Subsystem #4
Tracking
GROUND CONTROL SOFTWARE ON ORBIT TIMELINES – PUSH TO SHORTEN FOURTH SHIFT AND ITS’ IMPORTANCE MCD, BFE AND DAILY REPORT MISSION PROFILE GENERATION SECURITY NEEDS AND HANDICAPS COMPUTER SYSTEMS CONTINGENCY PLANS IF POWER LOST IN STC GROUND STATIONS – RTS, SCF AND VAN COMMUNICATIONS MESSAGE PRINTING AND DISTRIBUTION RTS TLM TAPES – COURIER & HAND CARRY ANOMALIES – TO WALNUT AND TIKI ROOMS FIRST AUGIE TLM DATA CREW CROSS FERTILIZATION VS SAME SHIFT CARDS TO ENT BY MISTAKE GENERAL ANOMALIES CONTACT PROBLEM MEANT LEFT STATION WITH DOWNLINK ON OVER BAD AREAS Hung up in a Delay Line 9.28 VS 4.47 PADLOAD TIME ERROR DOOR BLOWN OPEN-BAD THERMAL STATE PREPRESS BRIEFING AND OTHER GROUPS ATTENDING SUBJECTS PASS PLAN APPROVAL PASS PLAN CONTENTS AND SAMPLE SUPPORTING GROUPS 201 EFFECT 1963-1965 PRELAUCH EFFORT INCLUDING REHS 1965-1967 PRELAUNCH EFFORT INCLUDING REHS REHEARSALS REHEARSAL CONDUCTION ANOMALIES TO TEST SYSTEM AND PROCS ========================================= TELEMETRY SUBSYSTEM PAM/FM, CONTINUOUS, AND COMMUTATED 3-13 GOOD ADD FOR TROUBLESHOOTERS TAPE RECORDER AND PLAYED BACK PB CONFUSING SO 3 BIT COUNTER MULTIPLEXERS, SCOs TRANSMITTERS
The Command Subsystem received commands intended for it from the Pulse Position Demodulator (PPD) in the Tracking Subsystem, which ALSO utilized a magnetostrictive delay line, similar to that used in the Command Programmer memory and in the onboard vehicle clock hardware for executing timetagged uplinked command data at the proper time.
Implementation of this function for tracking data generation employed a delay line with two taps spaced 26 microseconds apart on the delay line, leading to detection of ranging/tracking data uplinked from tracking stations in the form of 2 “goalpost type” pulses 26 microseconds apart modulating a carrier. After the tracking information was stripped from the carrier and routed to the PPD, This goalpost type signature received at the vehicle was (as I understand it) then used to modulate another higher frequency carrier, which was transmitted back to the ground, where the goal post signature and time of receipt was used along with the transmission time of the originally transmitted pulse. The time difference divided by 2 gave, I believe, the distance to the vehicle, i. e., 1 point of ranging data is the result.
Three other taps on the PPD delay line gave commanding information. Between the 26 microsecond taps were taps at 5, 11, and 19 microseconds from the left hand tracking “goalpost”, which provided 1, 0 or S (at respectively, 5, 11, and 19 microseconds) command information. With the detection of the 26 microsecond “goalposts” by sensing energy at the 0 and 26 microsecond taps, indicating a valid tracking data pair, logic then looked for pulses of lesser amplitude from one of the other delay line taps at 5, 11 or 19 microseconds. Energy at tap 5 indicated a command bit 1 value was sent uplink, tap 11 indicated a command bit 0 value was sent, tap 19 indicated NO command bit was sent uplink, instead an S pulse was sent, which would be seen all the time if no command was going on. If more than 1 of the commanding taps (5, 11 or 19) had twist energy, then I believe that the return was filled with an S pulse, probably denoting a commanding error of some kind, at which the response would be to send S pulses rather than command data bits 1 or 0. I believe that the stopping commanding and sending S pulses may have been trying to prevent another transmitter from taking control of the command link. S pulses would likely prevent anyone from doing that. There was always a fear that another (rogue) transmitter of higher power might be able to take control of the vehicle, and try to send random commands to the vehicle, or, perhaps, at a minimum, try to erase the commands stored in the command memory.
TRACKING SUBSYSTEM 1, 0 AND S PULSES – PPD – DELAY LINE BETWEEN 26 MICOSECONDS TRACKING GOALPOSTS RECEIVER AND TRANSMITTER PRELORT AND VERLORT ANTENNAS SGLS LATER? POWER/THERMAL SUBSYSTEM HEATERS & BATTERIES EAGLE PICHER SQUIBS/ETC – HARD TO TEST PRELAUNCH SCR USED TO FIRE – HI CURRENT SCR PASSIVE THERMAL CONTROL VIA PAINT? MECHANICAL SUBSYSTEM DOOR LIM SWITCH VS POTENTIOMETER HARD TO TEST IN 1 G AND NOT HURT HW PEOPLE PLAYING GRAVITY AT VAFB OUTER DOOR & INNER DOOR MAGNETOMETER BOOM CONTROL/PROTECT SENSOR SUBSYSTEMS (2) PRIMARY AND SECONDARY OA SUBSYSTEM 2 ENGINES - HYDRAZINE AND N2O4 ENGINES ON VIA SECURE COMMANDS THRUST ALIGNED THRU VEH CG - HARD LIFEBOAT SUBSYSTEM-BACKUP RECOVERY USE COULD OPEN PRIMARY COMMAND LINK ZEKE, KIK ZEKE, GAS, TIMER 0 AND 5400 SECS THEN 90 SECS USE 3 AXIS MAGNETOMETERS REQUIRED PRIMARY GAS DISABLED SOMETIMES DEBOOST OF OCV WHILE LIFEBOAT HELD ATTITUDE HITCHUP MODE FOR FIRST 3 VEHICLES LIMITATION NADIR ONLY-NO ROLLS POST RV RCVRY, FLEWNEW MISSION SANS RV BATTERY AND GAS SAVED FOR SOLO CHECK OF OCV 3 AXIS STAB CHECK OF OCV DEBOOST EXPENDABLES MANAGEMENT TREATISE BATTERY POWER, ATT CNTRL GAS OA PROPELLANT – PROB NOT AS IMPORTANT RECORDING MEDIA FIELD RETROFITS VERY LITTLE REDUNDANCY 209 BULKHEAD HARDWARE SCANNERS, VALVES, ENGINES, GYROS (IRU) DEFINITIONS FOR LAYMEN GROUND TRACE, INCLINATION, Q, PASS PARAMETERS - ACQ, MID AND FADE CONES, OBSCURA LAUNCH TRAJECTORY AND REASONS FOR POLAR ORBIT– METHOD VELOCIMETER, MARMON CLAMP SKIN TRAK - FIRST ALERT ON ORBIT 4 PIECES REPORTED BUT OK LATER FOR 1 LAUNCH GOOD ORBIT PREDICT GRAPHS/TABLES – 1ST STATION OR SKIN TRACK EARLIER COMMENT BY GENERAL ATLAS AND AGENA BOOSTERS PADLOAD WIDENING FOR BAD INJECTION DATA LINES AND MALFUNCTIONS THERETO COULD BE TAP ADDED & NOT DETECTED TRAWLER CUT LINE 5 PLACES AND ON THURS EXPENDABLES GONE IF NOT FIXED ASAP SINGLE BREAK AT LEAST ONCE TLM PROCESSING AND REPORTING AUGIE (MODES), VOICE, STRIP CHARTS SOC CONSOLE, ORD GROUPS RTS GND STA DECOM & REPORT POSTPASS ONLY AT ANOMALY TIME? TIRED CREW HURT ANALYSIS ONCE GROUND CONTROL SOFTWARE GENIE TOSP TMPGP GMINT GCONTACT GCOMMAND – FIRST VERSION TPREP TPAT TMOP AND??? – LATER VERSION DECK LISTINGS USED AND REVIEWED ALTER MODE NOT USED MESSAGES TO RTS’s RETURNED & CHECKED ON ORBIT TIMELINES – PUSH TO SHORTEN CLOSER TO LOAD STATION TIMELINE CRUNCH DAY IN LIFE MESSAGE UPDATES HARD WITH LOADING ANOMALY FOURTH SHIFT AND ITS’ IMPORTANCE MCD, BFE AND CLOCK BF AND DAILY REPORT PREPRESS BRIEFING AND OTHER - ATTENDEES MISSION PROFILE GENERATION MANUAL GEN – LOAD STAs & SPANs PICKED RUN DECKS WITH SPANS SET DURING REHS BAD INJECTION RUINED PROFILE/DECKS LOAD DECK – SAMPLE MISSION PROFILE – SAMPLE TOOLS PRELAUNCH EXECUTION PI SEARCH INPUT AND RESULTS RESULT PICKED ORBIT FOR NEXT MISSION THEN FULL NEW DECK FOR NEXT USE ONE HIGH PRI MAYBE FROM OTHER ORG AND MAYBE AFTER 1965 RTS’S FULFILLING UNIQUE NEEDS COOK, POGO, HULA POST FLIGHT REPORTS – 5 AND 30 DAY SECURITY NEEDS AND HANDICAPS COMPUTER SYSTEMS SST AND AMT WITH CORRECTOR DECK 91 VERSUS FEW LEGAL ONES BIRD BUFFER, 160A AND OTHERS COMPUTER DOWN & SWITCHING SYSTEMS MAINTENANCE AND COMPUTER PROB CLEANING AREA WHEN GIVING UP SYSTEM UNCLEARED OPERATORS EARLY ON THEN LIST 2 LTAB CORRS BUT NOT USED CDC160 PRINTED OUTPUT TAPE DRIVES AND LATER REMOVABLE DISK CARD PUNCH INCIDENT BROKEN BELT CONTINGENCY PLANS IF POWER LOST IN STC SIMULATED TO PALO ALTO, ALMOST TO LA NEXT SHIFT WAS TO REPORT TO MOFFETT ADVANCED MAN TO LA ONCE, STAFF CAR BACKUP POWER GENERATORS EARLY GROUND STATIONS – RTS, SCF AND VAN MICROWAVE LINK FROM VAFB COMMUNICATIONS BACK LINE, TROPO SCATTER, 1200/2400 BITS TTY MESSAGE PRINTING AND DISTRIBUTION DATA HANDLERS, DECOLLATE 6 PART 160A PRINTER FROM SO TAPE, NOT ON SYS2X 1ST 2 TO TA, 1 TO 10A TAPES – COURIER HAND CARRY ARMED SURVEILLANCE ALSO USED PO BOX FOR ALL DOCS USING REGISTERED MAIL PO BREAKIN PO BOX LOCATION CHANGED ANOMALIES – TO WALNUT AND TIKI FIRST AUGIE-NOT ROBUST 1ST FEW FLIGHTS HANGER QUEENS VS CLEAN TEST CYCLE VAFB DROP TEST, BB’S HEARD CREW CROSS FERTILIZATION VS SAME SHIFT CARDS TO ENT BY MISTAKE GENERAL ANOMALIES CONTACT PROBLEM MEANT LEFT STATION WITH DOWNLINK ON OVER BAD AREAS BATTERY LOST 9.28 VS 4.47 PADLOAD TIME ERROR DOOR BLOWN OPEN BAD THERMAL STATE PREPASS BRIEFING GROUPS ATTENDING SUBJECTS PASS PLAN APPROVAL PASS PLAN CONTENTS AND SAMPLE STATION BRIEF BEFORE VEHICLE ACQ SUPPORTING GROUPS 201 EFFECT 1962-1965 PRELAUNCH EFFORT INCLUDING REHS 1965-1967 PRELAUNCH EFFORT INCLUDING REHS NETWORK REHEARSALS REHEARSAL CONDUCTION ANOMALIES TO TEST SYSTEM AND PROCS