rom spa ce t oo the r con ce rns. I t would appca-r t h a t th-Ls lesson-- the a b i l i t y to inf l uen ceCongress throl igh in di re c t con s t i tue nt su ppor t i n the form of ae rospace con-t rac tors - -was not l o s t upon those charged wi th guid ing NASA i n i t s f o rma t iveye ar s. (See , fo r example, "Dryden Fore se es NASA-Industry Teamq," Av ia ti onc _eek, June 23, 1958, 38-39.)

The A i r Force w a s s u c c e s s f u l i n s e c u r i np a l l m i l i t a r y s p a c e a n d

32NASA, "Sugg este d Program f o r Im ple me nta tion of P ro po sa l Made t othe Honorable N e i l H. McElroy, the Secre ta ry of Defensc on October 15, 1958;' '

major concEpts a ls o ci te d i n Note No. 15, J P L Dj.r?ctc='s Staff Meet ing ,A p r i l 11, 1960. In 1 96 3 t h e r o l e s f o r f i e l d c e n t e r s w e r e rev ised , andt h e r e a f t e r r e s e a r c h c e n t e r s w e r e a s si gn e d f l i g h t p r o j e c t s .

33Within t h e f i r s t f ew y e a r s a f t e r N A S P ' s c r e a t i o n t h i s t e n d e n c yw a s m a n i f e s t i n NASA p r e s e n t a t i o n s made du r i ng Con gr e s s io na l au tho r i z a t i onh e a r i n g s by c a s t i n g t h e y e a r ' s f l i g h t r e s u l t s i n a s u c c e s s / f a i l u r e r a t i o ,and by emphasizing any "space f i r s t s " t h a t may ha ve t r a n s p i r e d .


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center^.^' D uring t h i s e a r l y p e ri o d i f t h e r e w a s m y e x pe c ta t io n a t JPL of

a "par tnersh ip" a r rangement wi th Headquar te rs on deep space exploraeion--even

though JP L occupied a l a rg e a n d n o v e l r ~ l e ~ ~ - - i toon evapora ted as NASA

Headquar te rs exerc i sed its management prerogatives under the terms o f t h e

Caltech-NASA contract.

The more dece nt r a l iz ed form of org aniz a t io n a t Z L , i t s u n i v e r s i t y

t i e s z n d c o n t r a c t o r s t a t u s , in-house approach t o development and e a r l y

i n s i s t e n c e upon l o c a l o p t io r , ( f o rm a l iz e d t o a l i m i t e d d e gr ee i n e a r l y con-

t r ac t s w i t h NASA i n t h e f or m of a s o - c a l l e d " m u t u a l i t y lau use^')^^d i d c o l o r

3 4 T h e n e w r o l e s a n d r e s p o n s i b i l i t i e s a p p e a r i n NASA Ge ne ra lManagemLat Instruction 4-1-1, January 19, 1961. Program of f ic e s i n OSSAwere n o t f o r m al l y e s t a b l i s h e d u n t i l F e br ua ry 1 9 62 .

35The JPL ro le and mi . ss ion evolved t c approximate a rnicrocosm ofNASA, i n c l u di n g l u n a r a n d de ep s p a ce s c i e n t i f i c ex p l o r a t i o n , p r o j e c t manage-m en t o f c om pl ez e s p a c e c r a f t s y st e m s , t r a c k i n g , d a t a a c q u i s i t i o n , an d d a t ar e d u c t io n a nd a n a l y s i s r e q u i r e d i n l u n a r a nd d ee p- sp ac e f l i g h t s .g rasp ing t he scope and magnitude of t h i s e a t e r p r i s e dur ing Cs l lgress iona lhe ar in gs , one Congressman w a s moved t o r em ar k t h a t " t h i s l o ok s l i k e i t i s al i t t l e NASA a l l w i t h i n i t s own.end." (Comment of Congres sman Ev in s i n U.S. Congress, House of R e p r e s e n t a t i v e s ,Ind epen den t 3f f i c e s and Department of Housing and Urban Development Appro-p r i a t i o n s f o r 1 9 6 9 , H e a r i n g s b e f o r e a Subcommittee of t h e Committee onAppropr ia t ions , 90 th Congress , 2nd Sess io n , Pa r t 2 , February 19, 1968, 1160)

Suddenly

They can do every th ing f rom beginnicg t o

3!Che t e r r a i s a misnomer inasmuch a s t h e r e w a s no s i n g l e p r o v i s i o nt h a t d e a l t e x c l u s i v e l y w i t h m u tu a l ag re em en t u po n c o n d i t i o n s f o r wo rk .d o e s r e f e r t:, p o r t i o n s o f A r t i c l e I , Scope of t h2 Cont rac t , paragraphs(a) and (c) i n t h e i n i t i a l Contr act NASw-6 (1959-1961) and su3sequent

NAS7-100 (1962-1964) wi th th e Ca li fo rn ia In s t i t u t e of Technology:Dur ing the t e r m o f t h i s c o n t r a c t t h e C o nt r ac to r s h a l l en ga ge i n a programof b a s i c e n g i n e e r i n g r e s e a r c h a n d of a p p l i e d r e s e a r c h a nd d e v el op m en t i ns u c h f i e l d s as t h e p a r t i e s h e r e t o from t i m e t o t i m e may mutually agreeupon, i n c l u di n g l i a i s o n w i t h a nd t h e t e c h n i c a l s u p e r v i s io n of c t h e r p r i v a t ec o n t r a c t o r s . . . . ( c ) The p a r t i e s her e to re cognize t h a t th e maximum be ne c i t s

I t

" ( a )


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re la t i on s be tween th e Labora tory and NhSA Headquar te rs i n the ea r l y 1960 ' s

as NASA sou gh t t o g ui de JPL a c t i v i t y . A t Headquar te rs the Labora tory came

t o be viewed as somewhat pa ro ch ia l i n i t s outlook--a squa re peg i n a m a t r i x

composed of round holes--and i t acqu ir ed a n i n fo rma l , n o t a l t og e th e r

a f f e c t i o n a t e t i t l e : "the Campus. 1137

A l l o f t h e s e v a r i e d s i t u a t i o n a l c on s i de r a ti o n s, t e c h n i c a l , o rg an i-

z a t i o n a l , p a s t i c i p a n t a t t i t u d e s and p h i lo s o p hi e s of o p e r a t i o n , w e r e p r e s e n t

dur ing the des ign , development, and oper a t ion a l phases of P ro je c t Ranger.

Taken i n d i v i du a l l y e ach i s a s e p a r a t e s t o r y t h a t p la ye d some p a r t i n P r o j e c t

Ranger; h i s to r i ca l l y, they should be cons idered toge t her i n context -- forming

t h e l a r g e r e n v i r o n i n t i n which t h e separate ev en t s , r e c ount ed i n t he page s

which fo l low, t ran spi re d .

obta i nabl e f rom th e work t o be performed hereunder w i l l b e r e a l i z e d by t h eCo n t r a c to r ' s pu r su ing a re se ar ch and development program . . . , nd by pro-v id ing fo r a n ex tens ive in te rchan ge of informat ion be tween t he Governmentand the Cont rac tor as a ba s i s f o r p e r i od i c r e v i s i o ns o f t h e pr og ra m thr0uR.hmutual agreement.

.. .I1 ( I t a l i c s a dd ed. ) A b r i e f review o f t h e o r i g i n s of

t h i s k i nd of t a s k c o n t r a ct i n g w i t h u n i v e r s i t i e s i s con t ained i n J . J . Penick,J r . , e t a l . (eds.) The P o l i t i c s of American Scienc e: 1939 t o t h e P r e s e n t(Ch ica go: Rand McNally & Company, 1965) 136.

3 7 T h i s s e n t h e n t s t i l l p e r s i s t s t o some e x t e n t . Former NASA Admin-i s t r a t o r James Webb, t e s t i f yi n g bef ore Congress i n February 1968 concern ing are c e n t NASA eva lu at io n of JPT, performance under cont rac t , observed tha t "w e ares t e a d i l y b r in g in g in more pe ople t o make .iTL serve a b ro a de r n a t i o n a l i n t e r e s tand not be aimply a one-univers i ty labora tory."Department of Housing and Urban Development App ropr iati ons f o r 1969, op. c i t . ,1161.

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PRECEDING PAGE BLANKNOT FILMEDRanger Blocks I and 11, 1960-1962

1960-

Jan . 7

Jan . 13

Jan. 20

Jan. 21

Feb. 13

Mar. 25

Apr. 12

Apr. 17-19

Apr. 25

Apr. 26

May 5

May 9

June 29

Aug. 24

O c t . 1 4

Nov. 1 7

R an ge r P ro j e c t management p l a ns and r e s p on s i b i l i t i e s de f i ned .

JPL S-1 s p a c e c r a f t d e s i g na t e d f o r u s e i n Rsnger lunar miss ions .

Sc ien ce package f o r Rapger Block I f l i g h t m i s s i o n s c on fi rm ed w i t hNASA.

F i r s t f l i g h t s c he d ul e r e le a s e d.

A gsza s econd s t ag e b oo s t e r s e l e c t e d f o r P ro j e c t Range r.

RCA awarded coa t r a c t f o r appro ach t e l ev i s i on camera for RangerBlock I1 s p a c e c r a f t .

Lockheed Miss i les and Space Division awarded a c on t r a c t f o r Agena Bve hi cl e f o r NASA spa ce mission s.

Miss ion ob j ec t i ve s and de s ign c r i t e r i a f o r Ranger Block I andBlock I1 i s s u e d a t JPL.

Aeronu t ron i c s , D iv i s i on of Ford l4otor Co. se le ct ed t o develop thelun ar rough landin g c apsu le sys tem f o r Ranger Block I1 s p a c e c r a f t .

Ranger s p a c e c r a f t s t e r i l i z a t i o n p r oc e du r es e s t a b l i s h e d a t JPL.

JPL recommended s c i e n t i f i c experiments f o r Ranger Block 11.

NASA approved sci en ce f o r Ranger Block 11.

Vela Ho te l experiments approved fo r Ranger Block I f l i g h t s .

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Project Ranger a Chronology