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FINAL REPORT 

BIT MISSION 7062 

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1.1 P.rograrn ObjeCtives: 

No other:signals of interest were noted during thiS mission 

which coveredithe. period from 17 through 24 August. 

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The objective of the BIT program is to, deterthine if and when 

the radar system associated with the signal acquires and tracks 

the Agena Vehicle. The BIT-system; designed to fulfill this objective, 

covers the frequency range from 153 to 163 MC to determine if signals 

are present which have Characteristics similar to J. On those: 

signals which qualify, the system will measure frequency, PRF, and, 

signal amplitude along with the tiMe of intercept to enable an analyst 

to identify the signal characteristics and to 'estimate a geographical 

area within which the emitter is located. 

1. Z Mission Highlights. 

During orbit 39 of this mission, the BIT system intercepted a 

signal identified as the This signal, inter 

cepted from 0744:51Z to 0746:23Z on,20 August, employed a frequencyscan with a 10. 5-second period and an approximate PRF of 25. The 

signal remained in the scanning mode during the entire intercept period 

and gave no observable indication of interest in the presence of the Agena 

vehicle. 

The signal was also noted on orbit. 38 from 0613:22Z to' 

0615:02Z; however, the intercept is of little value since it consisted 

of only six frequency measurements.' This was a back lobe intercept' 

made as the vehicle passed north and east of Sary Shagan and it serves 

only to indicate that the emitter was active. 
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1. 3 .Flight Summary.. 

Vehicle Number 

Launch Date 

Launch Time 

Inclination 

Apogee. 

Perigee 

Period 

ET ZAPF 

227. 5 nautical miles 

97•.9 nautical Miles 

2. 1 Operational Coverage. 

This mission lasted for 112 orbits and covered the period from 

launch to 2142Z on 24 August. Although the mission life was scheduled 

to be 200 orbits, it was prematurely terminated due to the failure of 

the tape recorder which BIT shares with the primary payload. 

The unit was progra.mmed to operate on every orbit while the 

vehicle was over Europe and Asia. In addition, it was operated 

throughout the entire orbit twice each day to provide a check of signal 

activity in the Southern Hemisphere. 

2. 2. SysteM Coverage. 

The BIT system shownin Figure 1, monitors the 154. 5- to 

163-Mc frequency range with ,.a receiver detection sensitivity of -55 dbm. 

With the inclusion of the*effeCts,of the antenna pattern with different 

polarizations and aspect: anglea; the over-all detection sensitivity of 

the system ranges from 7 58 dbrn'to dbm. Signals intercepted by 

the receiver are cliecked by a:pulse width qualifier to determine if 

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2.2 N

-- Continued. 

the pulse width is greater. than 25 microsecondS. The qualified pul ses 

are counted in a total, pulse counter., PRC, over, the commutator read-in 

interval of 400 milliseconds and ail?. measured to deiermine their amplitude 

and RF frequency. On preVious systems the aniplitude and frequency 

measurements also required PR' qualification but on this unit the PRF 

Qualifier is bypassed. It is, however, still used to accurately check 

the PRF to determine if it falls within the 95- to 10I-pps acceptance 

band or harmonics. of this, range. If a signal has a power level at the 

receiver in excess of -30 dbm, its amplitude will be measured in 

PLD-A channel regardless, of the PRF or pulse width. The RF frequency 

of the high amplitude pulses will not be read unless the signal also 

satisfies the pulse width'criterion. 

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4.1 -*lg.)... System gpecifiatiCns. 

4... "(SL SYSTEM.PERFORMANCE. 

■ 

A sumina.ry of the system specifications for the BIT, system used 

on this mission i,s given beloW. The block diagram of the system .is 

shown in .Figur ,e 1. 

-55 dbrn PLD-B 

-29 dbm PLD-A 

Minimum Acceptable PUlse Width 25 microseconds 

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4, 1 Continued. 

PRF Qualifier Range 95,to 101 pps 

189- 201 pps (2nd Harmonic) 

RF Pass band 

dbm 154.4 to 161. 4 Mc' 

-25 dbm . 147 to 170: 3' Mc 

4.2 System Operatiori. 

The BIT y'stem functioned normally throughout the duration of, 

the 112 orbit mission. The, system response to the calibrator showed, 

that the Circuit's maintained their original calibration with the exception 

of PLD-C. The reading in this channel had to be corrected by 0. 4 Mc 

because it indicated,, that the'Crystal controlled,calibrator frequency 

was 160. 4 Mc rather than 160.0 Mc. 

The unit used on this mission was modified after mission 7060 

so that the measurement gates for ,PLD-B and PLD-C would. open only 

during the 20-microsecond duration of the PRC multi-vibrator. Once 

the Pulse Width Qualifier accepted a pulse, the niu/tivibrator wo uld fire 

to generate the "Read" gate and to add one count to the PRC. This 

greatly reduces the possibility of interference because an interfering 

pulse must occur cluring'the20-microsecOnd gate rather than any time 

during the pulse which is approximately 

As indicated in the data 

from this mission; this modification reduced the interference but did 

not completely eliminate it. Data from other sources, show that there 

are several (4 to 8)11.11111111111111alemitters in the signal environment around 

Sary Shagan. The density of pulses produced by these multiple signals 

is sufficient to generate interference even with the 20-microsecond 

"Read" gate. To more completely eliminate this type of interference, 

it would have been more desirable to make only one amplitude and frequency 

sample during the,;commutator read in period rather than having the 

circuits read the maximurn values of• all pulses received during the 

read in period. 

This mission was preniaturely terminated because the tape recorder 

which records the 'BIT output failed after orbit 112. This recorder,_ 

provided by the primary program, :records both the BIT data and datafrom the primary system. Real time data received while the vehicle 

was over the tracking stations shpwed the BIT system to be functioning 

normally after the recorder failure.: 

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