[QuadList] NASA Lunar Tape restoration--LOIRP--More from LA Times today

Sun Mar 22 12:18:22 CDT 2009

great article but one  omission in the mentioned time line of lunar  
exploration....  The Hughes built Surveyor space craft that soft landed on  the moon 
and  did photos. and  the Russian Luna 9  (E-6 series), also known as Lunik 9

here is some info from wiki...  some  good tech specs of camera  to get you 
started..

I have a couple failed cable assemblies and a bad connector that was  
imbedded and   sawed and inspected from the Surveyor  project.

I saw it built. I touched it though a glove..   I my brother and  I hung out 
with the Hughes crew that  watched as  many of these   birds were shipped to 
the cape from  LAX

It was a great time to be a kid growing up!

Ed Sharpe Archivist for SMECC
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Surveyor 1 was the first lunar _lander_ 
(http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Lander_(spacecraft))   
Lander (spacecraft)

A lander is a  type of spacecraft which descends to come to rest on the 
surface of an  astronomical body....
in the _American_ (http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/United_States)   
United States

The United States of  America, also known as the United States, the U.S., the 
 U.S.A., and America, is a country in North  America....
_Surveyor program_ (http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Surveyor_program) 

Surveyor program

The Surveyor  Program comprised unmanned spaceflights to the Moon, with soft 
landings,  without returning....
that explored the _Moon_ (http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Moon)   
Moon

The Moon is Earth's only  natural satellite. It has no formal English 
language name other than "the Moon",  although it is occasionally called Luna , or 
Selene , to  distinguish it from the generic term "moon" ....
. The program was  managed by the _NASA_ 
(http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/NASA)   
NASA

The National Aeronautics and Space  Administration is an agency of the United 
States Government, responsible for  the nation's public space program....
_Jet Propulsion Laboratory_ 
(http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Jet_Propulsion_Laboratory)   
Jet Propulsion Laboratory

The NASA Jet  Propulsion Laboratory , in Pasadena, California and La Caada 
Flintridge,  California, near Los Angeles, California, USA, builds and operates 
unmanned  spacecraft for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration  
....
, utilizing spacecraft designed and built by _Hughes Aircraft_ 
(http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Hughes_Aircraft)   
Hughes Aircraft

Hughes Aircraft  Company was a major defense/aerospace company founded by 
Howard Hughes. The  group was based near Ballona Creek, in Culver City, 
California, California,  United States, on the West Coast of the United States....
.  
    *   Launched May 30, 1966; landed June 2, 1966  
    *   Weight on landing: 596 lb (270 kg) 

A total 11,237 images  were transmitted to Earth.

The successful soft landing in the Ocean of  Storms was the first ever by the 
U.S. on an extraterrestrial body, and came  just four months after the 
landing of the Soviet _Luna  9_ (http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Luna_9)   
Luna 9

Luna 9, also known as  Lunik 9, was an unmanned space mission of the Soviet 
Union's Luna  program....
mission.

Mission description 
The Surveyor spacecraft was designed to attain the  engineering objectives of 
the Surveyor program, which included the first lunar  soft landing by an 
American spacecraft. No instrumentation was carried  specifically for scientific 
experiments, but considerable scientific information  was obtained. The 
spacecraft carried two television cameras - one for approach,  which was not used, 
and one for operations on the lunar surface. Over 100  engineering sensors were 
on board. The television system transmitted pictures of  the spacecraft 
footpad and surrounding lunar terrain and surface materials. The  spacecraft also 
acquired data on the radar reflectivity of the lunar surface,  bearing strength 
of the lunar surface, and spacecraft temperatures for use in  the analysis of 
the lunar surface temperatures.

The spacecraft was  launched May 30, 1966, directly into a lunar impact 
trajectory. Engines were  turned off at a height of 3.4 m above the lunar surface. 
The spacecraft fell  freely from this height, landing on the lunar surface on 
June 2, 1966, in  Oceanus Procellarum - 2.45 deg s latitude, 43.22 deg w 
longitude (_selenographic coordinates_ 
(http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Selenographic_coordinates)   
Selenographic coordinates

Selenographic  coordinates are used to refer to locations on the surface of 
Earth's moon.  Any position on the lunar surface can be referenced by 
specifying two numerical  values, which are comparable to the latitude and longitude of 
 Earth....
). The spacecraft transmitted data from shortly after  touchdown until July 
14, 1966, with an interval of no operation during lunar  night (June 14 to July 
7, 1966). Engineering interrogations continued until  January 7, 1967.

Science instruments 

Television 

The TV camera consisted of a vidicon tube, 25 and  100 mm focal length 
lenses, shutter, filters, and iris mounted along an axis  inclined approximately 16 
deg to the central axis of the spacecraft. The camera  was mounted under a 
mirror that could be moved in azimuth and elevation. Camera  operation was 
totally dependent upon the receipt of the proper command structure  from earth. 
Frame by frame coverage of the lunar surface was obtained over 360  deg in azimuth 
and from +40 deg above the plane normal to the camera Z axis to  -65 deg 
below this plane. Both 600 line and 200 line modes of operation were  used. The 
200 line mode transmitted over an omnidirectional antenna for the  first 14 
photos and scanned one frame every 61.8 seconds. The remaining  transmissions were 
of 600 line pictures over a directional antenna, and each  frame was scanned 
every 3.6 seconds. Each 200 line picture required 20 seconds  for a complete 
video transmission and utilized a bandwidth of 1.2 kHz. Each 600  line picture 
required nominally 1 second to be read from the vidicon and  required a 220 
kHz bandwidth for transmission. The data transmissions were  converted to a 
standard television signal for closed circuit and public  broadcast television. 
The television images were displayed on earth on a slow  scan monitor coated 
with a long persistency phosphor. The persistency was  selected to optimally 
match the nominal maximum frame rate. One frame of TV  identification was received 
for each incoming TV frame and was displayed in real  time at a rate 
compatible with the incoming image. These data were recorded on a  video magnetic tape 
recorder. Over 10,000 pictures were taken by the Surveyor 1  camera before 
lunar sunset on June 14, 1966. Included were wide and narrow angle  panoramas, 
focus ranging surveys, photometric surveys, special area surveys, and  
celestial photography. The spacecraft responded to commands to activate the  camera on 
July 7 and, by July 14, 1966, returned nearly another 1000  frames.

Strain gauge 
Strain gauges were mounted on each leg shock absorber to  record the peak 
axial forces at landing impact of the spacecraft. They were  designed to accept a 
force of approximately 800 _kgf_ 
(http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Kilogram-force)   
Kilogram-force

The deprecated unit  kilogram-force or kilopond is defined as the force 
exerted by one  kilogram of mass in standard Earth gravity....
(7.8 kN).

See also

    *   _Luna  9_ (http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Luna_9)   
Luna 9

Luna 9, also known as  Lunik 9, was an unmanned space mission of the Soviet 
Union's Luna  program....
- First successful lander (Soviet Union) 

External links 

    *   _Surveyor Program Results (PDF) 1969_ 
(http://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/19690027073_1969027073.pdf)   
    *   _Surveyor I - A Preliminary Report - June 1, 1966  (PDF)_ 
(http://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/19660020191_1966020191.pdf)   
    *   _Surveyor I mission report. Part II - Scientific data and results  - 
Sep 1966 (PDF)_ 
(http://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/19670000738_1967000738.pdf)  

Luna 9 (E-6 series), also known as Lunik 9  (internal name E-6 N. 13), was an 
_unmanned space mission_ 
(http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Unmanned_space_mission)   
Unmanned space mission

Unmanned space  missions are space missions using remote-controlled 
spacecraft. The first  unmanned space mission was Sputnik I, launched October 4, 1957 
to orbit  the Earth....
of the _Soviet Union_ (http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Soviet_Union)  

Soviet Union

The Union of Soviet  Socialist Republics , more commonly known as the Soviet 
Union, was a  Communist state that existed in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991....
's Luna  program. On February 3, 1966 the Luna 9 spacecraft was the first 
spacecraft to  achieve a _lunar_ (http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Moon)   
Moon

The Moon is Earth's only  natural satellite. It has no formal English 
language name other than "the Moon",  although it is occasionally called Luna , or 
Selene , to  distinguish it from the generic term "moon" ....
soft  landing and to transmit photographic data to _Earth_ 
(http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Earth)   
Earth

Earth is the third planet in  the solar system in terms of distance from the 
Sun, and the fifth  largest....
.

The automatic lunar station that achieved the  soft landing weighed 99 _kg_ 
(http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Kilogram)   
Kilogram

The kilogram or  kilogramme, is the SI base unit of mass. It is defined as 
being equal to  the mass of the international prototype of the kilogram....
. It was a  _hermetically sealed_ 
(http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Hermetic_seal)   
Hermetic seal

A hermetic seal is an  airtight seal. For example, tins and cans are 
hermetically sealed. The term is  often used to describe electronic parts that are 
designed and intended to secure  against the entry of microorganisms and to 
maintain the  safe...
container with radio equipment, a program timing device,  heat control 
systems, scientific apparatus, power sources, and a television  system. The Luna 9 
payload was carried to Earth orbit by an A-2-E vehicle and  then conveyed 
toward the _Moon_ (http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Moon)   
Moon

The Moon is Earth's only  natural satellite. It has no formal English 
language name other than "the Moon",  although it is occasionally called Luna , or 
Selene , to  distinguish it from the generic term "moon" ....
by a fourth  stage rocket that separated itself from the payload. Flight 
apparatus separated  from the payload shortly before Luna 9 landed.

After landing in the _Oceanus Procellarum_ 
(http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Oceanus_Procellarum)   
Oceanus Procellarum

Oceanus  Procellarum, Latin for "Ocean of Storms", is a vast lunar mare on 
the  western edge of the near side of Earth's Moon....
on February 3,  1966, the four petals, which formed the spacecraft, opened 
outward and  stabilized the spacecraft on the lunar surface. Spring-controlled 
antennas  assumed operating positions, and the television camera rotating 
mirror system,  which operated by revolving and tilting, began a photographic 
survey of the  lunar environment. Seven radio sessions, totaling 8 hours and 5 
minutes, were  transmitted as were three series of TV pictures.  

When  assembled, the photographs provided a panoramic view of the nearby 
lunar  surface. The pictures included views of nearby rocks and of the horizon 1.4 
 km away from the spacecraft.

For unknown reasons, the pictures from  Luna 9 were not released immediately 
by the Soviet authorities. Instead, the  Jodrell Bank Observatory, which was 
monitoring the craft, noticed that the  signal format used was identical to the 
internationally-agreed system used by  newspapers for transmitting pictures. 
The _Daily Express_ (http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Daily_Express)   
Daily Express

The Daily  Express is a conservative, middle-market United Kingdom tabloid  
newspaper. It is the flagship title of Express Newspapers and is currently 
owned  by Richard Desmond....
rushed a suitable receiver to the  Observatory and the pictures from Luna 9 
were decoded and published world-wide.  The BBC reports speculation that the 
spacecraft's designers deliberately fitted  the probe with equipment that 
conformed to the standard, specifically to enable  reception of the pictures by 
Jodrell Bank.

With this mission, the Soviets  accomplished another spectacular first in the 
space race, the first survivable  landing of a humanmade object on another 
celestial body. Luna 9 was the twelfth  attempt at a soft-landing by the 
Soviets; it was also the first deep space probe  built by the _Lavochkin_ 
(http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/NPO_Lavochkin)   
NPO Lavochkin

NPO Lavochkin is a  Russian satellite manufacturer formerly also active in aer
onautical design and  engineering....
design bureau, which ultimately would design and  build almost all Soviet 
(and Russian) lunar and interplanetary spacecraft. All  operations prior to 
landing occurred without fault, and the 58-centimeter  spheroid ALS capsule landed 
on the Moon at 18:45:30 UT on 3 February 1966 west  of the Reiner and Marius 
craters in the Ocean of Storms (at 7°8' north latitude  and 64°22' west 
longitude). Approximately 5 minutes after touchdown, Luna 9  began transmitting data 
to Earth, but it was 7 hours (after the Sun climbed to  7° elevation) before 
the probe began sending the first of nine images (including  five panoramas) of 
the surface of the Moon.

These were the first images  sent from the surface of another planetary body. 
The radiation detector, the  only scientific instrument on board, measured a 
dosage of 30 millirads (0.3 _milligrays_ 
(http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Gray_(unit))   
Gray (unit)

The gray is the SI unit  of absorbed dose....
) per day . Perhaps the most important discovery  of the mission was 
determining that a foreign object would not simply sink into  the lunar dust, that is, 
that the ground could support a heavy lander. Last  contact with the 
spacecraft was at 22:55 UT on 6 February 1966.

    *   Launch date/time: 1966-01-31 at 11:45:00 UTC  
    *   In-orbit dry mass: 1580 kg 

This Sunday...

Read more about what member Dennis Wingo and Ken Zin have been up  to:

_http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-lunar22-2009mar22,0,9314
31.story?page=1_ 
(http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-lunar22-2009mar22,0,931431.story?page=1) 

Ted

Ted  Langdell
Secretary
Skype:  TedLangdell
e-mail: _ted at quadvideotapegroup.com_ (mailto:ted at quadvideotapegroup.com) 

**************Feeling the pinch at the grocery store?  Make dinner for $10 or 
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