NASA News

National Aeronautlcs and

Space Administration
Washington. D C 20546
AC 202 755-8370

For Release IMMEDIATE

Press Kit Project OTSIESA

RELEASE NO: 77-168

Contents

GENERAL RELEASE.. .................................. 1-5

DELTA LAUNCH V E H I C L E ( 3 9 1 4 ) ........................ 6

DELTA 3 9 1 4 FACTS AND F I G U R E S . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-8

................................
LAUNCH O P E R A T I O N S . . 9

LAUNCH SEQUENCE F O R O T S . . .......................... 10

DELTA/OTS LAUNCH TEAM... ........................... 11-12

CONTRACTORS ........................................ 12

Mailed:
August 10, 1977

. ..
 N,ition,tl Aeronautics and
S p m ?Admlnistratlon
Washington D C 20546
AC, 202 755 8370

David G a r r e t t
Headquarters, Washington, D.C.
(Phone: 2 0 2 / 7 5 5 - 3 0 9 0 )

Joseph McRoberts
Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.
(Phone: 3 0 1 / 9 8 2 - 4 9 5 5 )

RELEASE NO: 77-168

NASA TO LAUNCH TEST SATELLITE FOR EUROPEAN COMMUNICATIONS

The forerunner of a European operational communications

satellite network of the 1 9 8 0 s is scheduled to be launched
by NASA for the European Space Agency (ESA) no earlier than
Sept. 9 from Cape Canaveral, Fla., on a Delta 3 9 1 4 launch
c
vehicle.

This new type of communications spacecraft is one of two

experimental models built by ESA to test the satellite's per-
formance in orbit. Its operational descendents are expected

to provide satellite links in the 1980s for routing portions

of the intra-European telephone, telegraph and telex traffic
as well as television relay for Western Europe.
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August 10, 1 9 7 7
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Called Orbital Test Satellite ( O T S ) , the new spacecraft

is built on a modular concept for easy adaptability, thus
reducing costs as new requirements or technological advances

appear.

Initially, OTS will provide experimental and pre-operational

traffic capability for one or two television channels and two
to five thousand telephone circuits. Coverage from its on-
station position at 10 degrees E. longitude above the equator
over West Africa will include the whole of Western Europe,
the Middle East, North Africa, the Azores, Canary Islands,
Madeira and Iceland.

The OTS satellite is expected to be valuable for such

difficult communications tasks as establishing communications
links with areas of difficult access such as off shore oil
rigs. Oil exploration in Europe is now limited mainly to
work in the North Sea, but is expected to extend throughout
the European continental shelf. Other potential applications
are educational television, teleconferencing and radio
broadcasting.

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The operational system calls for satellite transmission

of from a third to half of the telephone traffic between
West European capitals located more than 800 kilometers
(496 miles) apart during the 1980s. The system is planned
to carry 5,000 phone circuits in 1980, increasing to 2 0 , 0 0 0
in 1990.

There will be at least one large Earth station handling

telephone traffic and television transmissions in each country
requiring satellite services. ESA eventually plans to have
a number of Earth stations to handle television transmissions
exclusively in North Africa and the Middle East.

OTS components include a payload module, a service module

and an antenna assembly. The solar array folds out from the
sides. By arranging components of the spacecraft in separate
compartments alternate payloads can be put in place easily
and economically.

In keeping with the modular concept, the spacecraft's

appearance is box-like, with oblique ends. It weighs 865

kilograms (1,845 pounds),including Apogee Boost MotorCABM)

at launch, is 1.62 meters (7.2 feet) wide, 2.39 m (6.9 ft.)
high and 9.26 m (28.2 ft.) across with deployed solar array.

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I t w i l l be i n j e c t e d i n t o a synchronous t r a n s f e r o r b i t

of a b o u t 38,275 km (22,540 m i . ) apogee, 185 km (115 m i . )

p e r i g e e and 2 7 . 4 degree i n c l i n a t i o n . On t h e f i f t h apogee

r o u g h l y 4 0 h o u r s a f t e r l a u n c h , when t h e s p a c e c r a f t i s o v e r

t h e mid-Atlantic, t h e s p a c e c r a f t apogee k i c k motor w i l l be

fired t o circularize the orbit. From there i t w i l l be

allowed t o d r i f t s e v e r a l d e g r e e s p e r day u n t i l i t a r r i v e s

a t i t s o n - s t a t i o n p o s i t i o n a t 1 0 d e g r e e s E. l o n g i t u d e above

t h e equator.

T h e apogee k i c k m o t o r f i r i n g w i l l be c o n t r o l l e d from

t h e European Space O p e r a t i o n s C e n t e r ( E S O C ) , Darmstadt,

W e s t Germany, which i s r e s p o n s i b l e f o r a l l t r a c k i n g and

d a t a recovery a c t i v i t i e s a f t e r the spacecraft reaches t r a n s f e r

orbit. Launch v e h i c l e t r a c k i n g as well a s e a r l y o r b i t s p a c e -

c r a f t t r a c k i n g w i l l be p r o v i d e d by N A S A ' s Space T r a c k i n g and

Data Network (STDN) w i t h a l l s p a c e c r a f t d a t a s e n t simul-

t a n e o u s l y t o ESOC.

The s p a c e c r a f t w a s b u i l t under t h e s u p e r v i s i o n of the

European Space Agency by i n d u s t r i e s i n 1 0 European c o u n t r i e s :

Belgium, Denmark, F r a n c e , Germany, I t a l y , N e t h e r l a n d s , Sweden,

S w i t z e r l a n d , t h e U n i t e d Kingeom and Spain.

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ESA gave direct responsibility for building the satellite

to Hawker Siddeley Dynamics, Britain, as prime contractor.
They were supported by a team of co and subcontractors from
the other countries mentioned above.

NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.,

provides technical direction of the Delta project for the
Office of Space Flight. McDonnell Douglas Astronautics Co.,
Huntington Beach, Calif., is the prime contractor. All
reasonable costs for the Delta, launch support including
launch services and tracking support, are reimbursable by
ESA. Such costs are expected to total about $16.1 million.

(END OF GENERAL RELEASE. BACKGROUND INFORMATION FOLLOWS.)

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DELTA LAUNCH VEHICLE (3914)

F i r s t Stage

The f i r s t s t a g e i s a McDonnell Douglas m o d i f i e d Thor

b o o s t e r i n c o r p o r a t i n g n i n e strap-on Thiokol s o l i d - f u e l
r o c k e t motors. The booster i s powered by a Rocketdyne
e n g i n e u s i n g l i q u i d oxygen and l i q u i d hydrocarbon p r o p e l -
lants. The main e n g i n e i s gimbal-mounted t o p r o v i d e p i t c h
and yaw c o n t r o l from l i f t o f f t o main e n g i n e c u t o f f (MECO).

Second S t a g e

The second s t a g e is powered by a TRW l i q u i d - f u e l , p r e s s u r e -

f e d e n g i n e t h a t a l s o i s gimbal-mounted t o p r o v i d e p i t c h and
yaw c o n t r o l t h r o u g h the second s t a g e burn. A nitrogen gas
system u s e s e i g h t f i x e d n o z z l e s f o r r o l l c o n t r o l d u r i n g
powered and c o a s t f l i g h t , a s w e l l a s p i t c h and yaw c o n t r o l
d u r i n g c o a s t and a f t e r second s t a g e c u t o f f s . Two f i x e d
n o z z l e s , f e d by t h e p r o p e l l a n t t a n k , helium p r e s s u r i z a t i o n
system, p r o v i d e r e t r o t h r u s t a f t e r t h i r d s t a g e s e p a r a t i o n .

Third Stage

The t h i r d s t a g e i s t h e TE-364-4 s p i n - s t a b i l i z e d , s o l i d
p r o p e l l a n t T h i o k o l motor. I t i s secured i n t h e s p i n t a b l e
mounted t o t h e second s t a g e . The f i r i n g of e i g h t s o l i d pro-
p e l l a n t r o c k e t s f i x e d t o t h e s p i n t a b l e a c c o m p l i s h e s spin-up
of t h e t h i r d s t a g e s p a c e c r a f t assembly.

I n j e c t i o n I n t o Synchronous O r b i t

The D e l t a v e h i c l e \.rill i n j e c t OTS i n t o a t r a n s f e r o r b i t .

NASA t r a c k i n g and data a c q u i s i t i o n r e s p o n s i b i l i t i e s w i l l
c o n t i n u e u n t i l a f t e r ABM f i r i n g when o r b i t d e f i n i t i o n i s
a g r e e d between NASA and ESA. Command, c o n t r o l , t r a c k i n g and
d a t a a n a l y s i s t h e n become t h e r e s p o n s i b i l i t y of t h e European
Space O p e r a t i o n s C e n t e r , Darmstadt, W e s t Germany.

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DELTA 3 9 1 4 FACTS AND FIGURES

Height: 35.4 m ( 1 1 6 f t . ) i n c l u d i n g s h r o u d

Maximum D i a m e t e r : 2.4 m (8 ft.) without

attached solids

L i f t o f f Weight: 190,742 k g ( 4 2 0 , 5 1 5 lb.)

L i f t o f f Thrust: 2,464,200 newtons (555,000 lb.)

including strap-on s o l i d s

F i r s t Stage

( L i q u i d o n l y ) c o n s i s t s o f a n e x t e n d e d l o n g - t a n k Thor,
produced by McDonnell Douglas. The RS-27 e n g i n e s are pro-
duced by t h e Rocketdyne D i v i s i o n of Rockwell I n t e r n a t i o n a l .
The s t a g e h a s t h e f o l l o w i n g c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s :

Diameter: 2.4 m (8 f t . )

Height: 21.3 m (70 f t . )

Propellants: R J - 1 k e r o s e n e a s t h e f u e l and l i q u i d
oxygen (LOX) a s t h e o x i d i z e r

Thrust: 912,000 N (205,000 lb.)

Burning T i m e : About 3.48 m i n u t e s

Weight: About 84,600 k g (186,500 l b . ) e x c l u d i n g

s t r a p - o n solids

Castor I V s t r a p - o n s o l i d s c o n s i s t of n i n e TX 526 a o l i d -
p r o p e l l a n t r o c k e t s produced by t h e T h i o k o l Chemical Corp.,
with t h e following f e a t u r e s :
Diameter: 0.8 m ( 3 1 in.)

Height: 7 m (23 f t . )

T o t a l Weight: 9,798 kg (21,600 l b . ) for nine

1 , 0 8 8 kg ( 2,400 lb.) for each
Thrust: 3,413,700 N (74,432 lb.) f o r n i n e
379,299 N ( 8,315 lb.) f o r e a c h
Burning T i m e : 58 s e c o n d s

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Second Stacre

Produced by McDonnell Douglas A s t r o n a u t i c s Co., u s i n g

a TRW TR-201 r o c k e t e n g i n e ; major c o n t r a c t o r s f o r t h e
v e h i c l e i n e r t i a l guidance system l o c a t e d on t h e second
stage are Hamilton S t a n d a r d , Teledyne and Delco.
Propellants: L i q u i d , c o n s i s t s o f Aerozene 5 0 f o r
t h e f u e l and n i t r o g e n t e t r o x i d e ( N 2 0 4 )
f o r the oxidizer.

Diameter: 1.5 m ( 5 f t . ) p l u s 2 . 4 m (8 f t . )
attached ring

Height: 6 . 4 m ( 2 1 ft.)

Weight: 6,118 kg (13,596 l b . )

Thrust: About 42,943 N ( 9 , 6 5 0 lb.)

T o t a l Burning T i m e : 335 seconds

Third Stage

T h i o k o l Chemical Co. TE-364-4 motor.

Propellant: Solid

Diameter: 1 m (3 ft.)

Weight: 1,152 kg ( 2 , 5 6 0 l b . )
Thrust: 61,855 N (13,900 1b.I

Burning T i m e : 44 seconds

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LAUNCH OPERATIONS

The Kennedy Space C e n t e r ' s Expendable V e h i c l e s D i r e c -

t o r a t e p l a y s a key r o l e i n t h e p r e p a r a t i o n and l a u n c h of
t h e thrust-augmented D e l t a r o c k e t c a r r y i n g OTS.

Delta 134 w i l l be launched f r o m Pad A , n o r t h e r n m o s t

of t h e t w o l a u n c h pads a t Complex 1 7 , Cape C a n a v e r a l A i r
Force S t a t i o n .
The D e l t a f i r s t s t a g e and i n t e r s t a g e w e r e e r e c t e d on
Pad A July 1 2 . The second s t a g e was e r e c t e d J u l y 1 5 and
t h e n i n e s o l i d s t r a p - o n r o c k e t motors w e r e mounted i n
p l a c e around t h e b a s e of t h e f i r s t s t a g e J u l y 25, 2 6 and 2 7 .

The OTS s p a c e c r a f t a r r i v e d a t Kennedy C e n t e r May 9

and underwent i t s i n i t i a l checkout a t Hangar F a t Cape
C a n a v e r a l A i r Force S t a t i o n . I t w i l l b e moved t o t h e D e l t a
Spin T e s t F a c i l i t y Aug. 2 2 and w i l l be mated w i t h t h e Delta
t h i r d s t a g e Aug; 30.

The t h i r d s t a g e / s p a c e c r a f t assembly w i l l be moved t o t h e

pad and mated w i t h Delta 134 S e p t ; 1. The p a y l o a d f a i r i n g
which i s t o p r o t e c t t h e s p a c e c r a f t on i t s f l i g h t t h r o u g h
t h e atmosphere i s t o be p u t i n p l a c e S e p t . 6.

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LAUNCH SEQUENCE FOR OTS

Altitude
Event Time Kilometers/Miles
Liftoff 0 sec. 0 0
Five Solid Motor Burnout 5 7 sec. 10 6

Four Solid Motor Ignition 1 min. 4 sec. 11 7

Three Solid Motor Jettison 1 min. 4 sec. 11 7

Two Solid Motor Jettison 1 min. 5 sec. 13 8

Four S o l i d Motor Burnout 2 min. 2 sec. 41 26

Four Solid Motor Jettison 2 min. 7 sec. 46 24

Main Engine Cutoff (MECO) 3 min. 48 sec. 109 68

First/Second Stage 3 min. 5 6 sec. 113 70

Separation
Second Stage Ignition 4 min. 1 sec. 116 72

Fairing Jettison 4 min. 22 sec. 126 79

Second Stage Cutoff (SECO) 8 min. 21 sec. * 158 99

Second Stage Restart 20 min. 40 sec. 177 111

SECO 2 21 min. 1 7 sec. 179 112

Third Stage Spinup 22 min. 7 sec. 180 113

Second/Third Stage 22 min. 8 sec. 179 112

Separation
Third Stage Ignition 22 min. 50 sec. 184 115
Third Stage Burnout 23 min. 33 sec. 190 119

Third Stage/Spacecraft 24 min. 46 sec. 230 144

Separation

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DELTA/OTS LAUNCH TEAM

European Space Agency

Roy Gibson Director G e n e r a l

W a l t e r Luksch Director o f Corrmunications

Dr. Rene C. L. COllette Manager of Fixed S e r v i c e

Communications Programs

Brian Stockwell OTS P r o j e c t Manager

G. W. Durling OTS S p a c e c r a f t Manager

NASA H e a d a u a r t e r s

John F. Yardley Associate A d m i n i s t r a t o r

f o r Space F l i g h t

J o s e p h B. Mahon D i r e c t o r of Expendable
Launch V e h i c l e Programs

Peter T. Eaton Manager, D e l t a Program

Goddard Space F l i g h t C e n t e r

Dr. R o b e r t S. Cooper Director

Robert E. Smylie Deputy D i r e c t o r

Dr. W i l l i a m C. Schneider Director of Projects

Management

C h a r l e s R. Gunn Delta P r o j e c t Manager

W i l l i a m R. Russell Deputy Delta P r o j e c t Manager,

Technical

Robert G o s s C h i e f , Mission A n a l y s i s
and I n t e g r a t i o n Branch,
Delta Project Office

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Goddard C e n t e r (Cont'd. 1

Frank Lawrence D e l t a Mission I n t e g r a t i o n

Manager

J a c k Yudd M i s s i o n O p e r a t i o n s and
Network S u p p o r t Manager

Raymond Mazur Mission S u p p o r t

Kennedy Space C e n t e r

L e e R. Scherer Director

G e r a l d D. Griffin Deputy D i r e c t o r

Dr. Walter J. Kapryan D i r e c t o r , Space Vehicles

Operations

George F. Page D i r e c t o r , Expendable V e h i c l e s

Hugh A. Weston, Jr. Chief, Delta Operations

Division

B e r t L. Grenville Complex 1 7 O p e r a t i o n s Manager

John Dunn Spacecraft Coordinator

CONTRACTORS

Hawker S i d d e l e y Dynamics S p a c e c r a f t (prime)

United Kingdom

AEG-Telef unken Communications payload

Germany (prime)

Aeritalia, Italy Spacecraft co-contractor

ERNO, Germany Spacecraft co-contractor

Matra, France Spacecraft co-contractor

SAAB, Sweden Spacecraft co-contractor

McDonnell Douglas D e l t a launch v e h i c l e

A s t r o n a u t i c s Co.
Huntington Beach, C a l i f .

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