Saturn monthly progress report, december 16, 1963 - january 16, 1964
Saturn I launch vehicle, Saturn IB launch vehicle, and Saturn V launch vehicle components and configuration
SATURN V LAUNCH VEHICLE↗
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Saturn systems holddown acoustic efficiency and normalized acoustic power spectrum.
Saturn systems field acoustic data are used to derive mid- and far-field prediction parameters for rocket engine noise. The data were obtained during Saturn vehicle launches at the Kennedy Space Center. The data base is a sorted set of acoustic data measured during the period 1961 through 1971 for Saturn system launches SA-1 through AS-509. The model assumes hemispherical radiation from a simple source located at the intersection of the longitudinal axis of each booster and the engine exit plane. The model parameters are evaluated only during vehicle holddown. The acoustic normalized power spectrum and efficiency for each system are isolated as a composite from the data using linear numerical methods. The specific definitions of each allows separation. The resulting power spectra are nondimensionalized as a function of rocket engine parameters. The nondimensional Saturn system acoustic spectrum and efficiencies are compared as a function of Strouhal number with power spectra from other systems.
Gilbert, D. W.↗
Near-infrared spectra of Jupiter, Saturn, and Uranus
Near infrared spectra of Jupiter, Saturn, and Uranus were measured at resolutions higher than previously available in the range from 6,000 to 10,750/cm. The resolution was 0.5/cm for Jupiter and Saturn, and 32/cm for Uranus. The spectra are presented both individually and as ratio spectra, in which the planetary spectra are divided by the solar spectrum. The Uranus spectrum is shown with Saturn, Jupiter, and Sun spectra reduced to the same resolution so that Uranus can be compared with the other outer planets. The high resolution Saturn, Jupiter, and Sun spectra are presented in parallel plots to simplify comparisons between them.
Potter, A. E.↗
Trajectory design for Saturn orbiter missions in the mid 1980s
The special orbital techniques recently developed for Jupiter orbiter mission were studied for application to a Saturn orbiter mission. The direct opportunities from 1985 through 1990 are compared, and the 1985 opportunity is discussed in detail as an example. The impact of various Shuttle upper stages is considered. Gravity-assisted interplanetary flights can more than double payloads delivered to a Saturn orbit at a cost of about two years of flight time. The uncertainty of the particle environment near Saturn's rings and the desire to use Titan for gravity assistance to decrease orbital period prompted the study of several orbit-insertion schemes. Titan gravity assistance is more powerful than that of Jupiter's satellites. Titan can save 700 m/s of velocity change during orbit insertion if a high periapsis is necessary. Titan can be used to maneuver the line of apsides and orbital inclination to explore Saturn, its environment, and Titan itself at various solar phase angles and to set up occultations.
Roberts, P. H., Jr.↗
Encounter strategies available for the first mission to Saturn
The Pioneer 11 spacecraft completed a highly successful flyby of the planet Jupiter on Dec. 3, 1974. The flyby was chosen such that the post-Jupiter flight path would encounter Saturn. Only trajectory trim adjustments remain to be made to achieve the desired Saturn flyby aim point. The present course of Pioneer 11 will come within 1.7 million kilometers of Saturn and maneuver capabilities allow many flyby strategies to be considered. These strategies consider planet and ring viewing, occultation characteristics, satellite encounters, and flight path hazards. The post-Saturn fligh path possibilities, disregarding spacecraft limitations, also include encounters of Jupiter, Uranus, Neptune, and 33 different comets. This paper presents these opportunities in light of the spacecraft and tracking limitations for encounter strategy selection.
Helton, M. R.↗
Holddown arm release mechanism used on Saturn vehicles
With the development of the Saturn launch vehicle, it became mandatory to develop a system for restraining the vehicle until after all checks and engine thrust buildup were completed. The basic Saturn I holddown arm constrains the vehicle by clamping it between a fixed support and a movable jaw. The jaw is on a link pinned to rotate sufficiently to release the vehicle. There are three links in the jaw (restraining) system arranged so that with a small force provided by a pneumatic separator mechanism, the large loads of the vehicle can be restrained. Design details discussed are the link system, the separator, adjustments, and the energy absorber. The function of preloading is discussed. The secondary release system is described. Finally, the design differences between the Saturn I and the Saturn V arm are described.
Phillips, J. D.↗
Voyager radio occultation investigations at Saturn
Voyager will use dual-frequency 3.5 and 13 cm wavelength radio occultation techniques to study the atmospheres and ionospheres of Saturn and Titan, and the rings of Saturn. At Titan radio occultation is predicted to probe the atmosphere to the surface. The existence of a surface could be confirmed by detection of an obliquely scattered echo. At Saturn the two Voyager encounters will provide occultation measurements of temperate and equatorial regions of the atmosphere and ionosphere, and of the rings. The atmosphere will also be probed in polar regions during the deepest portions of the occultation. Both frequency and intensity data will be collected and jointly analyzed to study temperature-pressure profiles, and to derive information on atmospheric shape, turbulence, and weather. For the rings, Voyager will provide measurements of the complex (amplitude and phase) radio extinction and angular scattering functions of the ring particles as a function of wavelength, polarization, and radial distance from Saturn.
Tyler, G. L.↗
Conclusions and recommendations: Exploration of the Saturn system
Saturn missions have the following principal goals, in order of importance: (1) Intensive investigation of the atmosphere of Saturn; (2) determination of regional surface chemistry and properties of the surface features of satellites and properties of ring particles; (3) intensive investigation of Titan; and (4) atmospheric dynamics and structure of Saturn satellites and Saturn rings.
Hunten, D. M.↗
Imaging photopolarimeter on Pioneer Saturn
Results of Pioneer 11 imaging photopolarimeter observations of Saturn, its rings, and Titan are presented. The imaging photopolarimeter is a pointable telescope with an aperture of 2.5 cm and passbands of 390 to 500 to 720 nm which uses the spin of the spacecraft to scan across an object. Images of the Saturn system and of the rings are presented, and the absence of a D ring, structures in the C, B and A rings and the Cassini division and the discoveries of the F ring and the provisionally named Pioneer division separating it from the A ring are reported. A mean particle size less than 15 meters is estimated from estimates of total ring mass and the optical depth of the B ring. The discovery of the satellite 1979 S 1 at 2.53 Saturn radii is also noted. Models of the vertical aerosol structure of Saturn's atmosphere are compared with the polarization data, and it is indicated that the density of cloud particles decreases with altitude with a scale height about one fourth that of the gas, and that an optical depth of one is to be found at 750 mbar.
Gehrels, T.↗
Preliminary science results of Voyager 1 Saturn encounter
Preliminary science results of the Voyager 1 encounter of the planet Saturn are reported. On August 22, 1980, the spacecraft was 109 million km (68 million mi) from Saturn. Closest approach to Saturn took place on November 12, at 3:46 p.m. (PDT), when the spacecraft passed 126,000 km (78,000 mi) from the cloud tops. Measurements of the atmosphere, wind speed, radiation, six surrounding rings, and the planet's old and newly found satellites were recorded. The encounter ended December 15, 1980. The spacecraft took more than 17,500 photographs of Saturn and its satellites.
Bane, D.↗
Voyager 2 to make closest encounter with Saturn in August
The planned Voyager 2 Saturn mission is described. Information about Saturn obtained from the Voyager 1 encounter is summarized. Data on the satellites and rings of Saturn are tabulated. The video programming schedule for the Voyager 2 Saturn encounter is given. The Voyager science team is listed.
Source record↗
A model of Saturn's seasonal stratosphere at the time of the Voyager encounters
A polar-equatorial climate model by Cess and Cladwell (1979) is extended to all latitudes of Saturn. Modifications for solar absorption within the stratosphere are made in the extension to intermediate latitudes. The latitudinally and temporally variable effects of sunlight absorption by the rings of Saturn are included in the model. Temperature-latitude profiles for several levels within the Saturn stratosphere are presented for January 1981, which should be directly comparable with Saturn Voyager observations in November 1980 and August 1981. Temperature-pressure profiles for latitudes +30 degrees and -25 degrees are provided, which correspond to the planned points at which radio equipment aboard Voyager II will produce occultation observations.
Carlson, B. E.↗
The magnetic field of Saturn - Further studies of the Pioneer 11 observations
Analysis of magnetic field observations by the Goddard Space Flight Center high-field flux gate magnetometer on the Pioneer 11 spacecraft during Saturn encounter yields estimates of the planetary field. The field is mainly dipolar but rather weaker than expected, with a moment equal to 0.20 G cubic Saturn radii or 4.3 x 10 to the 28th G cu cm, opposite in polarity to earth's. Surprisingly, the field appears to be axially symmetric but with a small (0.04 Saturn radii) offset to the north so that N (S) polar field intensities are 0.6 (0.4) G, respectively. The deduced polar offset appears not to be an artifact of the limited spatial extent of the observations or the presence of fields of external origin. The average stand-off distance of the magnetopause is expected to be 20 Saturn radii, i.e., at the orbit of Titan, so that this largest of solar system satellites is immersed not only in the Saturnian magnetosphere but also at times in its magnetosheath and sometimes even in the interplanetary medium.
Acuna, M. H.↗
If you've seen one magnetosphere, you haven't seen them all - Energetic particle observations in the Saturn magnetosphere
The present paper deals with a study of Saturn's magnetosphere, using data of the Pioneer 11 Cosmic ray experiment. At the orbit of Saturn, the nominal energy density of the interplanetary magnetic field and of the solar wind has decreased by 2 orders of magnitude over their value at 1 AU. The Pioneer inbound trajectory near the noon meridian and the outbound trajectory toward the dawn meridian reveal a magnetosphere which is in many aspects similar to that of the earth, but has important differences due to the imprint of Saturn's moons and rings. The magnetotail and polar regions were not observed. However, the presence of solar cosmic rays offers strong evidence for an open magnetotail configuration. The detection of energetic particles at Saturn means that 4 of the 6 planets inside 10 AU possess stable magnetospheres.
Mcdonald, F. B.↗
Extreme ultraviolet observations from Voyager 1 encounter with Saturn
Hydrogen Lyman-alpha, helium and molecular hydrogen band ultraviolet emissions from Saturn and the Titan atmosphere are considered. The Saturn H2 band excitation mechanism, while qualitatively similar to that of Jupiter, is closely related to the solar flux. The occurrence of auroras at 80 deg latitude suggests an earth-like magnetotail activity. No ion emissions have been detected from the Saturn magnetosphere. Although nitrogen emissions excited by particles have been detected in the Titan dayglow and bright limb scans, no such emission has been detected from its dark atmosphere. Enhancement of the nitrogen emission is observed in the region of interaction between Saturn's corotating plasmasphere and the Titan atmosphere.
Broadfoot, A. L.↗
Energetic charged particles in Saturn's magnetosphere - Voyager 1 results
Voyager 1 provided the first look at Saturn's magnetotail and magnetosphere during relatively quiet interplanetary conditions. This report discusses the energetic particle populations of the outer magnetosphere of Saturn and absorption features associated with Titan and Rhea, and compares these observations with Pioneer 11 data of a year earlier. The trapped proton fluxes had soft spectra, represented by power laws in kinetic energy with an exponent of 7 in the outer magnetosphere and 9 in the magnetotail. Structure associated with the magnetotail was observed as close as 10 Saturn radii on the outbound trajectory. The proton and electron fluxes in the outer magnetosphere and in the magnetotail were variable and appeared to respond to changes in interplanetary conditions. Protons with energies greater than or approximately equal to 2 MeV had free access to the magnetosphere from interplanetary space and were not stably trapped outside about 7.5 Saturn radii.
Vogt, R. E.↗
High-spectral-resolution imagery of Saturn
High-spectral-resolution images of Saturn over the wavelengths of the 6196.8-A feature of CH4 were obtained and used to extract line profiles for the observed feature over the disk of Saturn and to determine the spatial variation of the equivalent width at the time of the observations. The result of the observations is consistent only with a single class of models for the vertical structure of the atmosphere of Saturn, namely, the homogeneous scattering models. Reflecting-layer or two-layer models are at a striking variance with the observations. With these data, the requirements for new observations to determine the finer details of the vertical structure of Saturn's atmosphere can be specified.
Smith, W. H.↗
Saturn's ring current and inner magnetosphere
The Voyager 1 magnetic field observations at Saturn are shown in a graph. The departure of the oberved magnetic field from the field of a dipole is considered. The observed field magnitude is appreciable less than that of the model dipole at small radial distances and greater than the model dipole in the more distant magnetosphere. These characteristics can be understood by introducing a model current system similar to a system originally applied to observations of the Jovian magnetic disk. Saturn's ring current has important implications for charged-particle motion in Saturn's magnetosphere, particularly the absorption of trapped radiation by its many satellites and rings. The absorption signature observed by the Voyager 1 cosmic ray experiment near the orbital position of Rhea illustrates well the effects of Saturn's ring current on charged particle trajectories.
Connerney, J. E. P.↗