NASA Sounding Rocket Capabilities

1. NASASounding Rocket Capabilities June 19, 2008 Sounding Rocket Program Office

2. Sounding Rocket Program Office

3. Services Provided • Launch Vehicles • Payload Development • Attitude Control Systems • Magnetic • Inertial (coarse pointing and velocity vector tracking) • Celestial • Telemetry Systems • Multiple links • 10 Mb/s data rates • Command uplink • Video down link • Recovery Systems • Boost Guidance Systems • Aerodynamic control for early portion of powered flight • Deployment Systems • Mission Analysis • Operations Support • Mobile range development • Launcher servicing and erection • Field operations Sounding Rocket Program Office

4. Payloads • Electric and magnetic field measurements • Particle detection • Scramjet testing • Reentry body testing • Astronomical and solar telescopes • Multiple free-flying payload bodies • Microgravity • Air sampling Sounding Rocket Program Office

5. Launch Sites Map provided by www.theodora.com w/ permission Sounding Rocket Program Office

6. From cold to hot, then from hot to cold, and everything in between… Sounding Rocket Program Office

7. Vehicles and Performance Capabilities Sounding Rocket Program Office

8. Liftoff and Flight Sequence Sounding Rocket Program Office

9. 1800 Black Brant X Mod 1 (35) 1600 Black Brant XII (40) 1400 Black Brant X (35) Apogee 1200 (km) 1000 Altitude 800 Vehicle Types 600 400 Black Brant XI (39) Black Brant (21) Terrier Black Brant Mod 2 (36) 200 Terrier Black Brant (36) Terrier Orion (41) Orion (30) 0 1600 0 200 400 600 800 1000 1200 1400 Payload Weight (pounds) Figure 1 Launch Vehicles Sounding Rocket Program Office

10. Terrier-Orion Terrier-Brant BBXI BBXII Sounding Rocket Program Office

11. Other Vehicles Currently Not in the Core Inventory Custom vehicle stacks can be investigated… Terrier Oriole Terrier-Lynx Sounding Rocket Program Office

12. Talos-Oriole • Payload Weights: 500 to 1500 lbs. • Payload Diameters: 22 to 30 in. • Apogee: 350 to 500 km • Time above 100 km: 450 to 500 sec • Descent Mach Number: 8 to 10 Design Approx 90% complete. 30” payload hardware built. Sounding Rocket Program Office

13. 97% vehicle success rate Sounding Rocket Program Office

14. Sounding Rocket Program Office

15. Telemetry Systems Sounding Rocket Program Office

16. Telemetry System Instrumented Test Article GPS Unit Telemetry Capabilities • Multiple S-band links possible • 10 mb/s data rates • Digital and Analog data channels • Many Options Available • On-board GPS • Command Uplink • Video downlink • GLN-MAC gyro Sounding Rocket Program Office

17. Attitude Control Systems Sounding Rocket Program Office

18. NSROC Magnetic ACS (NMACS) • Primary sensor is the Bartington MAG-03MS 3-axis magnetometer • Orientation accuracy of 5 degrees or less • Can Accommodate spin rates between 0.5 and 4.0 hz • Can accommodate 1 or 2 gas tanks (200 – 400 cu in) • 14” and 17.26” dia systems have been flown • Flight History • 3 Developmental • 14 Operational Sounding Rocket Program Office

19. Magnetic ACS Air Bearing Test Sounding Rocket Program Office

20. Magnetic ACS Developmental Flight Sounding Rocket Program Office

21. NSROC Inertial ACS (NIACS) • Based on the GLNMAC Inertial Platform • Simultaneous multi-axis maneuvering • Maximizes science observation time • Can accommodate 1 to 4 gas tanks (200 – 800 cu in) • Real-time GUI display using telemetry data • Flight History • 4 Developmental • 3 Operational • Velocity Vector Tracking Option • Orient payload’s spin axis parallel to the Velocity Vector • Utilizes the GPS in the telemetry system • Flight computer calculates real time velocity vector • Provides less than 1 degree tracking Sounding Rocket Program Office

22. Sounding Rocket Program Office

23. NSROC Celestial ACS • System • ST-5000 Star tracker • Coarse fiberoptic gyro • Fine resolution fiberoptic gyro • Cold gas pneumatics system • Linear Thrust Module • Pointing to within 0.2 arcsec 1-sigma on each axis • Fine pointing achieved using a linear thrust module (-160 to +160 arcsec/sec2 acceleration) • Flight History • 2 Developmental • 2 Operational • Sub arc-sec pointing on both flights Celestial ACS Sounding Rocket Program Office

24. Special Sensors Sounding Rocket Program Office

25. NSROC(a) • Miniaturized Attitude Determination Sensor • Based on Army Research Lab design • Attitude determined via post flight data reduction • 1-Sigma Sensor Accuracy • Magnetometer……… 2 deg • Sun Vector Sensor.…1 deg • Rate Sensor…………0.1 deg/sec • Orientation computed to 3 deg accuracy Sounding Rocket Program Office

26. Fiberoptic Gyro with internal flight computer Gimbaled LN-200 w/ Miniature Airborne Computer (GLNMAC) • Relatively low cost • Based on Sandia design • Uses a FiberOptic gyro • Specifications • Roll stabilized • 6 hz spin rate (potentially higher) • Acceleration………… up to 40 g’s • Bias Repeatability….. 1 deg/hr • Bandwidth…………… 100 hz • Multiple piggy-back flight tests conducted to built flight heritage prior to being used in a control mode • Manufactured at Wallops • 40 flight units have been built to date Sounding Rocket Program Office

27. ST5000 Star Tracker • Developed by University of Wisconsin under NASA contract • Lost in Space capability • Specs • Field of View…….. 5.4 x 7.4 deg • Sensitivity………... -1 to +8 magnitude • TM Downlink…..… 19.2 Kbaud RS232 • Star Tracking……. up to 32 stars • Spin Rates………. up to 0.5 deg/sec • Future plans call for miniaturization of both the camera head and electronics Camera Head Electronics Box Sounding Rocket Program Office

28. Recovery Sounding Rocket Program Office

29. Recovery Options • Standard 14” and 17.26” dia. systems available • Custom systems can be developed to meet unique needs • Land, water and mid-air recovery possible Sounding Rocket Program Office

30. Unique Support Sounding Rocket Program Office

31. Custom Systems and Components Sounding Rocket Program Office

32. Mission Applications Sounding Rocket Program Office

33. Depressed Trajectories • Launch elevations between 45 and 75 degrees Sounding Rocket Program Office

34. Tailored Sounding Rocket Trajectory ACS Realigns P/L to Velocity Vector or Other Reference Motor Burn Thrust Vector Delta-V Produces New Resultant Velocity Vector Motor Separation 350 300 250 200 km altitude 150 100 50 0 0 100 200 300 400 500 km downrange ACS Realignment Thrust Vector Realigned Ballistic Trajectory Tailored Trajectory Post-Boost Coast Velocity and Thrust Vector Co-Aligned Gravity Sounding Rocket Program Office

35. Lessard simulation depicting deployment of rocket propelled subpayloads Sounding Rocket Program Office

36. Mission planning lab video using actual flight data Sounding Rocket Program Office

37. Facilities Sounding Rocket Program Office

38. Mechanical Fabrication Facility Electrical Fabrication Facility Integration and Test Labs Multiple Air Bearing Labs Sounding Rocket Program Office

39. 3-axis Vibration Thermal Vacuum Physical Properties Load Testing Static and Spin Deployment Spin Balance Sounding Rocket Program Office

40. Sounding Rocket Program Office

41. Science Program Student Program Workshop USERS Outreach & Training • Colorado Space Grant Rocket Flight Workshop • NASA Space Grant Office providing funding to defray vehicle cost • Wallops launch of Orion vehicle • June launch • USERS (University Student Experiment Ride Share) • Concept • Four universities per flight • Wallops launch of Terrier-Orion vehicle • Competitively selected university to serve as experiment integrator • Competitively selected experiments • Pilot project under development • Two schools identified • November launch Sounding Rocket Program Office

42. Educational (and Fun) Sounding Rocket Program Office

43. Contact Information Philip Eberspeaker Chief, Sounding Rockets Program Office 757-824-2202 philip.j.eberspeaker@nasa.gov Tripp Ransone Asst. Chief, Sounding Rockets Program Office 757-824-1089 emmitt.d.ransone@nasa.gov Sounding Rocket Program Office