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PRESENTED BY 8594 TEST WINO (SATELLITE) (A ltD.C) SUNNYVALE, CAUPORNIA
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This decuraw cabins a plural disansion of the DISCOVERER

XI operable.

Existing reports on the DISCOVERER program have, on a whole,

been either nowdassified public info on releases or tedinical

engines,* salvation shidies with limited distribution. This dew

sent is Mended to till the pp between ben two by cowing the

owerd operation in mars debit than would be possible in public

release, yet dant* the discussion of engineering details.

Photographs and drawinp used were furnished by the Ballistic

Missiles Division (ARM The Naval Missile Center (MO, and the

Lockheed Missiles ad Specs Milian.
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FIRST CAPSULE RECOVERED

FROM AN ORBITING SATELLITE

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A want "her in world-wide space technology was

achieved on 11 August 1900 by the USAF with ther recovey

of the capsule ejected from an orbiting satellite This operatics

involved DISCOVERER XIII with an Agana satellite and

Thor boostee The kirsch was made at 1338 PDT on 10 August

from Vandenberg AFB.

Satisfactory Apes injection altitude and velocity resulted

in a seer polar orbit with a period of 94 minutes. Capsule ejection was initiated on the seventeenth orbit so that meow

could be made in an area northwest of Hawaii. Recovery by

air was not aocomplished as the capsule and its parachute were

int sighted by C-110 awes at about the time of water impact.

Two RADARCs (sonobuoya) and amid smoke bombs were

dropped to mark the tmpt area for helicopters dhpatched by

the nearest mover, vend, the Haiti Victory. The capsule and

parachute were aucessafully retrieved at 1922 PDT, 11 August

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NINOUNCES. mown OF SARUM CAPSULE

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DISCOVERER

PROGE

PAGE 10

The DISCOVERER program was established early in 1958 under the direction

of ARPA, with technical management assigned to AFBMD. Full program responsibility was transferred from ARPA to the Air Force on 14 November 1959. The prime

contractor is Lockheed Missiles and Space Division. Overall test control is exercised

by the13594tbTest Wing (Satellite) and capsule recovery is the responsibility of its

organization in Hawaii, the 8594thRecovery Control Group.

One of the most important functions of the Vfmg at present is the training of

officers and airmen for eventual full blue suit capability to conduct the complete satellite test operation.

The Program consists of the design, development and flight testing of Alums

satellites using the Thor IRBM as a booster and the Agena as the second stage.

The primary test objectives are to:

(a) Develop and flight test the satellite and its subsystems.

1

(b) Demonstrate reliable stabilization of the satellite in orbit and response

to programmed reorientation commands.

Develop proven techniques for recovering capsules ejected from orbiting

satellites.

Perform apace research and engineering tests in support of advanced

military reconnaissance satellite programs.
LOCKHEED MISSILES AND RACE DIV.,

SUNNYVALE. CALIF..

PRIME CONTRACTOR

6594TH TEST WING ISATEU.ITO MM.

SUNNYVALE. CALIF011141A- TEST CONTROL

rHEADQUARTERS MIND,

INGLEWOOD. CALIFORNIA

ROOM DIRECTION

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Flight tests started on 28 February 1959 with the launching of DISCOVERER I. Since then a total of thirteen tests have been conducted, placing

eight satellites successfully into orbit. Capsule ejection was accomplished on

six occasions and one of these resulted in the first recovery. Further details are

given in the following tabulation:

DISCOVERER I 28 Feb 59 Orbit achieved. Telemetry received for 514

1022/163 seconds after lift-off.

DISCOVERER II 13 Apr 59 Orbit achieved. Capsule ejected on the 17th

1018/170 pass. Recovery not attempted.

DISCOVERER III 3 Jun 59 Launch, boost, separation and second stage

1020/174 operation successful. Failed to orbit.

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DISCOVERER

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DISCOVERER IV 25 Jun 59 Lunch, boost, separation and second stage

1023/179 ignition were stemmata'. Failed to orbit became of premature ignition cut-off resulting

in low injection velocity.

•

DISCOVERER V 13 Aug 59 Orbit achieved. Capsule ejected on 17th pass.

1029/192 All objectives successfully accomplished exy.

DISCOVERER VI 19 Aug 59 Orbit achieved. Capsule ejected. S IMMS ex1028/200 cept for recovery.

MOS Is
DISCOVERER VII 7 Nov 59 Orbit achieved. 400 cycle power failure pre1051/206 vented stabilization while in orbit and actifvation of the recovery sequences.

DISCOVERER VIII 20 Nov 59 Orbit achieved. Excessive injection velocity

1050/212 produced a highly eccentric orbit resulting

in early control gas depletion. The capsule

was ejected but not recovered.

DISCOVERER IX 4 Feb 60 On lift-off the umbilical mast did not retract

1052/218 and the Agent quick disconnect failed causing loss of helium pressure. The THOR shut

down prematurely.

DISCOVERER X 19 Feb 80 THOR flight control malfunction caused

r- 1054/223 Range Safety officer to distruct 56 seconds

after launch.

rDISCOVERER XI 15 Apr 60 Orbit achieved. Capsule ejected on 17th pen.

1055/234 Re-entry trajectory was high and beyond the

predicted recovery area.

DISCOVERER XU 29 Jun 60 Launch, boost, separation and Atone engine

1053/160 operation were successful. Failed to orbit because of a pitch down attitude at injection.

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DISCOVERER XIII 10 Aug 60 Orbit achieved. Capsule ejected on the 17th

1057/231 pen and recovered from the water. Little

damage to the capsule. All objectives MCCOMBfully accomplished except airborne recovery.

PAGE 13
In order to conduct the flight test of the satellite extensive and widely separated facilities

were required. The most obvious of these were, of course, a launch facility, tracking and control

stations,,a recovery force all tied together by a control center. The specific units involved and their

primary functions were as follows:

PAGE 11

STC — Satellite Test Center, Sunnyvale, California — overall

control of the flight test.

VCC — Vandenberg Control Center, VAFB, Calif. — monitored satellite and booster checkout and launch operations. During final countdown activities STC was

connected directly to the blockhouse.

VTS — Vandenberg Tracking Station, VAFB, Calif. tracking, control and telemetry readout.

MTS -- Mugu Tracking Station, Pt. Mugu, Calif. — tracking,

control and telemetry.

KTS — Kodi Tracking Station, Kodiak, Alaska — tracking,

control and telemetry readout: •

HTS — Hawaii Tracking Station, Kama Point, Hawaii —

tracking, control and telemetry.

NETS — New Boston Tracking Station, N.H., was activq for

station checkout and training.

Telemetry Ships AG 161 and PRIVATE JOE E MANN

located so as to cover telemetry during orbital injection

and recovery phases. Furnished by PMR (with instrumentation readout equipment manned by LMSD).

WV-2 — Telemetry Aircraft furnished by PMR to cover capsule separation and re-entry functions.

HCC — Hawaiian Control Center, Hick= AFB — controls

the recovery operation.

Mr Recovery Force — Eight C-119J and one C-130 aircraft

of the 6594th Recovery Control Group. Four RC-121

Radar aircraft of the 652nd AEW&C Wing, McClellan

AFB, Calif.

Surface Recovery Force — Two Victory Ships (Dalton & Haiti)

with Helicopters. One Telemetry Ship (PVT JOE E

MANN) supplemented the water recovery capability

for this operation.

Recovery Supporting Elements — Tracking stations at Barking Sands, South Point and Christmas Island. WV-2

Aircraft for frequency interference control. C-54 aircraft for telemetry monitoring.

PMR — Pacific Missile Range — the joint service west coast

missile range operated by the Navy Missile Center at

Pt. Mugu, Calif. Responsible for range scheduling,

range safety, frequency interference control on all missile firings over the Pacific Ocean. Furnished downrange instrumentation and recovery ships and provided ground based instrumentation common to several

programs.

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PAGE Is
PAGE 1•

DISCOVERER XIII

CONFIGURATION

DISCOVERER XIII was composed of Thor Booster *231 and Agana #1057,

one of the last of the "A" models. The satellite was 19.5 ft. long, 5 feet in diameter

and had a gross weight of 8,662 pouitds. Ita liquid rocket engine had a nozzle ratio

of 20:1, used UDMH and IRFNA, and had a single burn capability of 120 seconds.

Attitude control during the launch phase was maintained in pitch and yaw by swivelling the engine; in roll through the use of gas jets. During the orbital phase attitude

was controlled by gas jets alone. On board guidance and command functions were

handled by the horizon scanner, and guidance programer (D-timer). The orbital programmer (H-timer) controlled the periods during which beacon and telemetry signals

were transmitted. It also restarted the D-timer which in turn activated the various

recovery sequences.

The capsule was orentially composed of two sections, the retro rocket assembly

and the recovery package. The latter contained diagnostic instrumentation consisting of an "S" band beacon and a five channel telemetry unit. These resulted in more

adequate instrumentation coverage of the separation and recovery sequences and improved the capsule tracking capability.
;.

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MODIFICAll

CHECO

One of the major problems in a program of this sort are

the many equipment modifications that are generated by the

information gained with each firing.

Modifications on Agena 1057 were accomplished at the

Sunnyvale Plant, the Santa Cruz static firing facility, and the

MIAs Assembly building at Vandenberg AFB. System and

subsystem checks followed each of these operations and upon

satisfactory completion the vehicle was pared on to the next

phase.

On 29 June 1959 assembly had been completed and the

vehicle was sent to MODIFICATION and CHECKOUT within the LMSD, Sunnyvale Complex. During the nest five weeks

engineering changes were followed by functional, alignment

and calibration checks on all subsystems. The Final System

run was completed on 15 August.. Weight and center of gravity

checks completed the plant activities and the satellite was made

ready for transfer to Santa Cruz.

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The Agana reached the static test facility on 21 August. It was

scheduled for hot firing on Test Stand No. 2 but as this stand was

being used a temporary installation was made on Stand 1. Here the

Oxidizer feed system was flushed, Helium regulator leak and Blectsiced

continuity checks were made. The unit was transferred to Test Stand

*2 on 21 September when after power, tank promul gation and preliminary system checks, the hot firing countdown was started. During

this operation it was noted that the prams differential between fuel

and oxidiser tanks started rising; venting the fuel tank had no effect

and it was necessary to dump the UDMH. The trouble was located

and rectified within a few hours and the countdown resumed. A

static firing was successfully completed, except for low turbine speed,

at 2245 hrs. on 29 September. Three days later a second static firing

was made. Post-fire servicing, propulsion system flushing and electrical continuity checks were followed by the USAF acceptance inspection and preparation for shipment to Vandenberg AFB.

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When Agena 1057 arrived at the missile assembly building on 23 November, it had a rather low work priority as five Agenas were scheduled for launch

before it It was not until June that work got underway seriously on modification and checkout of its various subsystems. Before the end of the month

the vehicle was sent to Pad 5 where propulsion system leak testa were conducted. In July it was again transported to the pad for Electrical Compatibility

checks. By 19 July all MAB building checks were essentially completed and

Countdown and Flight System checks were started at the pad. This operation

was plagued by several malfunctioning components and it took three weeks

to satisfactorily complete checks which under normal conditions should have

taken two days. The last MAB All-Systems tests were accomplished on 3

August On the following day *1057 made its lest trip to the pad. Readiness

Minus 4 Day activities were started and the schedule proceeded without

further incident The Agena/Thor mating and other preparations for the

final countdown were completed on 9 August.

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PAGE 21

Though the DISCOVERER XIII launch pad activity was the most critical and complex portion of the final countdown, it was by no means the only element involved, for at

this point the over-all system began to function as a team. Each element had specific tasks to

perform and upon each rested some measure of responsibility for the success of the over-all

flight test. The system countdown started at 0600 hours (PDT) on 10 August with each

station reporting to the Satellite Test Center. During the next six hours at prescribed intervals, communications checks were conducted on voice and data links; periodic weather studies

were made; the equipment status and readiness were sent in. HCC reported on the status of the

recovery forces. And launch pad activity was monitored continuously through direct voice

communications with the blockhouse.

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COuNTDOWN

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The Satellite/booster countdown schedule was essentially the same as that

shown in the attached block diagram. One important change was the elimination of

Task 2 as mating had already been accomplished. Shelter removal and vehicle erection occurred at 0614 hours (T-361 minutes). R-F checkout took 53 minutes longer

than planned because of the beacon and telemetry additions to the capsule. An

additional 22 minutes delay was canoed by the replacement of a faulty Destruct Receiver. Because of these schedule slippers; a 76-minute HOLD was called. Subsequent

operations Propellant Line Fill, Tanking and Premuthation were conducted without

incident. Checks on Range R-F equipment as well as Guidance and Plight Control

Units were also conducted as planned. Before going into the Terminal Count, an 11-

minute HOLD was called to resolve a train schedule conflict. During the last 12

minutes of the countdown, excitement rose to considerable heights as two additional

difficulties developed. Fortunately these proved to be minor. A circuit breaker had

to be reset in the THOR power trailer resulting in a six-minute delay; and the other

HOLD turned out to be based on a misunderstanding between MTS and the Range

Safety Officer and was immediately cancelled. The Terminal Count resumed at Phase

5 and Lift-off occurred three minutes later at 1337:54 hours (PDT).

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Shortly after lift-off, the missile rolled to a departure azimuth

of 174° (172° intended) and started a programmed pitchover.

THOR main engine cutoff was approximately 1.5 seconds early but

within tolerance at T+ 163. Separation was successfully completed.

Position data fed to the Reeves computer at BITS during ascent

and coast phases indicated that the programmed AGENA engine

start time and velocity to be gained would have to be corrected.

Commands extending D-timer bold and reducing the integrator

velocity setting were sent to the vehicle. Engine start occurred at

T+302.45, nominal thrust was obtained for 119 seconds when the

engine was shutdown by the integrator.

Burnout occurred at T+421.42 seconds at an altitude of 139.7

urn and an Inertial velocity of 25,786 feet per second.

PAGE 32
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PAGE 34
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PHASE

After injection into orbit the Agena was 'dewed in Azimuth 180° so that it

would continue to circle the earth with greater stability (back to front) in a position

horizontal to the earth's surface. It was maintained in this position by a 4° per

minute programmed pitch; its attitude (pitch and roll) monitored by the horizon

scanner and its yaw alignment by the sun position indicator.

Based on data from the tracking stations it was determined that the near

polar eliptic orbit was actually inclined at 82.87° from the equitorial plane, had an

apogee of 379 nm, a perigee of 137 inn and a period of 94.1 minutes. With subagent

passes this and other information was continually reviewed by STC and formed the

basis for estimated station acquisition times, orbital programmer commands, and

predictions of the time and location of parachute deployment.

Some of the planned and actual orbits are shown in the attached figures.

Bach orbit (pass) was numbered consecutively starting with the first northbound

crossing of the equitorial plane somewhere over Africa..

PASS 1. KTS tracked by radar and the CWAT (continuous wave acquisition

transmitter) and also recorded telemetry. The 65 °N and 60°N reference latitude

crossings were 123 seconds later than predicted. STC directed KTS to send certain

specific commands to bring the onboard orbital programmer into synchronization

with the satellites track over the earth. Only marginal contact was made by VTS,

HTS and USNS PVT JOE E. MANN.

PASS 2. KTS and HTS tracked the vehicle with all equipment . Each station

sent one command.

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PASSES 3 dins 7. Were not monitored because the satellite did not pass in the

vicinity of the tracking and control stations.

PASSES 8,9 and 10. Were northbound passes. A command was sent by VTS on

Pass 9 but was flat required for Passes 8 and 10.

PASSES 11, 12, 13 and 14. Did not peas close to the tracking stations. •

PASS 15. KTS acquired the satellite at near the predicted time and sent a command. VTS and MTS had difficulty in obtaining continuous radar lock-on, however,

programmer functions were observed by both stations to have occurred within 6

seconds of expected time. Real-time telemetry readouts were all normal.

PASS 16. KTS acquired as programmed and had excellent tracking. One command was sent. MTh and VTS also tracked without trouble on this pees. All parameters were normal.

PASS 17. The recovery operation had been orginally programmed for this pass

and as all conditions were normal no change was commanded from the ground. KTS

reported nominal track. Satellite telemetry covengp was good and verâ ed the restarting of the D-Timer which not only initiated the separation and recovery

sequences but activated the capsule 13" band beacon and telemetry. KTS acquired

this beacon and monitored all the capsule separation sequences. These events were

also later verified by the telemetry tapes made by the WV-2, located beneath the

Agena at capsule separation.
ACTUAL

PAGE 40

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PAGE 43
As previously indicated the initiation of the separation and recovery sequences

began with the starting of the D-timer, which, either directly or indirectly determined

when each event took place. In 5 seconds it started repositioning the Agena to a 60°

pitch down attitude. 75 seconds later (at T-0) the capsule separated from the vehicle.

Retro-Rocket fire °conned at 1613:28 PDT (T + 4.38 seconds) and was preceded by spinning the capsule to avert abnormal thrust vectors due to misalignment of the nozzle.

De-Spin was initiated about 11 seconds later and was immediately followed by Thrust

Cone separation. This last of the separation sequences set the stage for the capsule recovery events by exposing the parachute container and other essential recovery gear.

With the firing of the ratio rocket the capsule lost orbital velocity and the resultant

force vector directed it towards the earth. As the atmoaphere Immune more dense an ionisation sheath blanketed the capsule causing • blackout of telemetry and beacon transmissions. Deceleration reached the 5 G level at 1622:48 His (T+613 seconds) throwing

a switch to start the capsule recovery sequences after a 128 second delay. These events

took place in quick succession and included, (1) removal of the parachute cover;

(2) parachute deployment; and (3) the jettisoning of the ablative shell.

►01 44
rLamm VEHICLE AND CAPSULE PATH CAPSULE TELEMETRY COVERAGE VHF BEACON COVERAGE

PASS 45
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The 6594th Recovery Control Group had full responsibility for the

recovery operation. Control was exercised through the Hawaiian Control

Center (HCC). The air recovery force consisted of eight C-1 1W and one

C-130 aircraft directly supported by four RC-121 radar aircraft. Two

Victory Ships, the Haiti and Dalton, each carrying two IIRS-3 helicopters, formed the surface recovery force. Supporting elements included

the ground stations Mama Point, Barking Sands, South Point and

Christmas island), a telemetry ship PVT JOB E MANN located south

of the primary recovery area and telemetry and frequency monitoring

aircraft (four JC-54s and one WV-2).

Briefing of the surface force elements, including repneentstives from

the. Victory Ships and PMR tracking stations, took place on 8 August.

Air elements were initially briefed on the following day and received

final instructions and briefing on the latest weather forecasts prior to

take-off on 11 August.

PAGE 46
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THE PRIMARY ELEMENTS OF THE AIRBORNE AND WATER RECOVERY FORCES: C•119, R6121

AND VICTORY SHIP WITH ONE OF ITS TWO HELICOPTERS MILE ON THE FANTAIL

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ACTUAL CAPSULE iINPACT

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All recovery and support elements were "on station" considerably before parachute deployment (see attached Mustration). Chaff had been released and the capsule

was transmitting telemetry and beacon signals. The Haiti Victory was the first to

report a Class A bearing on the beacon at 000° to 015° (1620:15 PDT). 45 seconds

later Barking Sands Tracking Station had a similar bearing at 340° to 345°. Reliable

bearings were reported by C-119 #3 and 2 at 1623:45 and 1624:15.

At 1624:25 C-119 * 1 received a signal which saturated its scope — a condition

which could not be alleviated by reducing receiver gain. The control RC-12I, not having

been informed of this sent *1 towards a possible "char' target to the west. This turned

out to be a cloud and the C-119 raced back towards the capsule which was then

strongly pinpointed at a position between 15 and 20 miles northeast of its original

station.

The first visual sighting was made by C-119 #2 at 1705:30 PDT shortly after

capsule impact on the water. Its position was immediately flashed to HCC and the

nearest recovery ship, the Haiti Victory, about 100 nm away. Within a few minutes

C-119 *3, 4, and 1 bad arrived on the scene. Two sedans (sonobuoys) and several

smoke bomber were dropped to supplement the capsule's flashing light, radio beacon

and dye marker systems.

As it would be about two hours before the Haiti Victory would be clone enough

to release its helicopters, one of the C-119s and an RC-121 were assigned to the watch

detail.

The helicopters were released about 50 miles from target position. When they

arrived, Helieopter #2 dropped a frogman into the water to secure the capsule to the

hoist cable. The capsule was safely aboard at 1922 PDT and immediately taken to

the Haiti Victory. Meanwhile the frogman was recovered by the second helicopter.
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ROWANS MPS INTO WATER
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PAGE 33

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On the following morning (Friday, 12 August) when the Haiti Victory

was about 50 miles south of Pearl Harbor, a courier from the 6594th Test

Wing arrived aboard to take charge of the capsule, and fly it immediately

to Washington. At Hickam AFB it was transferred from helicopter to C-130,

and a brief stop was made at LMSD, Sunnyvale, so that certain instrumentation could be removed for evaluation.

General White and General Schriever were on hand to view the capsule

when it arrived at Andrews APB on Saturday morning. The tentative plans

for a White House ceremony and Presidential announcement were definitely

scheduled for 1100 hours on Monday.

The stage was set. Behind the capsule stood the President, the Secretary

of Defense and their top Air Force advisors, as well as military representatives

from ARDC, AFBMD, and the 6594th Test Wing. The announcement of the

historic capsule recovery was made to the nation through press, radio and

television. The President then removed the Flag which had been secretly

placed in the instrumentation package prior to launch.

This was the climax of the capsule's eventful life cycle, however public

interest continued to run high and for many weeks, it was placed on display

throughout the countzy. In December, it was returned to the plant for final

dean up and polish prior to its installation at its final resting place the

Smithsonian Institute.
FAME 57
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