Apollo Telescope Mount Fact Sheet

8/6/2019 Apollo Telescope Mount Fact Sheet

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ublic Affairs Office

eorge C . Ma rsha l l Space F l igh t Cen te r

t ional Aeronaut ics and Space Adminis t ra t ion

a r sha l l Space F l igh t Cen te r , Alabama

Ph on e: 876-1102, 876 -1959

APOLLO TELESCOPE MOUNT\

- - F a c t S h e et --

M ar ch 1, 1968

The Apollo Teles cop e Mount (ATM) i s being developed to give sp ac e

sc ien t is ts a look a t the s un 's ac t iv i ty unencumbered by the fogging effects

of the ea r th ' s a tmosphere .

The Nat ional Aeronaut ics and Space Adminis t ra t ion plans to launch the

f i r s t of i t s manned so la r ob se rva tor ies , ATM-A, in 1971. The space agency

i s joined by the sc ient i f ic co mmunity and industry in developing the highly

sophis t i ca ted sa te l l i t e .

F iv e p r i n c ip a l i n v e s t i g a to r s , a l l e x p e rt s i n a s t r o n o m y a n d s o l a r p h y s i c s ,

have des igned f ive exper im ents fo r the f i r s t ATM f light . The e igh t ins t rum ents

used in these f ive ATM exper ime nts wi l l ob ta in meas ure men ts of the sun in the

ex t r eme u l t rem e u l t rav io le t and X-ray por t ions of the e lec tromagne t ic spec t rum

which cannot pene t ra te the ea r th ' s a tmos phere and ob tain p ic tu res of the sun ' s

cor ona in the white l ight portion of the sp ec tru m.

D r . G e o r g e E. Mue ller , NASA Asso cia te Adm inis t ra tor for Manned Space

Fl igh t , has sa id the ATM "prov ides a new gr ea t capabil i ty fo r a var ie ty of s ol a

and s te l l a r sc ien ti f i c exper iments" to be pe r fo rm ed above the a tmosp here , whe

the sun and s ta r s c an be c l ea r l y observed without being obscure d by the e a r t h ' s



AAP CLUSTER - - The Apollo Telescope Mount, shown a t top, is one of

the pr i nci pal payloads in the f i rs t Apollo Applicat ions f l ights . Other

m a i n e l e m e n t s a r e t h e S a t u rn I workshop, bo t tom, the a i r loc k /m ul t ip le



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a t m o s p h e r e . The f i r s t ATM, one of the ea r ly Apol lo Appl icat ions mi ss ion s ,

i s a fo r e run ne r of m or e a dva nc e d manne d so l a r a nd s t e l l a r obse rva t o r i e s wh ic

wi l l p rov ide a n inc re a s e d da ta ga ther ing c apa bi l ity fo r a s t ron om e rs .

A propos ed fol low-on manned orb i t ing observ a tor y wi l l have a new se t of

e xpe r im e n t ha rdw a re of g r e a t e r soph is t i ca t ion than the f i r s t one . So me of the

so la r a nd s t e l l a r e xpe r ime n ts a l r e a dy a r e unde r de velopme n t.

Ground base d sc ien tis ts " see" the sun in only the visible l ight , and por t ion

of the in f r a red and rad i o f requenc ies of the e lec t romagn e t ic spe c t ru m. I n s t r u

me nts ca rr ie d by unmanned spa cec ra f t and ba l loons have p ioneered in the f ie ld

of spaceborne so la r as t r ono my .

The manned ATM of fe rs oppor tun i t ie s not ava i lab le wi th unmanned s pace -

c r a f t . The s c ie n t i s t - a s t rona u t w i l l pe r f o rm ope rat ions re qu i r ing judgme nt to

se l e c t t a rg e t s of sc ie n t i fi c in t e r e ~ t nd to point the t e l e sc ope s . He wi l l c on t ro

a l l ATM e xpe r ime n t ope ra t ions in ac qu i r ing the da ta , inc luding re t r i e v a l of

f i l m s . The se opera t ions can be augmented by rad i o con tac t wi th sc ien t is ts on

g round who c a n re d i re c t the obse rv ing p ro g ra m ba se d on ground da ta o r ve rba

d e s c ri p t io n s f r o m t h e a s t r o n a u t c r e w .

Whe re ATM fi ts in to AAP Sequence

The Apollo Te lescope Mount wi l l be a pa r t o f a c lu s te r of ha rdw are in o rb

which inc ludes the o rb i ta l workshop and a m anned Apollo command and se rv i c

module (CSM). Saturn IB launch veh ic les wi l l p lace the se pay loads in to an e a r

o rb i t of 300 s ta tu te mi le s .

The orb i t ing c lu s t e r wi l l be ass em bled in the fo llowing man ner :



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T h e S a tu r n I w o r k s h o p w i l l b e p l a c e d i n to s p a c e f i r s t . A da y o r s o l a t e r

a manned Apol lo sp ac ec ra f t wi l l be l aunched and wi l l r endezvous a nd dock with

the workshop which then wi l l be made hab i tab le f o r a 28-day s tay . Af te r th i s

p h a s e of t h e o v e r a l l m i s s io n h a s b e e n c o m p le te d an d t h e f i r s t c r e w h a s r e tu r n e

to e a r t h , a r e v i s i t b y a n o th e r t h r e e - m a n c r e w w i l l b e m a d e . T h i s c r e w w i l l b

conduc ting medic a l expe r imen ts in the workshop fo r up to 56 days .

The ATM is p lanned fo r the f i r th f l igh t. In th is dual launch, t he luna r mod

( L M ) a s c e n t s t a g e /A T M l a un c h w i l l fo ll ow a m a n n ed c o m m a n d / s e r v i c e m o d u le

launch. The two vehic les rendezv ous and dock. Af te r th i s opera t ion , the LM

a s c e n t s t a g e i s m a n n e d a n d t h e c o m b in ed v e h i c le s r e n d e z v ou s w i th t h e w o r k s h o

w h ic h h a s r e m a in e d i n o r b i t a f t e r c o m p le t io n of t h e e a r l i e r p o r t i o n of i t s m i s s i

The new c rew r eac t iva tes the workshop . Dur ing the remainder o f the

m is s io n t h e c lu s t e r w i l l b e i n e r t i a l l y s t a b i l i z e d by t h e c o n t r o l s y s t e m o n t h e

LM /AT M to main ta in the ax i s of the t e lesco pe a long the sun l ine . The con t r o l

sy s t em con s i s t s of two main con t ro l loops . T h e o u t e r l oo p u t i l i z e s a c o a r s e s

s e n s o r a n d i s s t a b i l i z e d b y t h r e e l a r g e c o n t r o l m o m e n t g y r o s c o p e s w h ic h p r o v

b a s i c c lu s t e r o r i e n t a t i o n a n d s t a b il i t y.

The inner loop i s a f ine po in ting sy s te m dr iv ing the expe r imen t package .

T h i s s y s t e m u s e s a v e r y p r e c i s e s u n s e n s o r t o a c c u r a t e ly po in t t h e e x p e r i m e n

in s t r u m e n ta t i o n t o c r e w - s e l e c t e d a r e a s o n t h e s u n. Stabi l i ty on the order of

p lus o r minus 2-112 a r c seconds i s a l so prov ided by th i s ve r n ie r o r inner loop

c o n t r o l s y s t e m by c o u n t e ra c t i n g d i s t u r b a n c e s s u c h a s c r e w m o t io n s .



Dur ing th i s f l igh t , which i s to l a s t up to e igh t week s , the as t ro nau ts wi l l

ob se rv e the dynamic phenomenon on the su r fac e and in the cor ona of the sun .

A T M E x p e r im e n t s

F iv e a u th o r i t i e s i n a s t r o n o m y a n d s o l a r p h y s i c s a r e d e s ig n ing t h e fi ve m a j

e x p e r i m e n t s f o r t h e f i r s t AT M m i s s i on . T h e s e e x p e r im e n t s a r e be in g d e ve lo p

under the d i rec t io n of the NASA-Marsha l l Space F l igh t Cen te r .

E ig h t m a jo r s o l a r i n s t r u m e n t s a r e e m p lo y ed i n c on d uc ti ng t h i s i n v e s t i-

g a ti on . T h e d e v i c e s a r e d e sig n ed t o p r o v id e h ig h s p a t i a l a n d s p e c t r a l r e s o lu t io

in the u l t rav io le t , X- ray , white l igh t andhydrogen-a lpha (6563A) bands of the

s p e c t r u m a n d a r e p a r t i c u l a r l y c o n c e r n e d w i th t h e a c t iv e r e g i o n s o n t he s o l a r

d i s k o r i n t h e c o r o n a .

T h e f i a r l y l a r g e t e l e s c o p e s a r e m o u nte d i n a 7 -f oo t d i a m e te r c y l i n d r i c a l

s t ru c t u r e on the i r un ique op t ica l bench s t ru c tu re which i s mounted on the ATM

s t r u c t u r a l s p a r a s s e m b l y .

The f ive p r inc ip a l exp er ime nts a r e the High Al t itude Observa to ry (HAO)

w h i t e l i g h t c o r o n a g r a p h , t h e N a va l R e s e a r c h L a b o r a to r y ( N R L ) u l t r a v io l e t

s p e c t r o h e l i o g r a p h an d e x t r e m e u l t r a v io l e t s p e c t r o g r a p h , t h e H a r v a r d C o ll e ge

O b s e r v a to r y (H C O) u l t r a v io l e t s c a n nin g s p e c t r o m e te r , a Goddard Space F l igh t

C e n te r ( G S F C ) X - r a y t e l e s c o p e a n d a n im a g in g X - r a y s p e c t r o g r a p h i c t e l e s c o p e

by Amer ican Sc ience and Engineer ing .

D r . Ric car do Giaconni of Am er ic an Sc ience and Engineer ing Co . , C a m b r i

M a s s . i s t h e p r i n c ip a l i n v e s t ig a to r f o r t h e X - r a y s p e c t r o g r a p h i c t e l e s c o p e .

T h i s e x p e r im e n t p r o p o s e s t o o b ta in X - r a y p h o to g r ap h s of t e m p o r a l c h a n g e s

ass oc ia ted with so la r ac t iv i ty , includ ing f l a r es , wi th a sp a t ia l r eso lu t ion of ab



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tw o a r c s e c o n d s a n d t o s im ul ta n eo u s ly r e c o r d s p e c t r a l l y d i s b u r s e d e m i s s io n s

ove r the ran ge of two to e ight an gs tro ms with a res olut ion of a f rac t ion of a n

a n g s t r o m .

An e lec t ron ic f l a re de tec to r , in add it ion to the main te lescope , wi l l g ive

the a s t r on au t a v i sua l indication of f l ar e buildup. T h i s w i l l a ll ow h im to s e l e c t

ac t ive reg ions and pho tograph the f l a res in the ea r ly X-ray r i se pe r iods .

Ja m es Mi l ligan i s the p r inc ip a l inves t iga to r fo r the Goddard Space F l igh t

C e n te r ' s X - r a y t e l e s c o p e e x p e rim e n t .

Th is e xper im ent uses a g lancing inc idence X-ray and ex t re me u l t rav io le t

t e lescop e with a reso lu t ion capab le of rec ord ing the so la r X - ray d i s tr ibu tion

over the comple te so la r d i sk and nea r corona in the 3 to 100 ang s t ro ms

wavelength region. The in format ion wi l l be recorde d on X-ray sens i t ive 35

m i l l im e te r r o l l f ilm . T h e r e a r e a l s o tw o p r o p o r ti o n a l c o u n t er s to m o n ito r th e

tota l so lar X-r ay f lux in the sp ec tr a l regions of two to e ight and e ight to 20

ang s t ro ms . Th is da ta wi l l be pu lse he igh t so r t ed and reco rde d fo r use by the

a s t r o n a u t f o r h i s t o r i c a l o b s e r v at i o n t o i d en ti fy p o s s ib l e f l a r e p r e c u r s o r a c t iv i t y

changes .T h e r e a r e tw o N av a l R e s e a r c h L a b o r a to r y e x t r e m e u lt r a v io l e t e x p e r im e n t s

to be flown on the ATM. J . D. P ur ce l l of the NRL, Washington, D. C. , i s t h e

pr inc ipa l inves t iga to r .The f i r s t of the two ins t rum ents , Exper i ment A , i s an ex t rem e u l t rav io le t

spec t roh e l iograp h and i s designed to pho tograph imag es of the to ta l d i sk in the

var ious wavelengths between 160 and 650 ang str om s. The main e lements of the



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e x t r e m e u l tr a v i o le t s p e c t ro h e l i og r a p h a r e a concave g ra t ing and a f i lm s t r ip

c a m e r a . Exper im en t B , an ex t rem e u l tr av io le t spec t ro graph , i s des igned to

photographica l ly re co rd l ine spe ct ro gr am s of the so lar radia t ion be tween 1200

a n d 44 00 a n g s t r o m s f r o m s e l e c te d s m a l l a r e a s o n th e s o l a r d i s k a n d a t d if f e re n t

levels a c ro s s the l imb of the sun and in to the coro na .

An addi t ional pa r t of Ex per ime nt B i s t he ex t r em e u l t r av io le t m oni to r .

H oused in the s am e ca se and c lose ly a l igned w ith Exper im en t B , i t s pu rpose i s t o

p rov ide a t e l ev i s ion r ep re sen ta t io n of the so la r im a ge in the ex t r em e u l t r av io le t ,

w h ich i s u sed by the a s t ro nau t to iden ti fy so l a r u l t r av io le t f ea tu res no t v i s ib le a t

the longer wavelengths . Exper im en t B a l so can be com m anded by i t s a s t ron au t t

d i sp lay a t e l ev i s ion im age of the s pec t rog rap h s l i t in white l ight.

D r . Leo G oldberg of the H a rva rd C o ll ege O bse rva to ry , C am br idg e , M ass . ,

i s t he p r inc ip a l inves t iga to r fo r the H CO u l t r av io le t s cann ing spe c t ro m e te r

e x p e r im e n t . T h i s e x p e r im e n t a c q u i r e s i t s p r i m a r y d at a by photoelec t r ic con-

ve r s io n t echnique w i th subsequen t pe r iod ic da ta t r an sm i ss io n to e a r th r ece iv ing

s ta t ions . Photographic reco rding on 70 mi l l im ete r f i lm of the sp ec t ro me ter s 30

a r c s e c o nd s q u a r e s l i t i m ag e d a g a i n s t a 2 0 a r c m inu te so la r background f i eld in

the hydrogen a lpha wavelength (6563A) wi l l be used for pos t miss io n data c or re la

A s im i la r im age i s ava i l ab le to the a s t ronau t v ia T V m oni to r . T h e i n s t r u m e n t

spec t r a l ly sc ans 30 a r c second squ are a r ea s of the so la r d i sk in a r ange of 300

to 1310A, sea rch ing the ch rom osp her e , pho tosphere and corona fo r qu ie t sun

p h e n om e n a , p lu s p e r t u rb a t i o n s s u c h a s p la g e s , f l a r e s , f i l am e n t s a n d a s s o c i a t e d

a c t i v e r e g i o n s. At l eas t 30 a r c second spa t i a l and 1. 5A s p e c t r a l r e s o l ut i o n i s

ant ic ip a ted with a t im e resolu t ion resp on se of appro xima te ly 80



m il l i seconds .

C r . G ordon N ew ki rk , of the N at iona l C en te r fo r A tm ospher i c R e sea rch ,

High Al t itude Ob ser vat ory , Bould er , Colo . , i s t he p r inc ipa l inves t iga to r fo r t

H A 0 w hi te l i gh t co ronagraph . I t s p u r p o s e i s t o m o ni t or t he b r i g h t n e s s , f o r m

and po la r i za t ion o f the so la r co rona be tween one and one ha lf and s i x so l a r

rad i i f r om the cen te r of the sun .

Th i s ins t rum ent cons i s t s p r inc ipa l ly of the th re e fo rw a rd ( sun d i r ec t ion)

ex t e rn a l occu lt ing d i sk s , and a m odifed Lyo t co ronag raph op t i ca l sy s t em , d r iv

m e c h a n i s m s , e l e c t r o n ic s a n d 3 5 m i l l i m e t e r c a m e r a .

Fou r of the f ive exp er im en t s have ins t rum enta t ion bu il t by indus t ry . B a l

B r o t h e r s R e s e a r c h C o r p . , B o u l de r , C o l o . , i s m a n u fa c t ur i n g i n s t r u m e n t s f o r

the H igh A l ti tude O bse rva to ry and the N ava l R e sea rch Labo ra to ry . A m e r ican

Sc ience and Eng inee r ing i s bui ld ing the equ ipm ent fo r i t s exper im e n t and the

H a rv a r d C o l lege O bse rva to ry (HC O) exper im e n t . The M ar sha l l Space F l igh t

C en t e r h as the r e spo ns ib i l i t y fo r m anufac tu r ing the G oddard e xper im en t equ ip

m e n t . P e r k i n - E l m e r h a s b e en a w a r d e d t h e p r i m e c o n t r a c t o r b ui ld in g t h e H CO

Hydrogen-Alpha te lesco pes and the main ATM point ing te lescop e .

ATM Opera t ion and Control

T h e L M a s c e n t s t a g e c o n t r o l a n d d i sp l a y p a n e l w i l l b e t h e p r i m a r y e x p e r

m ent w ork s t a t ion . F ro m th i s point t he c rew w i l l con t ro l and m oni tor the

exp er im en t s , t he po in t ing con t ro l sys t e m , the ins t rum enta t ion and com m unica

and the pow er sy s t em .



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A te lev is ion s ys tem wi l l enable as t ronau t s a t the work s ta t ion to view

image s of the sun reco rde d by the te lescopes . Th ere a r e s i x TV c a m e r a s i n

the exper imen t package , two TV d isp lay moni to rs , and the ass oc ia ted s wi tches

and o ther equ ipment on the con tro l conso le .

Two of the c am er as wil l obs er ve the port ions of the dis k through hydrogen

alpha te le sc op es , with different bandwidths affording discrimin ation of deta i l .

A th i rd c a me ra w i l l obse rve the who le sun in e x t r e me u l t r a v io le t . The four th

c a m e r a w i l l be pa r t of the NRL exper iment B and wi l l observ e the spec t ro grap

3 x 60 a r c s econd s l i t super imposed on the s o la r d isk in whi te l igh t with a na rr

fi eld of view . The f i fth te lev is ion ca m er a wi l l be a pa r t of the H C O s p e c t r o m e

observ ing in hydrogen-a lpha , the sp ec t r om ete r s l i t pos it ion su per imposed on t

so lar d isk with a nar row fie ld of v iew. The .s ixth c am er a wi l l obs erve the sun

coro na , a s seen th rough the white l igh t coronagraph occul t ing op t ics .

Video swi tches wi l l a llow the oper a to r s to observ e the sa me ex per im ent o

two se pa ra t e e xpe r ime n ts a t one t ime .

The con tro l s ta t ion displa ys al low the s c ientis t-astro naut to monitor the s

act ivi t y and , in conjunction with inves t igator s on the ground, dete rm ine sun

fe a tu res o f sc ien t i f ic in te r es t fo r de ta iled inves tiga t ion . Thi s act iv i t y not only

involves co n tro l of which ins t r umen ts a r e ac t ive and wha t p r og ra m is des i red ,

bu t al lows the as t ron au t to p rec is e ly posi tion the ins t r um en ts on spec i f ic reg io

of so la r ac t iv i ty and to t ra ve rs e them accord ing ly.



Fi lm r e t r i e va l i s an impor t an t pa r t of t he p roposed ATM f li ght . As t ronau t

.>, il l re t r ie ve hnd change f i l m . Thi s i s done ou t s ide t he sp acec ra f t i n p r e s su r i z

su i t s . The f i lm wi l l be s to r ed in t he command modu le fo r t he r e tu rn t r i p t o ea

ATM Phys ic a l Descr ip tion

NASA, wh ere pos s ib l e , i s u s ing a max imum a mo unt of av ai lable Apollo

equipm ent for the Apollo Teles cop e Mount mi ssi on module. Th i s module i s m a

up of a lunar module as cen t s tage and a " rac k" in p lace of the descent s tage . A

des ign eng inee rs es t im ate the weight of the ATM payload wi l l be n ear ly 31 ,000

pounds. The as ce nt s tage i s expected to weigh about 11,000 pounds and the r ac

wi th i t s expe r im en t package w i l l be nea r ly 20 ,000 pounds .

Con t ro l s ta t ion for the c rew wi l l be in the modi f ied lunar module asc en t

s t a g e . Modi f ica t ions wi l l be concerned main ly wi th the cont ro ls and d isp lays

and expendab le s fo r mi s s ion du ra tion . Some of the spe c ia l e lec t ron ics added t

the lu nar m odule wi l l inc lude te lev is ion m oni tors to v iew exp er im ent d i sp lays ,

po in t ing con t ro l ins t r um ents , and o ther d evices for exper im ent cont ro l .

The " rack" i s an oc tagonal t r us s s t r uc tur e approximate ly 114 inches deep .

I t suppor t s the ATM exper iment package and the LM asc en t s tag e . F o r t he

launch pha se , the r ac k a t taches to the launch vehic le at t he four spacec ra f t - l un

module -adapter suppo r t po in ts .

The re i s a 102- inch d i am e te r suppor t r ing c a r r i ed a t the ce n te r of t he r ac

This r i ng su ppo r t s the g imbal bear ings requ i red fo r f ine po in t ing .



The 82 - inch d iam eter cy l indr ica l exper iment package i s 135 inches long.

An in t e r io r c ru c i f orm s t ruc ture ex tends the l ength of the exper iment package

and d iv ides the cy l inder in to four equa l pa r t s . The telesc op es of the five ATM

exper imen t s a r e mounted on t he c ruc i fo rm s t ruc tu re .

Th i s cy l i nde r i s ac t i ve ly coo led to ma int a in an i n t e rna l su r f ace t em per a tu

of 50 d e g r e e s by a l iquid coolant which is c i rcu late d in the cy l inder ' s skin.

A so l a r sh i e ld is located arou nd the point ing end of th e exp er im ent packag

in such a way tha t i t does not in te r fe r e wi th movement . This device pro tec t s t

r ac k ' s e l ec t ron i c component s f ro m the sun ' s d i r ec t r ad ia t ion . T e m p e r a t u r e s

so me 100 "b lack boxes" on the rac k a r e to be pass ive ly cont ro l led . Exhaus t

def lec tors a r e to be p laced benea th the lunar m odule 's reac t ion cont ro l sy s te m

engines to pro tec t ATM components f r om exhaus t s and to pro te c t the prec i s ion

m i r r o r s f r o m c on ta mi na nt s.

A gimbal sy s te m a t tache s the exper iment package to the sup por t r ing on t

r a c k . The gim bal sy st em al lows the cyl inder to be moved plus o r minus two

de gr ee s in pi tch and yaw and plus o r minus 95 degrees i n ro l l and i s u sed fo r

f ine point ing contro l .

The ATM exp erim ent package is mounted in the launch condi tion so it ext

f r o m the engine bay of the luna r module as ce nt s tag e to the fo rw ard bulkhead

the S-IVB s t age .



La rg e cont ro l moment gyr os , be ing bu il t by the Bendix Corp . , wi l l se rv e

a s s t ab il i z at i on ac tua to r s fo r t he comple t e AAP c lu s t e r . T hr ee of the 400

pound gyros w il l be used fo r each f l ight ATM. The devices have 22 inch whee ls

wh ich r evo lve a t high s peeds , 8000 revaluations pe r minute , in point ing and

contro l l ing the a t t i tude of the c lus ter .

F i n e point ing of the expe rimen t package wil l be achieved by a c lose d loop

torque sy st em operat ing the f ine gimbals under the control of a f ine sun sen so r

package and ra te gyro package .

ATM power wil l be provided by a combinat ion of so lar cel l s and rec ha rg e-

ab l e ba t t e r i e s . Fou r so l a r ce l l a r r ay s measu r ing some 1200 squa re f ee t in t ot a

a r e a a r e be ing p lanned . E le c t r ic power gen era ted by the so la r c e l l s wi l l be rou

throug h a dis t r ib utor to each of the 18 power modules . Th er e is a bat t ery , a

i

ba t t e ry cha rge r , a r egu la to r and s ens ing and con t ro l c i r cu i t ry i n each power

module .ATM Manufacturing and Testing

ATM hard war e i s t ak ing shape in the Marsh a l l Cen te r ' s manufac tur ing sho

and the many tes t ing a r e a s a r e gear ing up for ex tens ive tes t ing in 1968.

An ATM mockup ha s been a t the C enter fo r some t im e and i s be ing used in

eng inee r ing design exe rc i s e s . The re a l so i s a neu t r a l buoyancy t e s t a r t i c l e a t

t he Cen te r fo r unde rwa te r t e s t s .

Propu ls ion and Vehicle Engineer ing Lab ora tory is working on the de sign of

the ra ck which wil l be bui l t in the Manufactur ing Engineer ing Laboratory.



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Vacuum cha mbe r t e s t s a r e underway in t he P ropu l s ion and Veh ic l e

Eng inee r ing Labora to ry . Two te s t s have been conducted in a 12- foot d iam ete r

c h a m b e r . Thes e i nclude a t e s t of a qua r t e r s ec t ion of t he ATM expe r imen t

cann i s t e r , u s ing mockup ve r s ions of t he Nava l Re sea rch L abora to ry and

Ame r i can Sc i ence and Eng inee r ing expe r im en t s , and of the f ine sun se ns or .

T h e r e h a s a l s o b e e n a t h e r m a l d e fl ec ti on t e s t .

ATM vibra t ion tes t ing wi l l t ake p lace on newly- insta l led equipment in the

Propu l s ion and Vehic le Eng inee r ing Labor a to ry . The prototype and f l ight mode

w i l l b e t e s t e d h e r e .

Te s t L abora to ry w i l l do a vacuum deve lopmen t t e s t i ng on a one qua r t e r

s e g m e n t of t h e A T M r a c k t h is y e a r . The lab wi l l a l so do com ponent qua li f ica t io

t e s t i ng of t he ATM con t ro l momen t gy ro in a t he rma l -vac uum chamber l a t e r t h i

y e a r .

The deployment me cha nis m of the ATM and workshop s o l a r pane ls wi l l und

ex tens ive t e s t i ng in t he Tes t Labora to ry . A t e s t f i x tu re des igned by As t r ion i c s

Lab ora to ry w i l l be p rov ided to pe rm i t t e s t i ng the se pane l s unde r s imu la t ed low

gravi ty condi t ions .

Qual i ty and Reliab i l i ty Assu ranc e Lab ora to ry has deve loped a nondes t ruc t iv

t e s t sy s t e m fo r l oca t ing bond de fec t s i n ATM honeycomb s o l a r ce l l modu le s . T

au toma ted sy s t em was adap ted by modi fy ing an ex i s ti ng Spe r ry u l t r a son ic au tom

scanning and r eco rd ing sy s t em . A maximum of f ive modules m ay be tes ted .

As t r i on i c s Labora to ry , l e ad l abo ra to ry fo r t he ATM,i s t e s t i ng componen t s

of the con t ro l mome nt gyro . Another impo r tan t deve lopment in As t r ion ic s i s a

device to s im ula te ATM s tab i l iza t ion condit ions .



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ATM Pr o j ec t Management

Engin eers and sc ien t i s ts a t the NASA-Marsha ll Space F l igh t Cente r have

the job of eng inee rin g the Apollo Tel esco pe Mount, dire ctin g the deve lopm ent of

the ex per im ents , and integrat ing the en tir e sy st em for the NASA Office of Manned

Space Flight .

The ATM prog ra m a t MSFC i s under the d i rec t ion of Le land Be lew, d i r ec to r

of t he S a t u r n / ~ p o l l oApplicat ions Office in Industr ia l O perat ions. Re in I se i s the

ATM pro jec t m anager and Wil l iam Kea th ley i s the ATM exper im ents mana ger .

Under the Mar sha l l Cen te r ' s lead labora tory concep t , A st r ion ics La bor a tor y

under the dir ect ion of Dr . Wal te r Haeusse rm ann , i s charged with the ATM techn

p rog ra m . Wi l li a m Horton i s a s s i s t a n t l a bo ra to ry d i re c to r fo r ATM. Ar thu r

White i s techn ica l exper iments m anager . Gene Cagle i s eng ineering ma nag er ,

a nd Norma n Gil ino is sys tems eng ineer .

Dr . Er ns t S tuhl inger, d i rec to r of the Space Sc iences Labor a tory , i s the

chief sc ien tis t fo r the ATM projec t . Scient ists in the Space Sciences Labor ator y

and eng ineers in the Ast r ion ics Labor a tory have been ass igned to work wi th the

pr inc ip a l inves t iga tors in developing the so l a r exper im ents .

Apollo Telescope Mount Fact Sheet

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