4

NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND

John F. Kennedy Space Center
Kennedy
Space Center, Fla. 32899
SPACEADMINISTRATION

FORRELEASE:
2anuary
Kezease

305-867-2468

NASA TO LAUNCH

_C

1974
-8-74

100th DELTA ROCKET

This month NASA will launch its 100th Delta rocket, the
middle-sizedworkhorse of its stable of expendablevehicles for
launching unmanned spacecraft.
Delta i00 will lift off from Kennedy Space Center, Fla.,
about January 18, carrying a British communicationssatellite
to a synchronous transfer orbit around Earth.
The spacecraft,developed by Marconi Space and Defense
Systems Ltd. in the United Kingdom under contract to the United
Kingdom Ministry of Defense (MOD) and designatedSkynet IIA,
will be placed in an elliptical orbit with an apogee of 34,000
km. (22,300 miles) and perigee of 185 km. (115 miles). A solid
rocket motor and hydrazine control system :inthe spacecraftwill
then translateSk_.et IIA into its final 34,000 km. circular
geosynchronousorbit over the Indian Ocean.
The U.S. Department of Defense (DOD), under an intergovernment agreement between the U.K. and the U.S., is responsible
for representing the project in the U.S., including responsibility
for procurementof the spacecraft propulsion systems from U.S.
manufacturersand launch of the spacecraft. DOD has delegated
this responsibilityto the United States Air Force, Space and
Missile Systems Office (SAM_O).
The USAF!SAMSO, in turn, has contractedwith NASA for the
launch and launch services, using the Delta launch vehicle, on
a reimbursablebasis under the technicaldirection of Goddard
Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.
McDonnell-Douglas

is the Delta

vehicle

Astronautics

Co.,

and launch services

Huntington

Beach,

Calif.,

prime contractor.

Thor-Delta was originally developed in 1959-60 as an

interim launch vehicle with the expectation that more sophisticated vehicles would be developed for the diverse payloads being
developed or planned at that time. However, the original Air
Force Thor first stage and improved Vanguard second and third
stages which made up the Delta proved to be so reliable--and so
easily and economically uprated that it readily fulfilled the
requirements of these satellites as they evolved.

-moreK$C

FORM

OT--08I

(!/78)

(ONETIME

FORM

-- REPRINT

NOT

AUTHORIZED)

NASA/KSC

FE8/73

KSC -8-74
page 2
The first Delta launch, on May 13, 1960 of the famous
Echo passive communications
sphere was unsuccessful.
However,
on its second launch, Echo-i was successfully placed in a 1600
kilometer (1000-mile) circular orbit.
Between 1960 and the end of 1965, most of the 35 Delta
launches were for NASA scientific and communications
satellites,
including such important scientific missions as the first Pioneer
to orbit around the Sun; several of the early Tiros weather
satellites to take pictures of Earth's cloud cover, the initial
commercial communication satellites - AT & T's Telstar and
Communications
Satellite Corporation's Early Bird; and NASA's
Syncom into the first synchronous orbit, proving the economic
feasibility of today's multi-million dollar commercial communications satellite industry.
In the period 1966 thru 1969 there were 38 Delta launches
including an increasing number for foreign and commercial users
coming to NASA for Deltas to boost their satellites into orbit
on a reimbursable basis.
By that time, the Weather Bureau (NOAA)
was producing operational meteorological
satellites (TOS) and
Delta placed six of them in orbit.
In the period 1970 thru 1973, there have been 24 Deltas
launched and again an increasing number of them were reimbursable
missions for non-NASA users.
The continued, in fact increasing
demand for the Delta vehicle for scientific, weather, applications, Earth resources and communication satellite missions is
evidenced by the schedule of 28 firm Delta missions in 1974-75
again with an increasing number of them for foreign and commercial
users on a reimbursable basis.
Use of the Delta booster by other countries up to now has
been credited with helping to ease our balance of payments by
about $60 million.
In the next five years, an additional $80 $i00 million will be paid to the U.S. by other countries for
vehicles and associated services for their Delta-launched
missions.
It is notable that the cost of the Delta hardware and
launch services has risen over the past 13 years at a rate only
slightly greater than the compounded inflation rate of at least
5 percent a year, considering the substantial improvements that
have been made to the vehicle during that time to improve its
reliability and performance.
Delta hardware and launch services
cost about $2.75 million in 1960 and cost: about $6.5 million now.
At the same time its performance has been increased such that the
payload it can place in synchronous transfer orbit has risen from
68 kilograms (150 pounds) to 680 kilograms (1500 pounds), and the
payload it can place in low Earth orbit _ms been increased from
240 kg (525 pounds) to 1920 kg (4000 pounds).
-more-

KSC -8-74
page 3
The cost (considering only hardware and launch services)
therefore to place spacecraft into low Earth orbits has been
reduced over the past 13 years from roughly $5000 to roughly
$1600 per pound.
William Schindler, has been Delta Project Manager at
Goddard Space Flight Center since 1962 and prior to that was
project technical director since the program's inception in 1960.
Charles Gunn has been head of the Vehicle Systems Branch
at the project office at GSFC since 1962 and currently is also
the project technical director.
Branch

Robert Goss has been the head of the Spacecraft

at the project office at GSFC since 1963.

Coordination

Other NASA personnel associated closely with Delta over the

years have been:
Vincent Johnson, NASA Deputy Associate Administrator for Space Science (now retired), who was Program/Project
Manager during the early years until June 1962; T. B. Norris,
Program Manager, June 1962 to November 1966 who is now Manager,
Medium Launch Vehicle Programs.
Robert Manville (retired)
Program Manager November 1966 to August 1968; I. T. Gillam IV,
Program Manager from August 1968 until June 1973 when he became
Manager of Small Launch Vehicles and International Programs; and
Peter T. Eaton, who was Assistant Project Manager at GSFC from
1970 to 1973 and became Program Manager in November 1973.
At the Kennedy Space Center, Robert Gray and John Neilon
have been launching Deltas since Echo-l.
Gray was director of
KSC's Unmanned Launch Operations Directorate (ULO), which has
launch responsibility
for Delta at both Cape Canaveral, Florida,
and Vandenberg Air Force Base, California, from October, 1965, to
June, 1970. Neilon was Gray's deputy during that time and
succeeded him in June, 1970.
Twenty-three
of the I00 Deltas have been launched from
Vandenberg AFB by the Western Launch Operations Division, a division of ULO.
Henry Van Goey has been the WLOD Chief since 1966.
Edward Bonnett
Manager since 1966.

has been the McDonnell

STRAIGHT -EIGHT DELTA

Douglas

Delta

Program

STATISTICS

The Delta launch vehicle project is urLder technical management of the Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.
McDonnell
Douglas Astronautics Co., Huntington Beach, Calif., is the prime
contractor.
The three-stage Delta has the following general
characteris tics :

-more-

KSC -8-74
page 4

35.4 meters (116 feet)

Height:

(includes

Maximum

Diameter:

2.4 meters (8 feet)

attached solids)

Lift-off

weight:

106,000

kilograms

Lift-off

thrust:

361,000
solids)

pounds

shroud)

(without

(about 116 tons)

(includes

strap-on

First Sta_e (liquid only): .Extended long tank Thor produced by

Mcbonneli Douglas Astronautlcs Co., engines produced by Rocketdyne
Division of Rockwell International.
Diameter:
HeiKht:

2.4 meters
21.3 meters

(8 feet)
(70 feet)

Propellants:
RJ-I kerosene is used as the fuel and liquid
liquid oxygen (LC_) is utilized as the oxidizer.
Thrust:
Burnin_

205,000 Pounds
Time:

_:
strap-on

Height:

Three
Corp.

84,700

6.0 meters

(93 tons) excluding

rockets

produced

by the

(31 inches)
(19.8 feet)

13,410 kilograms
4,470 kilograms

693,950 Newtons
231,317 Newtons

Burnin_ Time :

kilograms

solid propellant

0.8 meters

Total Weight:

Thrust:
....

3 minutes and 48 seconds

Approximately
solids.

Strap-on Solids:
Thrio_6i- Chemical
Diameter:

About

(912,000 Newtons)

(29,568 pounds)
(9,850 pounds each)

4156,000 pounds total for three)

(52,000 po_Ids each)

38 seconds

Second Sta_e:
Produced by McDonnell Douglas Astronautics Co.,
utilizing an Aerojet General Corporation AJ-10-118F rocket engine;
major contractors for the vehicle inertial guidance system
located on the second stage are Hamilton-Standard
and Teledyne.
Propellants:
Liquid--Aerozene
50 for the fuel and Nitrogen
Tetroxide (N204) for the oxidizer.
-more -

KSC -8-74
page 5
Diameter:
1.5 meters
a t tached ring.
Height:

5.2 meters

Weight:

6210 kilograms

Thrust:

About

Total

Burnin_

Third Stage:

Time:

Height:

I meter

TE-364-4

motor

(4 1/2 feet)
(3 feet)

Thrust=

42,300 newtons
T i_e"
DELTA

4
5
6
7
8
9
i0
ii
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22

Co.

Solid

722 kilograms

DELTA NO_

(9500 pounds)

335 seconds

_:

Burnin_

(6.8 tons)

Chemical

1.83 meter

Diameter:

(8 feet)

(21 feet)

42,300 Newtons

Thiokol

Propellants :

I
2

(5 feet) plus 2.4 meters

(1592 pounds)
(9500 pounds)

44 seconds
LAUNCH

VEHICLE

PAYLOAD

WEIGHT
(LBS.)
ECHO
180
ECHO IA
182
TIROS A2
277
EXPL-X (P-14)
79
TIROS A3
285
EXPL-XII (S-3)
84
TIROS 4
285
PSP ! CS-16)
458
ARIEL _S-51UKI)
136
TIROS 5 (F)
286
TELSTAR i (TSXI)
171
TIROS 6 (F)
280
EXPL XIV (S-3A)
86
EXPL XV (S-3B)
98
RELAY A-15
170
SYNCOM A-25
146
EXPL XVll (S-6)
410
TELSTAR 2 (TSX2)
176
TIROS 7 (G)
296
SYNCOM B (A-26)
147
EXPL XVlII (IMP A) 138
TIROS 8 (H)
265
-more-

HISTORY
LAUNCH
DATE
051360
081260
112360
032561
071261
081561
020862
030762
042662
061962
071062
091862
100262
102762
121362
021463
040263
050763
061963
072663
112663
122163

PAD

VEHICLE

17A
17A
17A
17A
17A
17A
17A
17A
17A
17A
17A
17A
17B
17B
17A
17B
17A
17B
17B
17A
17B
17B

DM-19
DM-19
DM-19
DM-19
DM-19
DM-19
DM-19
DM-19
DM-19
DM-19
DM-19
DM-19
DSV-3A
DSV-3A
DSV-3B
DSV-3B
DSV-3B
DSV-3B
DSV-3B
DSV-3B
DSV-3C
DSV-3B

KSC -8-74
page 6
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64

RELAY II (A-16)
184
S -66
132
SYNC OM C
145
IMP B
135
S 3C
i01
TIROS I (EYE)
301
OSO B2
547
COMSAT HS 303A
149
IMP C
128
TIROS OT I
280
OSO C
625
GEOS A
387
PI C_qEER A
146
OT 3
304
OT 2
286
AE B
492
IMP D
212
PIONEER B
138
T0S A
316
INTELSAT II A (F-I)355
BIOS A
950
INTELSAT Ii B (F-2)357
TOS B
285
OSO E1
600
INTELSAT II C(F-3) 365
TOS C
327
IMP F
163
AIMP E
230
BIOS -B
955
INTELSAT II D(F-4) 357
OSO-D
605
TOS-D
299
PIONEER C
146
GEOS B
469
RAE-A
602
TOS-E
347
INTELSAT III A (F-I) 641
PIONEER D
147
HEOS A
237
TOS-APT F
297
INTELSAT III C (F-2) 642
OSO-F
645

65

ISIS A

66
67
68
69
70

INTELSATIIl B(F-3)642
TOS G
347
INTELSATIIl D(F-4)647
IMP G
175
BIOS D
1546

532

-more-

012164
031964
081964
100364
122164
012265
020365
040665
052965
070165
082565
110665
121665
020366
022866
052566
070166
081766
100266
102666
121466
011167
012667
030867
032267
042067
052467
071967
090767
092767
101867
111067
121367
011168
070468
081668
091868
110868
120568
121568
121868
012269

17B
17A
17A
17A
17A
17A
17B
17A
17B
17B
17B
17A
17A
17A
17B
17B
17A
17A
SLC2E
17B
17A
17B
SLC2E
17A
17B
SLC2E
SLC2E
17B
17B
17B
17B
SLC -2E
17B
SLC-2E
SLC-2E
SLC-2E
17A
17B
17B
SLC-2E
17A
17B

DSV-3B
DSV-3B
DSV-3D
DSV-3C
DSV-3C
DSV-3C
DSV -3C
DSV-3D
DSV-3C
DSV-3C
DSV-3C
DSV-3E
DSV-3E
DSV-3C
DSV-3E
DSV-3CI
DSV-3E I
DSV-3EI
DSV-3E
DSV-3EI
DSV-_ i
DSV-FEI
DSV-3E
DSV-3C
DSV-3EI
DSV-3E
DSV-3EI
DSV-3E i
DSV-3G
DSV-3EI
DSV-3CI
DSV-3EI
DSV-3E i
DSV-3EI
DSV-3J
Delta-N
Delta-M
DSV-3E I
DSV-3E i
Delta-N
Delta-M
DSV-3CI

013069

SLC-2E DSV-3EI

020569
022669
052169
062169
062869

17A
Delta M
17B
DSV-3E1
17A
Delta-M
SLC-2WDSV-3EI
17A
Delta-N

71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99

INTELSAT III E (F-5) 647

OSO-G
647
PIONEER-E
148
SKYNET A
535
INTELSAT III F(F-6)647
TIROS M
682

072569
080969
082769
112269
011470
012370

17A
Delta-M
17A
Delta-N
17A
Delta-L
17A
Delta-M
17A
Delta-M
SLC-2W Delta-N6

NATO A
535
INTELSAT III G(F-7)647
INTELSAT III H(F-8)647
SKYNET B
535
ITOS-A
680
NATO-B
533
IMP-1
635
ISIS-B
570
OSO-H
1416
ITOS-B
687
HEOS A2
260
TD IA
1043
ERTS A
2070
IMP H
860
!TOS-D
742

032070
042270
072370
081970
121170
020271
031371
040171
092971
102171
013172
031272
072372

17A
Delta-M
17A
Delta-M
17A
Delta-M
17A
Delta-M
SLC-2W Delta-N6
17A
Delta-3L-ll
17A
Delta-3L-ll
SLC-2E Delta-3El
17A
Delta-N
SLC-2E Delta-N6
SLC-2E Delta-L
SLC-2E Delta-N
SLC-2W Delta-0900

092372
101572
111072

17B
Delta-1604
SLC-2W Delta-0300
17B
Delta-1914

1574

121172

SLC-2W Delta-0900

1238

042073

17B

734
747
876
746
1494

061073
071673
102673
110673
121673

17B
Delta-1913
SLC-2W Delta-0300
17B
Delta-1600
SLC-2W Delta-0300
SLC-2W Delta-1900

TE!_SAT

N!MBL_ Y
T_LESAT B
P#_Z
-B
ITOS=E
I__
_J
iTOS-F
AE -C

1238

Delta-1914

NASA/KSC

JAN/74-