THE LAUNCH VEHICLE
The motive power of Mariner itself was limited to a trajectory
correction rocket engine and an ability, by means of gas jets, to keep
its two critical faces pointing at the Sun and the Earth. Therefore, the
spacecraft had to be boosted out of the Earth’s gravitational field and
injected into a flight path accurate enough to allow the trajectory
correction system to alter the course to deliver the spacecraft close
enough to Venus to be within operating range of the scientific
instruments.
The combined Atlas-Agena B booster system which was selected to do the
job had a total thrust of about 376,000 pounds. With this power,
Atlas-Agena could put 5,000 pounds of payload into a 345-mile orbit,
propel 750 pounds on a lunar trajectory, or launch approximately 400
pounds on a planetary mission. This last capability would be taxed to
the limit by the 447 pounds of the Mariner spacecraft.
THE ATLAS BOOSTER: POWER OF SIX 707’S
The 360,000 pounds of thrust developed by the Atlas D missile is
equivalent to the thrust generated by the engines of six Boeing 707 jet
airplanes. All of this awesome power requires a gargantuan amount of
fuel: in less than 20 seconds, Atlas consumes more than a
propeller-driven, four-engine airplane burns in flying coast-to-coast
nonstop.
[Illustration: _Photo courtesy of General Dynamics/Astronautics_
_This military version of the Atlas missile is modified for NASA
space flights._]
The Atlas missile, as developed by Convair for the Air Force, has a
range of 6,300 miles and reaches a top speed of 16,000 miles per hour.
The missile has been somewhat modified for use by NASA as a space
booster vehicle. Its mission was to lift the second-stage Agena B and
the Mariner spacecraft into the proper position and altitude at the
right speed so that the Agena could go into Earth orbit, preliminary to
the takeoff for interplanetary space.
The Atlas D has two main sections: a body or sustainer section, and a
jettisonable aft, or booster engine section. The vehicle measures about
100 feet in length (with military nose cone) and has a diameter of 10
feet at the base. The weight is approximately 275,000 pounds.
No aerodynamic control surfaces such as fins or rudders are used. The
Atlas is stabilized and controlled by “gimbaling” or swiveling the
engine thrust chambers by means of a hydraulic system. The direction of
thrust can thus be altered to control the movements of the missile.
The aft section mounts two 154,500-pound-thrust booster engines and the
entire section is jettisoned or separated from the sustainer section
after the booster engines burn out. The 60,000-pound-thrust sustainer
engine is attached at the center line of the sustainer section. Two
1,000-pound-thrust vernier (fine steering) engines are installed on
opposite sides of the tank section in the yaw or side-turn plane.
All three groups of engines operate during the booster phase. Only the
sustainer and the vernier engines burn after staging (when the booster
engine section is separated from the sustainer section of the missile).
All of the engines use liquid oxygen and a liquid hydrocarbon fuel
(RP-1) which is much like kerosene. Dual turbopumps and valves control
the flow of these propellants. The booster engine propellants are
delivered under pressure to the propellant or combustion chamber, where
they are ignited by electroexplosive devices. Each booster thrust
chamber can be swiveled a maximum of 5 degrees in pitch (up and down)
and yaw (from side to side) about the missile centerline.
The sustainer engine is deflected 3 degrees in pitch and yaw. The
outboard vernier engines gimbal to permit pitch and roll movement
through 140 degrees of arc, and yaw movement through 20 degrees toward
the missile body and 30 degrees outward.
All three groups of engines are started and develop their full rated
thrust while the missile is held on the launch pad. After takeoff, the
booster engines burn out and are jettisoned. The sustainer engine
continues to burn until its thrust is terminated. The swiveled vernier
engines provide the final correction in velocity and missile attitude
before they are also shut down.
The propellant tank is the basic structure of the forward or sustainer
section of the Atlas. It is made of thin stainless steel and is
approximately 50 feet long. Internal pressure of helium gas is used to
support the tank structure, thus eliminating the need for internal
bracing structures, saving considerable weight, and increasing over-all
performance of the missile. The helium gas used for this purpose is
expanded to the proper pressure by heat from the engines.
Equipment pods on the outside of the sustainer section house the
electrical and electronic units and other components of the missile
systems.
The Atlas uses a flight programmer, an autopilot, and the gimbaled
engine thrust chamber actuators for flight control. The attitude of the
vehicle is controlled by the autopilot, which is set for this automatic
function before the flight. Guidance commands are furnished by a ground
radio guidance system and computer.
The airborne radio inertial guidance system employs two radio beacons
which respond to the ground radar. A decoder on board the missile
processes the guidance commands.
THE AGENA B: START AND RESTART
Launching Mariner to Venus required a second-stage vehicle capable of
driving the spacecraft out of Earth orbit and into a proper flight path
to the planet.
[Illustration: _Photo courtesy of Lockheed Missiles and Space
Company_
_The Agena B second stage is hoisted to the top of the gantry at
AMR._]
The Agena B used for this purpose weighs 1,700 pounds, is 60 inches in
diameter, and has an over-all length of 25 feet, varying somewhat with
the payload. The Agena B fuel tanks are made of 0.080-inch aluminum
alloy.
The liquid-burning engine develops more than 16,000 pounds of thrust.
The propellants are a form of hydrazine and red fuming nitric acid.
The Agena can be steered to a desired trajectory by swiveling the
gimbal-mounted engine on command of the guidance system. The attitude of
the vehicle is controlled either by gimbaling the engine or by ejecting
gas from pneumatic thrusters.
The Agena has the ability to restart its engine after it has already
fired once to reach an Earth orbital speed. This feature makes possible
a significant increase in payload and a change of orbital altitude. A
velocity meter ends the first and second burns when predetermined
velocities have been reached.
After engine cutoff, the major reorientation of the vehicle is achieved
through gas jets controlled from an electronic programming device. This
system can turn the Agena completely around in orbit, or pitch it down
for reentry into the atmosphere. The attitude is controlled by an
infrared, heat-sensitive horizon scanner and gyroscopes.
The principal modification to the Agena vehicle for the Mariner II
mission was an alteration to the spacecraft-Agena adapter in order to
reduce weight.