Location
Cocoa Beach, FL
Start Date
7-3-1966 8:00 AM
Description
The current series of Titan III R and D flights includes missions of considerable complexity. The mission profiles are designed to take full advantage of the combination of the Titan IIIC vehicle configuration and of the accuracy and flexibility provided by the AC Electronics Guidance and Navigation (G & N) System.
The fact that the Titan IIIC is capable of completing a synchronous equatorial mission from an ETR launch implies that a lunar impact mission could be flown with a payload having two to three times the synchronous payload weight. This paper discusses the changes which would be required in the present Titan III guidance hardware and software to perform a certain class of lunar missions. The changes considered are those that require minimum modification of the existing Operating Ground Equipment (OGE), Missile Guidance Computer (MGC) ground programs, and MGC flight equations.
The accuracy of the G & N System is of interest to the payload user, since any decrease in the midcourse correction requirements can immediately be translated into an increase in useful payload weight. One of the primary considerations in the discussion of system modifications is that of minimizing system errors. The propagation of system errors and the lunar impact sensitivity coefficients are treated in some detail.
Application of Titan III Guidance and Navigation System to Lunar Missions
Cocoa Beach, FL
The current series of Titan III R and D flights includes missions of considerable complexity. The mission profiles are designed to take full advantage of the combination of the Titan IIIC vehicle configuration and of the accuracy and flexibility provided by the AC Electronics Guidance and Navigation (G & N) System.
The fact that the Titan IIIC is capable of completing a synchronous equatorial mission from an ETR launch implies that a lunar impact mission could be flown with a payload having two to three times the synchronous payload weight. This paper discusses the changes which would be required in the present Titan III guidance hardware and software to perform a certain class of lunar missions. The changes considered are those that require minimum modification of the existing Operating Ground Equipment (OGE), Missile Guidance Computer (MGC) ground programs, and MGC flight equations.
The accuracy of the G & N System is of interest to the payload user, since any decrease in the midcourse correction requirements can immediately be translated into an increase in useful payload weight. One of the primary considerations in the discussion of system modifications is that of minimizing system errors. The propagation of system errors and the lunar impact sensitivity coefficients are treated in some detail.
