Intelsat IV-A (F3) Press Kit

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National Aeronautics andSpace AdministrationWashington. DC. 0546AC 202 755-8370

PressKitForRelease IMMEDIATE

RELEASE NO: 77-250

ContentsGENERAL RELEASE................................... 1-3SPACECRAFT DESCRIPTION............................ 4ATLAS CENTAUR LAUNCH VEHICLE...................... 4-6TYPICAL LAUNCH VEHICLE CHARACTERISTICS............ 7LAUNCH OPERATIONS................................. 8TYPICAL LAUNCH SEQUENCE FOR INTELSAT IV-A......... 9ATLAS CENTAUR/INTELSAT IV-A TEAM.................. 10-11CONTRACTORS............................~.....~~.. 11INTELSAT IV-A COVERAGE FOR INDIAN OCEAN REGION.... 12

Mailed:December 16, 1977


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N/\sANewsNational Aeronautics andSpace AdministrationWashington D C 20546AC 202 755-8370

David GarrettHeadquarters, Washington, D.C.(Phone: 202/755-3090)

Dick McCormackHeadquarters, Washington, D.C.(Phone: 202/755-8487)

Linda PetersonLewis Research Center, Cleveland, Ohio(Phone: 216/433-4000 Ext. 415)

RELEASE NO: 77-251

FIFTH INTELSAT IV-A LAUNCH SCHEDULED

Fc jr ReleaseIMMEDIATE

The fifth Intelsat IV-A commercial communications satellitewill be launched by NASA aboard an Atlas Centaur rocket fromKennedy Space Center, Fla., no earlier than Jan. 6, 1978.

The satellite, which weighs 1,515 kilograms (3,340 pounds)at launch, is intended for service in the Indian Ocean region.

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Intelsat IV-A(F3)satellite will be placed in ueostationaryorbit over the Indian Ocean at 6 3 degrees East longitude,where it will provide international communications servicesto some 4 0 countries in the Indian Ocean region. The satel-lite has a seven year design life and the capacity to relaymore than 6,090 simultaneous telephone calls and two tele-vision programs.

The Intelsat satellites are owned by the InternationalTelecommunications Satellite Organization (IMTELSAT). TheCommunications Satellite Corp. (COMSAT), the United Statesmember, is also the management services contractor for thesatellite system. NASA is reimbursed for all costs of theAtlas Centaur and launch services by COMSAT on behalf ofIntelsat, und-er rrovisions of a launch services agreement.

The Atlas Centaur AC-46 launch vehicle is expected toplace the Intelsat IV-A in a highly elliptical orbit of 5 4 8by 3 5 , 9 4 0 kilometers ( 3 4 1 by 2 2 , 3 3 2 miles). After reorien-tation of the satellite, a solid propellant rocket motoraboard the spacecraft will be fired to circularize the orbitat synchronous altitude 35,940 km ( 2 2 , 3 3 2 mi.) over theequator. At that altitude, because the speed of the space-craft in orbit matches the rotational speed of the Earth,the satellite remains in position over one spot.

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The launch of Intelsat spacecraft aboard Atlas Centaurrockets requires the coordinated efforts of a large govern-ment and industry team. NASA's Lewis Research Center,Cleveland, Ohio, has management responsibility for theAtlas Centaur development and operation. NASA's KennedySpace Center, Fla., is assigned vehicle checkout and launchresponsibility once the vehicle reaches Cape Canaveral.

The Intelsat IV-A satellites, built bv Hughes AircraftCo., El Segundo, Calif., are 6.98 meters tall (about 2 3 feet)and weigh 1,515 kg (about 3 , 3 4 0 lb.) at liftoff and 8 2 5 . 5 kg(1,820 lb.) after apogee motor firing.

The Intelsat IV-A program represents an investment by101 nations of approximately $295 million (U.S.). Thislaunch c o s t s approximately $ 4 7 million -- $18 million forthe satellite and $29 million for the Atlas Centaur launchvehicle and related services.

(END OF GENERAL RELEASE. BACKGROUND INFORMATION FOLLOWS.

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SPACECRAFT DESCRIPTTON

The I n t e l s a t IV -A s p a c e c r a f t h as a n o v e r a l l h e i g h t of7 m ( 2 3 f t . ) a nd a d i a m e t e r o f 2 . 4 m ( 8 f t . ) . The h e i g h to f t h e s o l a r p a n e l i s 2.8 m ( 9 f t . ) . L i f t o f f w eig ht i sa p p r o x i m a t e l y 1 , 5 1 1 k g ( 3 , 3 3 2 l b . ) , a nd i n - o r b i t w e i gh ta f t e r ap og ee m oto r f i r i n g i s 825.5 kg ( 1 , 8 2 0 lh.).

Although it h a s t h e same b a s i c s t r u c t u r a l d e s i g n a si t s p r ed e ce s so r , I n t e l s a t I V , t h e I n t e l s a t IV-A s p a c e c r a f ti n c o r p o r a t e s new a nt e n n a t ec h n o lo g y t o y i e l d a b o u t 6 , 25 0two-way v o i c e c i r c u i t s p l u s t w o t e l e v i s i o n c h a nn el s i n t h es ys te m c o n f i q u r a t i o n i n w hic h i t w i l l b e u s e d . T h i s i st w o - t h i r d s g r e a t e r t h a n t h e co m mu n ic at io n s c a p a c i t y o f t h eof t h e I n t e l s a t I V se r i e s s a t e l l i t e . The i n c r e a s e d c a p a c i t yi s m a d e p o s s i b l e by a new an tenn a des i gn w hich p rov ide scoverage of l a n d m a n s e s o n b o t h s i d e s of t h e A t l a n t i c b a s i n ,us i ng shaped beams. The e a s t e rn and w e s t e r n beams a re s u f -f i c i e n t l y i s o l a t e d t o a l lo w t h e f re qu en cy s pe ct ru m t o beused t w i c e -- once i n t h e e a s t and once i n t h e w e s t d i r e c t i o n-- t h u s d o u b l in g t h e u s e o f t h e f r e q u e n c y s p e c t ru m an d i n -c r e a s i n g t h e c om mu nic at io ns c a p a c i t y o f t h e s a t e l l i t e .

ATLAS CEN TA U R LAUNCH V E H I C L E

T h e A t l a s C e n t a u r i s N A S A ' s s t a n d a r d l a u n ch v e h i c l e fori n t e r m e d i a t e w e i g h t p a y l o a d s . I t i s u se d f o r t h e l a u n ch o fE a r t h o r b i t a l , E a r t h s y nc hr on ou s and i n t e r p l a n e t a r y m i ss io n s.C en ta ur was t h e n a t i o n ' s f i r s t h ig h- en er gy , l i q u i d -hydroqen / liqu id -oxvgen p r op e l l e d roc ke t . D eveloped andl au n ch ed u n de r t h e d i r e c t i o n o f N A S A ' s L e w i s R e s e a r c h C e n t e r ,

it b e c a m e o p e r a t i o n a l i n 1 9 6 6 w i t h t h e l a u n c h o f S u rv e yo r 1,t h e f i r s t U.S. s p a c e c r a f t t o s o f t - l a n d on t h e Moon's s u r f a c e .S in ce t h a t t i m e , b o t h t h e A t l a s b o o s t e r a n d C e n ta u rsecond s t a g e have undergone many improvements .t h e v e h i c l e c o m bi n at io n c a n p l a c e 4 ,5 36 k g ( 1 0 , 0 0 0 l b . ) i nlow E a r t h o r b i t , 1 ,8 8 2 k g ( 4 ,1 5 9 l b . ) i n a sy nc hr on o us t r a n s -f e r o r b i t and 9 0 7 kg ( 2 , 0 0 9 l b . ) on an i n t e r p l a n e t a r yt r a j e c t o r y .

A t p r e s e n t ,

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The Atlas Centaur, standing approximately 40.8 m (134ft.) high, consists of an Atlas SLV-3D booster and CentaurD-1AR second stage. The Atlas booster develops 1,920 kilo-newtons (431,300 lb.) of thrust at liftoff using two 822,920-newton (185,000-lh.) thrust hooster engines, one 266,890-N(60,000-lb,) thrust sustainer engine and two vernier enginesdeveloping 2,890 N ( 6 5 0 lb.) thrust each. The two FtL-10engines on Centaur produce a total of 133,450 N (30,000 lb.)thrust. Both the Atlas and the Centaur are 3,948 m (10 ft.)in diameter,Until early 1974, Centaur was used exclusively in com-bination with the Atlas booster, It was subsequently usedwith a Titan 111 booster to launch heavier payloads intoEarth orbit and interplanetary trajectories.The Atlas and the Centaur vehicles have been updatedover the years. Thrust of the Atlas enqines has been in-creased about 222,400 N (50,000 lb.) since its debut in thespace program in the early 1960s.The Centaur D-1AR has an integrated electronic systemthat performs a major role in checking itself and othervehicle systems before launch and also maintains control ofmajor events after liftoff. The new Centaur system handlesnavigation and guidance tasks, controls pressurization andventing, propellant management, telemetry formats and trans-mission and initiates vehicle events. Most operational needscan be met by changing the computer software.

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TYPICAL LAUNCII VEHICLE CHARACTERISTICS

Liftoff weight including spacecraft: 148,060 kgLiftoff height: 40.8 m (134 ft.) C326,419 lb.)

Launch Complex: 36B

Atlas BoosterWeight (with 130,317 kgpropellants) (287,300 lb.)Height 21.3 m (70 ft.)

Thrust 1,919 kn(431,300 lb.)at sea levelPropellants Liquid oxygenand R P- 1Propulsion MA-5 system two822,921-N (185,000lb.) thrust boosterengines, one

thrust sustainerengine, two 2,891-N(650-lb.) thrustvernier engines.

266,893-N (60,000 lb.)

Velocity

Guidance

9,205 km/hr (5,720mph) at boosterengine cutoff CBECO)13,061 km/hr (8,116mph) at sustainerengine cutoff ( S E C O ) .Preprogrammed profilethrough BECO, switchto inertial guidancefor sustainer phase.

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Centaur Stage17,781 kg(39,200 lb.)19.5 m (64 ft.)with payloadfairing133,447 N(30,000 lb.)in vacuumLiquid oxygenLiquid hydrogenTWO 66,723-N(15,000-lb.)thrust RL-10engines, 12hydrogen per0xid.ethrusters.

33,345 h / h r(20,720 mph) atspacecraft separation.

Inertial guidance


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LAUNCH O P E R A T I O N S

N A S A ' s John F, Kennedy Space Ce nt er and i t s ExpendableV e h i c l e s Direc to ra t e p l a y k ey r o l e s i n t h e p r e p a r a t i o n a ndl a u n c h of A t l a s C e n t a u r A C - 4 6 c a r r y i n g t h e I n t e l s a t IV-As p a c e c r a f t i n t o o r b i t .

The A t l a s a n d C e n t a u r s t a g e s of t h e A C - 4 6 l a un c h v e h i c l ea r r i v e d a t Cape Canavera l A i r Force S t a t i o n i n A ugu st 1977and w e r e erec ted on Pad B, Complex 36 , l a t e r t h a t m onth.Fo l low ing com ple t ion o f e l e c t r i c a l , p n e u m a t i c , h y d r a u l i c ,p r o p u l s i o n a nd q ui d a n c e sy s te m c h e c k o ut an d t e s t i n g , a T e r -minal Countdown Demonstrat ion T e s t ( T C D ) w a s performed O c t . 2 1 .The TCD d e m o n s t r a t e d t h e i n t e g r i t y o f t h e veh ic l e - to -g rounds y st e m s i n t e r f a c e i n a c r y g e n i c e nv ir on m en t w hi ch d u p l i c a t e dl a u n c h countdown c o n d i t i o n s .T h e I n t e l s a t I V - A s p a c e c r a f t was r e c e i v e d S e p t . 2 1 and

underw en t sys t em s check ou t i n I Iangar AM. T h e s p a c e c r a f t wasmoved t o t h e S p a c e c ra f t Assembly and E n c ap s u la t io n F a c i l i t yD e c . 14 w he re h y d r a z i n e l o a d i n g a nd e n c a p s u l a t i o n i n t h e p ay -l oa d f a i r i n g were completed.T h e spacecraft-payload f a i r i n g a ss em bly was mated t o thel a u n c h v e h i c l e Dec. 20 i n s u p p o r t o f t h e Combined R e a d i n e s sT e s t D e c . 2 2 . F i n a l cou ntd ow n p r e p a r a t i o n s f o r th e p lannedJ a n . 6 , 1 9 7 8 , l a u n c h a re t o be i n i t i a t e d Ja n . 3 .

A l l l a u n ch v e h i c l e a nd pa d o p e r a t i o n s d u r i n g th e l a u n c hcoun tdown a r e conduc ted f rom t h e b lockhouse a t C omplex 36 bya j o i n t g o v e r n m e n t - i n d u s t r y team,

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T Y P I C A L LA U N CH SEQUENCE F O R I N T E L S A T I V - AE a r t h R e l a t iv eProgram T i m e V e l o c i t y R an ge A l t i t u d eF 1 ht Event s (Seconds) ( K m / H r Mph 1 Kilome t e r s /Mi les K i l o m e t e r s /Mi le sL i f t o f f rl 0 n 0 0 0 0BECO 140.4 9,205 5,720 82.2 51.1 57.8 36.0Booster J e t t i s o n 143.5 9,306 5,782 89.5 55.6 61.0 37.9I n s u l a t i o n P a n el 185.4 19,363 6,439 194.8 121.1 98.7 61.4J e t t i sonSECO/VECO 242.5 13,061 8,116 386.5 240.2 144.9 90.1C e n t a u r S e p a r a t i o nC en t au r MES (1)Nose F a i r in g J e t t i s o nC en t au r MECO (1)C en t au r MES (2 )C en t au r MECO (2)S p a c e c r a f t S e p a r a t i o nR e o r i e n t C e n t a u rS t a r t BlowdownEnd Blowdown

249.5 13,059 8,114 393.4 244.4 146.3 90.9259.0 12,997 8,076 426.4 265.0 152.3 94.6271.0 13,205 8,205 468.5 291.1 159.2 98.9629.2 28,029 17,416 2,278.0 1,415.5 189.2 117.51,493.0 26,531 16,490 8,611.8 5,351.1 558.9 347.31,529.0 33,862 21,041 !,256.9 5,751.9 627.5 389.31,714.0 33,329 20,710 10,371.2 6,444.4 806.9 501.41,719.01,824.02,134.0

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ATLAS CENTAUR/INTELSAT IV-A TEAM

NASA H e a d q u a r t e r sJohn F. Y ard leyJ o s e p h B. Mahon

F. R. Schm id t

L e w i s Research C e n t e rD r . B ernard Lubar skyD r . Seymour C . H i m m e lAndrew J . S t o f a nR ichard E . Orzechowski

Kennedy Space C e n te rL e e R. S c h e r e rD r . Walter J. Kapryan

George F. PageJohn D. G o s s e t tC r e i g h t o n A. TerhuneF l o y d C u r r i n g t o n

A s s o c i a t e A d m i n i s t r a t o rf o r S pace F l i g h tD i r e c t o r of Launch V eh ic lea n d P r o p u l s i o n P r o g r a m sManager, A t l a s C e n t a u r

A c t i n g Direc to rAssociate Dire c to rD i rec t o r of Launch V eh ic le sI n t e l s a t Mission P r o j e c tE n g i n e e r

Direc torDi r e c to r , S p ac e V e h i c l e s

O p e r a t i o n sD i r e c t o r , E x p e n d a b l e V e h i c l e sC h i e f , Cen tau r Ope r a t i onsC h i e f E n g i n e e r , A t l a s Cen tau rS p a c e c r a f t C o o r d i n a t o r

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COMSATDr. Joseph V. Charyk

Eugene T. JilgAllen M. McCaskill

Hughes Aircraft Co.A. T. Owens

PresidentAssistant Vice PresidentEngineeringManager, Launch Vehicles

Intelsat IV-A ProjectManager

General Dynamics/ConvairSan Diego, Calif.Atlas Centaur launchvehicle

Honeywell Aerospace DivisionSt. Petersburg, Fla. measurement group

Centaur guidance inertial

Pratt and WhitneyWest Palm Beach, Fla.Teledyne Industries, Inc .Northridge, Calif.

Centaur K-10 engines

Digital computer unit/PCMtelemetryRocketdyne Division MA-5 propulsion systemsRockwell International Corp.Canoga Park, Calif.

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IUTELSAT IV-A COVERAGE FOR INDIAN OCEAN REGrON

MADAGASCAR' L A U R I T I U S

Intelsat IV-A (F3) Press Kit

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