Since the transfer of the project management of the CENTAUR development program to the Lewis Research Center on October 8, 1962, the project has been reoriented (fig. 161) to include a much greater emphasis on thorough ground testing prior to flight. The reliability and performance is being improved and the flight test program has been shortened and simplified.

The CENTAUR development flight program has been reduced to eight research and development vehicles, including the first flight in 1962. A separate contract has been set up for engineering analysis and study problems related to the needs of the development program. CENTAUR DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM

CALENDAR YEARS

1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969

DESIGN

GROUND TEST

FLIGHT TEST

SURVEYOR FLIGHTS

MARINER FLIGHTS

NASA SV64-232

FIGURE 161

The ATLAS-CENTAUR unit No. 2 (AC-2) launch on November 27, 1963, was a completely successful development flight. All major and minor objectives of the flight were achieved.

ATLAS-AGENA.-During 1963, significant project management and vehicle improvements were pursued to increase vehicle reliability and the initiation of improvement programs for the ATLAS booster and the upper stage AGENA. These improvements are joint NASADOD shared programs which will lead to improved performance and standardization of the ATLAS and AGENA vehicle stages.

Because of spacecraft readiness problems, no NASA launches of the ATLAS-AGENA were conducted in 1963.

THOR-AGENA.-During the past year, the THOR has been improved by augmenting the thrust of the booster with the addition of three solid rocket motors attached around the periphery of the

THOR booster. This program was funded and managed by the Air Force with NASA monitoring the results for adaptation of this vehicle for NASA missions. The performance of the THOR vehicle has been increased approximately 45 percent by this improvement program.

DELTA.-Seven DELTA vehicles were successfully launched during fiscal year 1963 bringing the grand total for the DELTA program to 21 sequential successes in 22 launch attempts. During 1963 the X-258 solid motor developed as the fourth stage of SCOUT was successfully adapted as the third stage of DELTA (fig. 162). This improvement has appreciably enhanced the elliptic orbit capability of DELTA indicated by the increase in apogee from 69,000 to 170,000 miles for a nominal interplanetary EXPLORER (IMP)

mission.

SCOUT. (a) Completed development of the uprated fourth stage motor.

(b) Completed a new launch facility at Wallops Island.

(c) Developed standard procedures for field operations at both the Wallops Station and the Pacific Missile Range launch sites.

(d) Eliminated a third stage control problem.

(e) Established central control over all program areas, e.g., procedures, drawings, changes, spares and ground support equipment. (f) Successfully launched five payloads.

Advanced studies.-Advanced planning of possible future vehicle systems and/or stages was carried on in an effort to more clearly define those configurations which could support highly energetic future missions. In this regard, the maximum use of high energy

chemical propulsion is indicated for the next 10- to 15-year period. The use of liquid fluorine as an additive to the liquid oxygen (designated FLOX) in the ATLAS vehicle was studied and several pertinent experimental tests were conducted by the General Dynamics Corp. and Rocketdyne Corp. which indicated that very significant performance gains could be attained with a very minimum of vehicle component alterations:

Future

CENTAUR.—In spite of a highly successful AC-2 flight, much development effort is still required before ATLAS-CENTAUR is ready for operational use. The ongoing development program will include the continued development of an accurate and reliable guidance system; building and demonstrating both by ground and flight tests, a satisfactory and reliable system of separating the insulation panels and nose fairing in space; proving, both by ground and flight tests, the structural capability of the lighter CENTAUR tankage; providing and proving a two-burn coast capability for the vehicle during 1965; improving the quality and reliability of all flight components; and satisfying these and all other objectives of the development program within the weight and performance limitations which are required to carry SURVEYOR.

Operationally, CENTAUR will be able to handle up to 12 launches per year from the 2 pads at complex 36 at the Atlantic Missile Range. During 1965 and 1966 this capability will be utilized primarily by the SURVEYOR program as well as the two MARINER flights in late 1966 to Mars.

CENTAUR-launched spacecraft have many potential missions, including advanced weather and communications satellites and advanced satellites and space probes.

ATLAS-AGENA.-Start up of ATLAS-AGENA launches in calendar year 1964 with a variety of RANGER, MARINER, and observatory Earth satellites is planned. Along with this launch activity, the program to improve the launch vehicle system will be continued to adequately support the heavy future usage rates expected of this system until the operational availability of the ATLAS-CENTAUR. THOR-AGENA-NASA plans to use the improved THOR for all polar launches of the Orbiting Geophysical Observatory (OGO). The first OGO flight is scheduled in 1965.

DELTA.-A further performance improvement effort was initiated during this year, to adapt the U.S. Air Force-developed improved THOR booster (Thrust Augmented THOR) to the DELTA vehicle system (fig. 163). This improvement will provide the added performance required to place a 1,150 pound BIOSATELLITE spacecraft into low Earth orbit thus eliminating the requirement for a more expensive AGENA vehicle. In addition, the Thrust Augmented THOR DELTA (TAD) vehicle will provide the capability of placing the SYNCOM payload in an equatorial orbit and of placing the TIROS payload to a synchronous apogee.

SCOUT. The reliability improvement program will be continued. Included in this program is an attempt to develop procedures and techniques so that a fully assembled vehicle can be delivered directly to the launch site.

Completion of the performance improvement program will occur late in 1964 with flight use of the uprated second stage motor. SCOUT is scheduled to launch a wide variety of payloads including the second United Kingdom satellite, AEC and NASA reentry tests, several Air Force and Navy satellites and other NASA payloads.

FLOX development. As a result of studies conducted in fiscal year 1963 a vehicle improvement program is being initiated in fiscal year 1964 to substitute a more energetic propellant for liquid oxygen in the ATLAS booster. This is achieved by substituting 30 percent fluorine and 70 percent oxygen by weight for the present liquid oxygen oxidizer. This substitution of propellants will result in increased payload capabilities, reduced costs per pound of delivered payload and an increase in mission capabilities.

The project makes use of the ATLAS vehicles not used by the MERCURY program. The planned first vehicle launch under this program is early 1966.

Objective

SUSTAINING UNIVERSITY PROGRAM

The purpose of the Sustaining University Program is to augment and complement sponsored project research and in-house activities in support of NASA missions by: training which increases the future supply of skilled scientists and engineers, in recognition of the future requirements of space-related experiments and associated technology; facilities to help provide laboratory space urgently needed by aeronautical and space researchers; and research to enable universities to

increase their role in support of NASA's program through conduct of creative and multidisciplinary investigations, consolidation of activities and development of latent capabilities. A further objective is to attain a gradual broadening of the national base of space-related activities in universities, with the goal of embracing within the space program additional institutions with recognizable potential which are now participating either at a very low level or not at all.

Progress

A total of 144 universities are presently working under NASA grants and research contracts. Figure 164 shows the funding history

SUSTAINING UNIVERSITY PROGRAM

of the Sustaining University Program and indicates the extent to which we have been and hope to be successful in drawing new participants into this partnership.

In treating each of the subelements of the Sustaining University Program separately, we see from figure 165 the progress which has been made and is planned toward enlarged opportunities for graduate training in space-related fields of study. From this graduate training program it is reasonable to expect more and better trained scientists and engineers will become available from which we can select the investigators and program managers of tomorrow. Figure 166 indicates the distribution of present predoctoral trainees among disciplines of specialization and indicates that the universities have been particularly responsive to NASA's pressing needs for highly trained manpower in the physical sciences and engineering. It is emphasized that these predoctoral trainess are not undergraduates;