NASA News

National Aeronautics and

Space Administration
Washington. D.C20546
AC 202 755-8370

For Release 10 a.m. , TUESDAY,

Press Kit April 5, 1 9 7 ?

RELEASE NO:
- 77-45

Contents
GENERAL LEASE..................................,..... 1-7
HEAO SPACECRAFT AND OBSERVATORY........................ 9

LAUNCH TLJEHICLE......................................... 11
HEAO LAUNCH OPERATIONS............................*.... 13
HEAO M I S S I O N OPERATIONS................................ 15
DESIGN DESCRIPTION, H E A O - A . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . * . . . . 17-19
MISSION DESCRIPTION, H E A O - A . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . , . . . . . . 19-21

M I S S I O N INFLUENCE ON DESIGN............................ 23-24

HEAO-A EXPERIMENTS...................................*. 24-30
ASTROPHYSICAL PHENOMENA................................. 32-33

BACKGROUND O F HEAO PROGRAM............................. 33

THE HEAO-A TEAM........................................ 34-36

CONTRACTORS............................................ 37
NASANews
National Aeronautics and
Space Administration
Washington. D C 20546
AC 202 755-8370

For Release
Nicholas Panagakos
Headquarters, Washington, D.C. 10 a.m., TUESDAY,
(Phone: 2021755-3680) April 5, 1977

Don Worrell
Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Ala.
-
(Phone: 2 05/ 4 5 3 00 3 5 1

RELEASE NO: 77-45

FIRST HIGH ENERGY ASTRONOMY OBSERVATORY LAUNCH SET

NASA's first High Energy Astronomy Observatory, HEAO-A,

is scheduled to be launched into Earth orbit about April 15,
inaugurating a three-mission program to study some of the
most intriguing mysteries of the universe -- pulsars, quasars,
exploding galaxies and black holes in space.

Two other unmanned scientific satellites, HEAO-B and

HEAO-C, will be launched in 1978 and 1979.

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Mailed:
March 17, 1977
 -2-

The observatories -- the heaviest Earth-orbiting

satellites ever launched -- will carry scientific instru-
ments capable of detecting, with high sensitivity and
resolution, X-rays emitted by stellar sources throughout
the universe. Celestial gamma ray and cosmic ray data
also will be collected.

These high energy rays cannot be studied. through

Earth-based telescopes because of the obscuring effects
of our atmosphere. The rays were observed initially by
instruments on sounding rockets and balloons and by small
satellites which did not have the instrumentation capa-
bilities required for high data resolution and sensitivity.
These capabilities are now available in the HEAO satellite.

Information returned by HEAO may provide clues to

the nature of some of the "newest" and most mysterious
celestial objects in the universe. This knowledge, in
turn, could lead to a better understanding of the high-
energy universe and to new theories about energy production
and high-density nuclear matter.

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 -3-

HEAO-A, the f i r s t m i s s i o n , w i l l s u r v e y and map X-ray

s o u r c e s t h r o u g h o u t the c e l e s t i a l s p h e r e and a l s o measure

l o w e n e r g y gamma-ray f l u x . T h e s p a c e c r a f t , r o t a t i n g end-

over-end, w i l l s u r v e y t h e e n t i r e sky i n s i x months.

T h e HEAO-B m i s s i o n w i l l maneuver and p o i n t f o r l o n g

p e r i o d s a t s e l e c t e d X-ray s o u r c e s mapped by HEAO-A and

smaller X-ray s p a c e c r a f t , w h i l e HEAO-C w i l l conduct a s u r v e y

of gamma-ray e m i s s i o n s and s t u d y cosmic r a y p a r t i c l e s from

o u r galaxy.

HEAO-A and HEAO-C, d e s i g n e d t o perform s k y s u r v e y s ,

a r e c l a s s i f i e d a s scanning missions. They w i l l r o t a t e

slowly end-over-end, w i t h one r e v o l u t i o n a b o u t e v e r y 3 0

minutes. Each w i l l u s e a g a s t h r u s t r e a c t i o n c o n t r o l system

t o m a i n t a i n p r o p e r sky-scanning o r i e n t a t i o n so t h a t t h e
s o l a r a r r a y s f a c e t h e Sun a t a l l t i m e s t o p r o v i d e e l e c t r i c a l
power f o r t h e s a t e l l i t e .

For HEAO-B, w h i c h must p o i n t t o s p e c i f i c s t a r s o r

p o i n t s i n t h e sky, r e a c t i o n wheels a r e added t o p r o v i d e a

p r e c i s e and h i g h l y a c c u r a t e p o i n t i n g c a p a b i l i t y of one arc

minute o r b e t t e r . HEAO-B i s termed a c e l e s t i a l p o i n t i n g

mission.

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T
 -4-

The HEAO-A and HEAO-C o b s e r v a t o r i e s w i l l have a m i s s i o n

l i f e t i m e of s i x months e a c h , which i s t h e t i m e r e q u i r e d t o

map f u l l y t h e c e l e s t i a l s p h e r e . HEAO-B w i l l have a m i s s i o n

l i f e t i m e of one y e a r f o r p o i n t i n g a t s e l e c t e d , h i g h l y

i n t e r e s t i n g X-ray s o u r c e s .

The o b s e r v a t o r i e s , 5.8 meters ( 1 9 f e e t ) long and

weighing 3,150 k i l o g r a m s ( 7 , 0 0 0 p o u n d s ) , will be p l a c e d i n

low c i r c u l a r o r b i t s , a b o u t 4 2 0 t o 4 6 0 k i l o m e t e r s ( 2 2 5 t o

2 4 5 m i l e s ) above E a r t h . The a l t i t u d e is f a r enough above

t h e atmosphere t o detect t h e r a d i a t i o n which c a n n o t r e a c h

t h e ground.

X-ray and gamma r a y s a r e composed of p h o t o n s , which

a r e p a r t i c l e s having e n e r g y b u t no mass, a s i n l i q h t ra.vs.

Cosmic r a y s are composed of p a r t i c l e s such a s e l e c t r o n s

and p r o t o n s , w h i c h have both m a s s and energy. A n X-ray

has thousands of t i m e s t h e energy of o r d i n a r y l i g h t and

gamma r a y s m i l l i o n s of t i m e s t h e energy of v i s i b l e l i g h t .

The high-energy X-rays and gamma r a y s which HEAO w i l l

s t u d y , t r a v e l i n g t h r o u g h s p a c e a t t h e speed of l i g h t , are

called e l e c t r o m a g n e t i c r a d i a t i o n . O t h e r forms of e l e c t r o -

magnetic r a d i a t i o n i n c l u d e u l t r a v i o l e t and i n f r a r e d r a d i a t i o n .

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 -5-

For many years man has studied these forms of radia-

tion and their energy mechanism and has transformed them
into many practical uses, including electrical applications,
holography, radio and television, radar and infrared
photography.

In high-energy astronomy, interest is in the extreme

short-length waves which are known as X-rays and gamma rays.
These rays are produced on Earth in both natural radioactive
materials and man-made processes. The X-rays and gamma rays
on the Earth are produced from well understood physical pro-
cesses and they are used routinely in physics, chemistry,
engineering, medical and other scientific fields. This
type of radiation is produced by mechanisms involving the
atomic and nuclear structure of the elements. Little is
known, however, about the way in which X-rays and gamma rays
are produced and accelerated from deep space toward Earth
with such great energy.

It is expected that the radiation data collected by

the HEAO observatories, after having been reduced and ana-
lyzed, will lead to a better understanding of how the
extremely high energies are generated in space, how basic
elements are formed, how the universe evolved and the extreme
physical processes evident within the universe.

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,
 -6-

Several h y p o t h e s e s are b e i n g pursued i n a s t r o p h y s i c s

and cosmology t h a t need a d d i t i o n a l e x p e r i m e n t a l e v i d e n c e

s u c h as may be o b t a i n e d by HEAO. These h y p o t h e s e s a r e
r e l a t e d t o r a d i o g a l a x i e s , neutron s t a r s , p u l s a r s , huasars,

s t a r e x p l o s i o n s and supernovas, many of w h i c h r a d i a t e c o p i o u s l y

i n t h e X-ray and gamma r a y p a r t o f t h e spectrum.

The HEAO p r o j e c t i s managed f o r NASA's O f f i c e of

Space S c i e n c e by t h e M a r s h a l l Space F l i g h t C e n t e r , H u n t s v i l l e ,

Ala. The OSS Program Manager i s Richard E. Halpern and t h e

Program S c i e n t i s t is D r . A l b e r t G. Opp. A t Marshall Center,

Dr. Fred A. S p e e r is the P r o j e c t Manager. Froject S c i e n t i s t

f o r HEAO-A i s D r . Frank B. McDonald of NASA's Goddard Space

F l i g h t C e n t e r , G r e e n b e l t , Md. P r i m e c o n t r a c t o r f o r t h e pro-

gram is TRW Systems of Redondo Beach, C a l i f .

The HEAO o b s e r v a t o r i e s w i l l be launched by A t l a s

Centaur vehicles from N A S A ' s Kennedy Space C e n t e r , F l a .

KSC w i l l manage t h e l a u n c h o p e r a t i o n s , i n c l u d i n g p r e l a u n c h

checkout, l a u n c h and f l i g h t t h r o u g h o b s e r v a t o r y s e p a r a t i o n

i n orbit. NASA's L e w i s Research C e n t e r , C l e v e l a n d , Ohio,

manages l a u n c h v e h i c l e procurement and a c t i v i t i e s f o r t h e
HEAO program.

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 -7-

Control of the in-orbit HEAO observatories will be

under the direction of Marshall in conjunction with TRW

flight control engineers at Goddard.

Once HEAO-A achieves orbit, its designation will be

changed to HEAO-1.

Cost of the three-mission HEAO program is about

$237 million.

(END O F GENERAL RELEASE. BACKGROUND INFORMATION FOLLOWS.)

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f
 -8-

HEAO-A P r i o r t o Mating w i t h Launch V e h i c l e

 -9-

HEAO SPACECRAFT AND OBSERVATORY

The b a s i c subsystems d e s i g n of t h e s p a c e c r a f t i s
common f o r a l l t h r e e HEAO m i s s i o n s w i t h o n l y a few excep-
t i o n s due t o unique e x p e r i m e n t s o r m i s s i o n r e q u i r e m e n t s .
The shape, arrangement and. o b j e c t i v e s of t h e e x p e r i m e n t s
on t h e t h r e e s p a c e c r a f t w i l l be d i f f e r e n t f o r e a c h m i s s i o n .
The o b s e r v a t o r i e s ( i . e . , s p a c e c r a f t p l u s e x p e r i m e n t s )
each weigh a b o u t 3 , 1 5 0 k i l o g r a m s ( 7 , 0 0 0 p o u n d s ) , i n c l u d i n g
1 , 3 5 0 kg ( 3 , 0 0 0 l b . ) of e x p e r i m e n t s . Overall o b s e r v a t o r y
length is 5 . 8 m e t e r s (19 f e e t ) .
The HEAO s p a c e c r a f t subsystems t a k e advantage of
e x i s t i n g hardware d e s i g n s developed i n o t h e r s p a c e c r a f t
programs. About 8 0 p e r c e n t of HEAO s p a c e c r a f t hardware
i s " o f f - t h e - s h e l f .I1

P r i m e c o n t r a c t o r f o r t h e HEAO s p a c e c r a f t i s TRW
Systems o f Redondo Beach, C a l i f . TRW's r o l e is t o d e s i g n
and d e v e l o p t h e HEAO s p a c e c r a f t , i n t e q r a t e t h e e x p e r i m e n t s
i n t o t h e o b s e r v a t o r i e s , i n t e g r a t e t h e m i s s i o n s and s u p p o r t
l a u n c h o p e r a t i o n s a t Kennedy Space C e n t e r . TRW will a l s o
perform f l i g h t o p e r a t i o n s o f t h e i n - o r b i t o b s e r v a t o r i e s i n
t h e m i s s i o n c o n t r o l c e n t e r a t Goddard.

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l
H I G H ENERGY
ASTRONOMY OBSERVATORY

- HEAO-C
1979
 -11-

LAUNCH VEHICLE

Contractor for the Atlas booster stage (SLV-3D) is

General Dynamics Convair Aerospace Division. The stage-
and-one-half Atlas is powered by three engines -- two
Rocketdyne YLR-89-NA-7 engines providing 1,646,500 newtons
(370,000 lb.) of thrust and one Rocketdyne YLR-105-NA-7
engine with 267,100 N (60,000 lb.) thrust. All three engines
operate on liquid oxygen and R P - 1 propellants.
General Dynamics is also contractor for the Centaur
upper stage (D-lA), which is powered by two Pratt and
Whitney RLlOA-3-3 engines with a total thrust of 133,500 N
(30,000 lb.). These engines operate on liquid oxygen and
liquid hydrogen.
Physical characteristics of the Atlas SLV-3D stage
are :
0 Length 21.9 m (72 ft.)

0 Dry weight 5,674 kg (12,512 lb.)

0 Launch weight 130,434 kg (287,607 lb.)
Physical characteristics of the Centaur D-1A upper
stage are:
0 Length 9 m (30 ft.)
0 Diameter 3 m ( 1 0 ft.)
0 Dry weight 1,754 kg (3,868 lb.1, excluding
nose fairing.
0 Launch weight 17,710 kg (39,051 lb.)
Total height of the HEAO Atlas-Centaur space vehicle
ready for launch, is 39.9 m (131 ft.) with a launch weight
of about 148,982 kg (328,505 lb.) for HEAO-A.

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l
 ATLAS/CENTAUR D-1A
HEAO SPACE VEHICLE FOR A, B, & C OBSERVATORIES

BOOSTER
ENGINES

SUSTAINER SECTION

ATLAS STAGE

- -
INTERSTAGE
ADAPTER

131 FEET
I ,
L -
J i
INSULATION
PANELS

CENTAUR
0-1 A
I

SPLIT
BARREL
-
I

-
I
r-----
PAY LOAD

I-
FAIRINGS

HEAO
OBSERVATORY
ENVELOPE
(A, B, OR C)
--
/-*
?
I
P
to
I
 -13-

HEAO LAUNCH OPERATIONS

NASA's John F. Kennedy Space C e n t e r , F l a . , and i t 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 key roles i n t h e prep-
a r a t i o n and l a u n c h of Atlas-Centaur 4 5 which w i l l c a r r y
HEAO i n t o o r b i t .

The A t l a s booster w a s e r e c t e d on Pad B a t Launch

Complex 3 6 , Cape Canaveral A i r Force S t a t i o n , J a n . 2 5 , and
t h e Centaur upper s t a q e w a s mated w i t h it Jan. 2 7 .
The HEAO s p a c e c r a f t a r r i v e d a t KSC aboard a C-5A
a i r c r a f t d u r i n g t h e week of March 7 and was moved i n t o t h e
Assembly B u i l d i n g i n t h e E x p l o s i v e Safe Area f o r p r e l a u n c h
processing. A f t e r a series o f systems and subsystems t e s t s
and e x p e r i m e n t s , checkout, c u l m i n a t i n g i n o b s e r v a t o r y t e s t s
i n l a t e March, t h e s p a c e c r a f t w a s e n c a p s u l a t e d i n t h e A t l a s
Centaur shroud A p r i l 1. I t w a s moved t o Pad B and erected
on i t s Atlas-Centaur l a u n c h v e h i c l e A p r i l 4 .

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l
HMO-A
DURING
SYSTEMS
CHECKOUT
 -15-

HEAO MISSION OPERATIONS

Control of the in-orbit HEAO observatories will be

directed by Marshall Center flight control engineers at
the Goddard Center.
Flight control operations will be performed by TRW
under the direction of the Marshall flight director and
supported by experimenters associated with each HEAO mission.
Marshall Center directs the mission planning and
establishes the mission support requirements to be met by
the worldwide Spaceflight Tracking and Data Network (STDN),
the Operations Control Center and Data Processing Center.
Goddard Center will provide and operate these net-
work and mission operations support facilities required bv
Marshall to control and operate the observatories.
These existing NASA facilities will be prepared and
configured as necessary to support the HEAO missions.
The large amounts of data taken by each of the HEAO
observatories will be reduced and analyzed by the principal
investigators, co-investigators and other scientists from
the United States representing various industries, univer-
sities and government agencies, as well as other nations.
They will report their findings and scientific results in
various reports, papers and publications.

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 -16-

ATLAS-CENTAUR ASCENT F'R0FlI.E

I ORIENT A N D SEPARATE
SPAC€CMFT
1 RETROMANEWER AND
PROPELLANT ILOWDOWN

/
CENTAUR W I N WAS€

FIRST WRN
PRESTArn
EVENTS

OC'~,-
s E PARATI
ATLASKENTAUR / /
7NoSE FAIRING
JETTISON

CHILLDOWN MECO

MES 1
(MAIN ENGINE STARq

\ SECO/vECO
(SUSTAlNEl ENGINE CUTOFF/
SUSTAINER VERNIER ENGINE CUTOFF)

(BOOSTER ENGINE CUTOFF)

HEAO-A ATLAWCENTAUR SEQUENCE OF EVENTS

APPROX. TIME
EVENT BASIS FROM LIFTOFF
(SEC.)

LIFTOFF 2-IN. MOTION 0

ROLL PROGRAM LIFTOFF + 2 SEC. 2-15
BECO 5.49 G 140

BOOSTER PACKAGE JETTISON BECO + 3.1 SEC. 143

JETTISON INSULATION PANELS BECO + 45 SEC. 185
SECO PROP. DEPLETION 251

SEPARATION SECO + 1.9 SEC. 253

MES 1 SECO + 11.5 SEC. 263
JETTISON NOSE FAIRING MES 1 + 12 SEC. 275
MECO 1 PARKING ORBIT (GUID.) 707

SEPARATION MECO 1 + 665 SEC. 1372

START RETROMANEUVER MECO 1 + 675 SEC. 1382

PROPELLANT BLOWDOWN START MECO 1 + 3750 SEC. 4397
 -17-

DESIGN DESCRIPTION. HEAO-A

The HEAO-A observatory consists of a spacecraft

equipment module interfacing with a mission-peculiar experi-
ment module. The majority of the spacecraft components are
common to all three HEAO missions. Specific mission reuuire-
ments are met by simply adding or removing modular elec-
tronic equipment from the spacecraft.
The spacecraft equipment module structure has a rigid
central cylinder which contains the reaction control system
propellant tank assembly. A closed octagonal honeycomb
structure, to which electronic components are attached, sur-
rounds the central cylinder. These components, which are
readily accessible during integration and test, are d-istributed
to maintain thermal equilibrium and mass balance.
The HEAO-A experiment module structure is six-sided.
Two sides are wider than the others to provide for large
apertures through which experiments can obtain lateral views
of the celestial sphere.
A significant experiment accommodation design feature
is experiment independence. Each experiment on HEAO-A is
thermally isolated with its own thermostatically controlled
heaters. Each has a separate experiment accommodation
assembly, which provides power, command and data interfaces
without affecting the other experiments. The one exception
is the redundant A-3 star tracker, which interfaces through
the A-4 experiment accommodation assembly.
To reduce cost and simplify the observatory/launch
vehicle interface, Lewis Research Center relaxed certain
payload envelope constraints. This permits the use of a
single, fixed, aft antenna that extends below the standard
envelope and mounting of the reaction control thrusters
below the equipment module without cut-outs or other costly
structural complixities. It also permits a shorter payload
adapter, which lowers the observatory center of gravity and
increases allowable payload weight.
The dual-frequency communication system has over-
lapping hemispherical antenna coverage with a signal-to-
noise ratio sufficient to ensure full communications capa-
bility under any foreseeable condition during the HEAO
missions.

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l
 -18-

FORWARD
-/
ANTENNA

//LA _-
7l AFT ANTENNA
 -19-

The command and data handling design satisfies the

requirements and provides some growth capacity without
system redesign. Use of two existing, flight-qualified
tape recorders provides sufficient storage capacity (440
minutes) to accumulate data for more than four orbits
without dumping if ground stations are not available when
desired.
An onboard digital processor, common to all three
observatories, provides extensive, automatic, onboard
attitude control. HEAO-A and -C have Sun acquisition and
celestial scan modes and HEAO-B has Sun acquisition and
celestial point modes. (See following page for descrip-
tion of these modes.) In the event of a critical power
loss, a low-voltage sensor automatically commands the
observatory into a contingency mode in which simple, hard-
wired logic control laws maintain attitude based on Sun
sensor data only. This ensures observatory survival until
the specific source of difficulty can be determined by
ground control.
Orbital altitude has been considered in relation to
mission life, radiation environment, launch vehicle capa-
bility and specified orbit inclination. The initial
orbital altitude provides a 0.98 probability of at least
12 months orbit lifetime above 37r) km ( 2 3 0 mi.) for HEAO-A.

MISSION DESCRIPTION, HEAO-A

The HEAO-A will perform an all-sky, X-ray survey

from a 22.75-degree inclined, nominally circular 445 km-
(275 mi.) orbit.
The scientific objectives of the mission are met by
arranging the experiments in the observatory so that the
experiment scanning direction is perpendicular to the axis
of rotation which is pointed toward the Sun. The movement
of this axis as the Earth orbits the Sun provides complete
coverage of the celestial sphere in six months.
The observatory will be placed in orbit by an Atlas
Centaur D-1A launch vehicle. Diagram on page 20 illustrates
an ascent profile requiring a single Centaur firing.

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 -20-

HMO-A ORBlTlATTlTUDE GEOMETRY

6 MONTHS

HEAO-A COMPLETES
A FULL CELESTIAL S C A N
IN 6 MONTHS
 -21-

A f t e r o r b i t a l i n s e r t i o n , t h e HEAO h a s three p r i n c i p a l
p h a s e s o r modes of o p e r a t i o n :
0 Activation. T h i s phase i n c l u d e s s o l a r a r r a y
deployment, removal of s e p a r a t i o n t r a n s i e n t s ,
Sun a c q u i s i t i o n and a c t i v a t i o n of t h e r m a l con-
t r o l h e a t e r s and s t a n d b y h e a t e r s , i f n e c e s s a r y .
T h e o b s e r v a t o r y subsystems a r e t h e n a c t i v a t e d ,
c a l i b r a t e d and checked o u t . During t h i s pro-
c e d u r e , t h e s p i n a x i s i s h e l d w i t h i n a seven
d e g r e e h a l f - c o n e a n g l e o f t h e Sun l i n e . Experi-
ments are a c t i v a t e d and checked o u t a f t e r obser-
v a t o r y subsystems are o p e r a t i n g p r o p e r l y . The
i n i t i a l d a t a h i g h - v o l t a g e turn-on w i l l be an
on-off c y c l e so t h a t experiment o p e r a t i o n can
be e v a l u a t e d f o r corona b e f o r e f i n a l turn-on
for routine operation.

0 C e l e s t i a l Scan. T h e s c a n mode, i n i t i a t e d by
ground command, w i l l be t h e p r h c i p a l o p e r a t i n g
mode f o r t h e six-month m i s s i o n . The observatory
w i l l r o t a t e a b o u t t h e + Z a x i s . T h e alignment of
the +Z a x i s toward t h e Sun w i l l be m a i n t a i n e d
w i t h i n a one d e g r e e half-cone a n g l e of a chosen
reference. Scan rates are selected from 0.03
t o 0 . 1 rpm. The s c a n r a t e i s m a i n t a i n e d w i t h
+ 1 0 p e r c e n t of t h e selected v a l u e s . T h e ob-
-
s e r v a t o r y can a l s o be p l a c e d i n t h e o f f s e t scan
mode where t h e + Z a x i s i s o f f s e t up t o 7
d e g r e e s of t h e Sun l i n e .
0 Celestial Point. The o b s e r v a t o r y can be p l a c e d
i n t h e c e l e s t i a l p o i n t mode w h e r e t h r e e - a x i s
a t t i t u d e s t a b i l i z a t i o n i s provided with a t t i t u d e
s e n s i n g d e r i v e d s o l e l y from t h e gyros. In this
mode, t h e +Z a x i s of t h e o b s e r v a t o r y can be o f f -
s e t up t o 7 d e q r e e s from t h e Sun and. t h e s c a n
a x i s p o i n t e d toward s p e c i f i c c e l e s t i a l t a r g e t s .
T h e o b s e r v a t o r y w i l l be c o n t r o l l e d i n o r b i t f r o m t h e
HEAO O p e r a t i o n s C o n t r o l C e n t e r (HEAO-OCC) a t Goddard i n
Greenbelt, Md. Observatory d a t a s t o r e d i n t h e onboard t a p e
r e c o r d e r w i l l be t r a n s m i t t e d t o t r a c k i n g s i t e s a t a r a t e of
1 2 8 kbps d u r i n g r e a l t i m e s t a t i o n p a s s e s . D a t a from one
o r b i t p e r day w i l l be r e l a y e d t o t h e HEAO-OCC a t a reduced
d a t a r a t e and w i l l be used f o r e v a l u a t i o n by p r i n c i p a l
investigators.
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 -22-

90

33

-30

-90
-1m -150 -120 -90 -P 0 30 90 1x) 1x1
LONGITUDE - DEGREES
 -23-

MISSION INFi'JENCE ON DESIGN

The Atlas Centaur D-1A boost vehicle limits ,he weigh

and overall size for the HEAO. The environment determines
the mechanical design requirements for the observatory and
component assemblies.
A basic spacecraft equipment module will be used with-
out significant change for each HEAO. The experiment module,
however, will he adapted to the specific requirements of each
mission. The HEAO-A configuration is shown on page 1 8 .
HEAO subsystems design and equipment, including experi-
ment interfacing hardware, are similar for all mission. The
only exception is the addition of reaction wheels to HEAO-B.
The star tracker assembly for HEAO-C is a spacecraft component,
whereas on HEAO-A and B it is a component of the experiments.
Where possible, equipment designs use modular hardware, so
that specific mission requirements cc7n be met by adding or
subtracting modules. For example, the command and data hand-
ling subsystem (CDHS) hardware is the same for all observa-
tories. Specific mission requirements are satisfied by
increasing or decreasing the number of CDHS modules or slices.
This approach minimizes development costs and risks.
HEAO-A has a low orbital altitude and inclination to
minimize the amount of time spent in trapped radiation zones
(see diagram page 22), and thereby increase useful experiment
operation time. Minimum initial orbital altitude, approxi-
mately 440 km ( 2 7 5 mi.) for HEAO-A, is determined by aero-
dynamic drag and mission life requirements. The 22.75-degree
inclination is the lowest inclination which the Atlas Centaur
boost capabilities can accommodate for HEAO.
Orbital altitude affects the aerodynamic and gravity
gradient torques imposed upon HEAO, and thus has an influ-
ence on the amount of propellant required to perform the
mission. The orbit altitude also determines the minimum
number of ground stations needed to receive data from the
observatory tape recorder. The pattern of recorded data
versus time determines the data storage requirements (same
as the peak storage requirement).

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l
 -24-

The low orbit, inclined at 22.75 degrees, produces a

nearly constant Sun/eclipse ratio. This in turn fixes the
requirements for solar array area and for battery capacity.
Battery capacity is also heavily influenced by the large number
of eclipse/Sun cycles (5,70r) per year) since a low battery
depth of discharge will contribute to reliable performance.
The need for scanning while producing electrical power 1

establishes tbe observatory configuration and the attitude

control design. Additionally, the requirement for continuous
communications over ground stations while scanning necessi-
tates a dual frequency approach to telecommunications with
an antenna at each end of the observatory.

HEAO-A EXPERIMENTS

The HEAO-A mission includes four scientific instru-

ments as the experiment payload. Three of these (A-1, A-2
and A-3) are desiqned to study certain attributes of the
low to medium energy X-rays from galactic and extragalactic
discrete X-ray sources as well as the diffuse X-ray back-
ground. The fourth experiment (A-4) extends the observations
into the low energy gamma ray region of the spectrum.
These four experiments complement each other for this
scanning survey mission. Each is optimized to observe par-
ticular features of the radiation in certain energy intervals.
Thus, no experiment is compromised by unrealistically broad
objectives but rather broad mission objectives are accomplished
by these four specialized experiments.
The scope of each HEAO-A experiment is summarized as
follows:
A-1: The Large X-ray (LAXRAY) Survey Experiment
The principal investigator for A - 1 is Dr. Herbert
Friedman of the Naval Research Laboratory, Washington, D.C.
Hardware was produced. by NRL with assistance from New Mexico
State University, Las Cruces.
The major purpose of the experiment is to map the
celestial sphere for X-ray sources in energy range of 0.15
to 20 keV (thousand electron volts), and to determine energy
spectrum, intensity, periodicity or random time structure.

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HEAO-A EXPERIMENTS

A-4
HARDX-RAYAND
LOW ENERGY GAMMA
RAY EXPERIMENT I
(PETERSON!LEWIN) rd
cn
I
 -26-
The A-1 experiment consists of seven modules of thin
window X-ray proportional counters, central electronics, two
stellar aspect assemblies and a gas system. It has a data
rate of 2.1 kbps and a high data rate of 128 kbps as a space-
craft realtime mode which is operated on command in lieu bf
tape recorder playback data. It has two fixed telemetry t

formats which are selectable by ground command.

The multi-module A-1 experiment is the largest of the
four instruments being flown on HEAO-A.
A-2: Cosmic X-rav ExDeriment
Principal investigators are Dr. Elihu Roldt of Goddard
Space Flight Center and Dr. Gordon Garmire of the California
Institute of Technology (CIT), Pasadena. Hardware was pro-
duced by Goddard. Assistance on the program was produced by
the Bendix Corp., the University of California and CIT.
The major purpose of the experiment is to measure
emissions and absorptions of diffuse X-rays in the range of
0.2 to 60 keV and correlate results with radio and visible
light ray emission.
The A-2 experiment consists of six collimated detectors
of thin window X-ray proportional counters, electronics and
a gas system. The A-2 data rate is 1.2 kbps. The telemetry
consists of both fixed and programmable formats.
The experiment also measures intensity and energy
distribution of discrete X-ravs in the same energy range
from 0.2 to 6 0 keV.

A-3: Scanning Modulation Collimator Experiment

Principal investigators are Dr. Herbert Gursky of the
Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory at Harvard University
and Dr. Hale’Bradt of the Massachusetts Institute of Tech-
nology. Hardware was provided by American Science and
Engineering, Inc.
Major purpose of the experiment is to determine pre-
cisely the celestial position of selected cosmic X-ray sources
in the energy range of 1 to 15 keV and to investigate their
size and structure.
The A-3 experiment consists of two scanning modulation
collimators with proportional counters, aspects sensors (also
used as spacecraft star trackers) and electronics. The A-3
data rate is 1.1 kbps. The telemetry is a fixed format.

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HEAO A-1 EXPERIMENT FRIEDMAN
LARGE AREA X - R A Y SURVEY

I
rd
4
I
HEAO A-2 EXPERIMENT BOLDT/GARMIRE
COSMIC X - R A Y

FIXED SUNSHADES

TEST CONNECTORS
FILL PORTS, ETC.

DEPLOYABLE SUNSHADES
LED
ALIGNMENT CUBE
I
N
co
I

ALIGNMENT CUBES

SIC INTERCONNECTOR
INTERFACE

0
- 1 FT

+X A -2
HEAO A-3 EXPERIMENT OURSKY/BRADf
SCANNING MODULATION COLLIMATOR

PROPORTIONAL COUNTERS

CONNECTORS

THERMAL SHIELD

30 ARC SECOND MODULATIOUCOLLIMATOR

OPTICAL BENCH

LIGHTSHADES +x

0
COLLIMATOR
MODULATION

1 FT
EXPERIMENT
MOUNTING -Z h.
 -30-

A-4: Hard X-ray and Low Energy Gamma Ray Experiment

Principal investigators are Dr. Laurence Peterson of
the University of California at San Diego and Dr. Walter
Lewin of MIT. Experiment hardware was provided by UCSD and
Time Zero Laboratories of Ball Brothers Research Corp.
The purpose of the experiment is to determine the
position, spectrum and time variations, intensity and other
properties of certain X-rays and gamma rays in the energy
range of 10 keV to 10 meV (million electron volts).
The A-4 experiment consists of a modular array of
phoswich scintillator detectors, particle monitors, a digital
processor containing power conditioning and data handling
electronics. The A-4 data rate is 1.0 kbps. The telemetry
consists of both fixed and variable formats.
The X-ray detectors themselves for A-1 through A-3
are basically the same, i.e., vas proportional counters.
Scintillation counters are the primary detecting elements
for the A-4 experiment.
In all four experiments, one is concerned with counting
photons of electromagnetic energy. Each experiment, there-
fore, must provide some means of rejecting the much more
intense charged-particle background. This is accomplished
by electronic anti-coincidence techniques and/or pulse shape
discrimination.

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 HEAO A-4 EXPERIMENT
HARD X-RAY A N D LOW ENERGY G A M M A - R A Y PETERSON/LEWIN

I
w
P
cs I

-
0 1t l L T Y P l C A L SUPPORT ELECTRONIC
PACKAGE MOUNTED ON REAR
OF EXPERIMENT
 -32-

ASTROPHYSICAL PHENOMENA

Pulsars and Neutron Stars

Discovered in 1967, pulsars are stars which emit radio
signals in extremely precise pulses. The bulk of available
evidence suggests that pulsars may be fast-spinning neutron
stars. These are compact bodies of densely packed neutrons
(atomic particles having no electric charge), believed to
form when a large star burns up much of its fuel and collapses.
Containing the mass of a star in a sphere 16 km (10 mi.) in
diameter, they are so closely packed that a spoonful of
material from the center would weigh a billion tons.
Black H o l e s

These are believed to be the final stages in the col-

lapse of a dying star. The star's material is so densely
packed --
even more so than a neutron star -- and its gravi-
tational force so great that even light waves are unable to
escape from the surface. Black holes have been hypothesized
but conclusive observations have not yet been possible.
Quasars
Astronomers are still baffled by the nature of quasars,
but many believe that among observable objects they are the
most remote in the universe. They look like stars when viewed
through an optical telescope but emit more energy than the
most powerful galaxies known. According to calculations, if
they are as distant as many astronomers think they are, the
total energy emitted by a quasar in one second would supply
all of Earth's electrical energy needs for a billion years.
Radio Galaxies
Located on the fringes of visibility, these emit radio
waves millions of times more powerful than the emissions of a
normal spiral galaxy. No one knows what these peculiar
galaxies are. Several of them broadcast with such power that
a sizeable fraction of the nuclear energy locked up in their
matter must be going completely into the production of radio
waves .
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 -33-

Supernovae
Supernovae are l a r g e s t a r s a t t h e i r l i v e s ' e n d s whose
f i n a l collapses are cataclysmic events t h a t generate Violent
e x p l o s i o n s , blowing t h e s u r f a c e l a y e r s of t h e s t a r s o u t i n t o
space. There, t h e m a t e r i a l s of t h e exploded s t a r s mix w i t h
o t h e r m a t e r i a l of t h e u n i v e r s e (primary hydrogen). L a t e r i n
t h e h i s t o r y of t h e g a l a x y , o t h e r s t a r s a r e formed o u t of t h i s
mixture. The Sun i s one of these s t a r s ; it c o n t a i n s t h e
d e b r i s of c o u n t l e s s o t h e r s t h a t exploded b e f o r e t h e Sun was
born .
There i s s t r o n g e v i d e n c e t h a t supernovae ( e x p l o d i n g
s t a r s ) and p u l s a r s a r e X-ray s o u r c e s a t some t i m e i n t h e i r
h i s t o r y and t h a t X-rays have been observed from r a d i o g a l a x i e s
and q u a s a r s .

BACKGROUND O F HEAO PROGRAM

T h e Astronomy Missions Board of t h e N a t i o n a l Academy

of Sciences h a s , from t h e i n i t i a l c o n c e p t o f HEAO i n 1 9 6 8 ,
been v i t a l l y i n t e r e s t e d i n t h e program. I t h a s been c a r r i e d
a s t h e h i g h e s t p r i o r i t y program i n t h e a s t r o p h y s i c s a r e a .
The HEAO o b s e r v a t o r y was planned o r i g i n a l l y a s a l a r g e
s a t e l l i t e 1 2 m (4r3 f t . ) l o n g , 2 m ( 7 f t . ) i n d i a m e t e r and
weighing 9 , 9 0 0 kg ( 2 2 , 0 0 0 l b . ) . The p r e s e n t HEAO i s a s m a l l e r
v e r s i o n weighing some 3 , 1 5 0 kg ( 7 , 0 0 0 l b . ) and b e i n g a b o u t
half the o r i g i n a l length.
Among t h e three HEAO m i s s i o n s , most of t h e o r i g i n a l
s c k e n t i f i c o b j e c t i v e s w i l l be accommodated, a l t h o u g h s e v e r a l
i n s t r u m e n t s have been reduced i n s i z e .

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 -34-

THE HEAO-A TEAM

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

Dr. N o e l W. Hinners Associate A d m i n i s t r a t o r

for Space S c i e n c e
Dr. Anthony C a l i o Deputy Associate A d m i n i s t r a t o r
for Space S c i e n c e
T. Bland N o r r i s Director, Astrophysics
Programs

R i c h a r d E. Halpern Director, High Energy

Astrophysics Payloads

John F. Yardley Associate Administrator

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 , Expendable Launch

Vehicles

F. R. Schmidt Manager, A t l a s C e n t a u r
Launch V e h i c l e

G e r a l d M. Truszynski Associate Administrator f o r

T r a c k i n g and Data A c q u i s i t i o n

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

Dr. W i l l i a m R. Lucas Director

Dr. F r e d A. Speer Manager, HEAO P r o j e c t

F r e d S. W o j t a l i k Chief Engineer, HEAO P r o j e c t

C h a r l e s H. Meyers Manager, S p a c e c r a f t O f f i c e

J o s e p h B. Jones HEAO-A M i s s i o n Manager

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 -35-

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

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

Dr. Frank B. McDonald P r o j e c t S c i e n t i s t , HEAO-A

Mission
Dr. E l i h u A. Boldt Principal Investigator, Cosmic
X-ray Experiment (A-2)

Ronald K. Browning Manager, C o s m i c X-ray

Experiment (A-2)

R i c h a r d S. Costa Mission O p e r a t i o n s Systems

Manager

Tecwyn R o b e r t s D i r e c t o r of Networks, T r a c k i n g
and Data A c q u i s i t i o n
A l b e r t G. F e r r i s D i r e c t o r , M i s s i o n and D a t a
Operations

Kennedy Space C e n t e r

L e e R. Scherer Director

Miles Ross Deputy D i r e c t o r

Dr. Walter J. Kapryan D i r e c t o r , Launch Operations

George F. Page Launch D i r e c t o r , Expendable

Vehicles

John Gossett C h i e f , Centaur Operation

Division

W i l l i a m S. B r o s i e r HEAO P r o j e c t Engineer

L e w i s Research C e n t e r

Dr. B r u c e T. Lundin Director

A. J. S t o f a n D i r e c t o r , Launch V e h i c l e s

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l -
 -36-

Other Government Auencies

Naval Research Laboratory
Dr. Herbert Friedman
E. T. Byram
Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory
Dr. Herbert Gursky
Principal Investigator,
Large Area X-ray Survey
Experiment (A- 1)
Manager, Large Area X-ray
Survey Experiment (A-1)
Co-Principal Investigator,
Scanning Modulation
Collimator (A-3)

Universities
California Institute of Technology
Dr. Gordon Garmire Co-Principal Investigator,
Cosmic X-ray Experiment (A-2)

Dr. Laurence Peterson Co-Principal Investigator,

Hard X-ray and Low Energy
Gamma Ray Experiment (A-4)
Robert Farnsworth Manager, Hard X-ray and Low
Energy Gamma Ray Experiment
(A-4)
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Dr. Hale Bradt Co-Principal Investigator,
Scanning Modulation
Collimator (A-3)
Dr. Walter Lewin Hard X-ray and Low Energy
Gamma Ray Experiment (A-4)

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 -37-

CONTRACTGRS

TRW S p a c e c r a f t Design and

Redondo Beach, C a l i f .
American S c i e n c e and
Engineering
Cambridge, Mass.
Manufacture, Observatory
Integration
Design and Manufacture,
Scanninq Pilodulation
Collimator (A-3)

General Dynamics Convair Launch V e h i c l e Manufacture

San Diego, C a l i f .

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