ionosphere beacon satellite s-66 press kit
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N EVWS R E L E A S ENATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION
400 MARYLAND AVENUE, SW, WASHINGTON 25, D.C.TELEPHONES: WORTH 2-4155-WORTH 3- 1110
FOR RELEASE: SUNDAYAugust 4, 1963
RELEASE NO: 63-157
NASA TO LAUNCH POLAR IONOSPHERE BEACON SATELLITE
(s-66)
Th e National Aeronautics an d Space Administration will
soon attempt to launch from the Pacific Missile Range,
an Ionosphere Beacon Satelli te (S-66) into circular polar
orbit. Designed to make global measurements of th e
ionosphere, the scientific satellite is scheduled fo r
launch aboard a Scout vehicle no sooner than
August 15.
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Th e Ionosphere Beacon Satellite's primary objective
is to conduct measurements which will make it possible for
scientists to plot th e form an d structure of the ionos-
phere an d to describe it s behavior under varying condi-
tions of solar activity, season an d time of day.
It is the ionosphere, a region of electrically
charged gases beginning about 35 miles above th e surface
of th e Earth, which makes it possible fo r man to bounce
radio signals from continent to continent.
'n addition to th e major ionosphere experiment a
LASER test, will be attempted by means of glass-like
reflectors attached to th e spacecraft. This will be th e
first time LASER experiments have been conducted on a space-
borne satellite and chances of initial success ar e marginal.
While th e radio beacon experiment is only on e of a
number of ionosphere satellite experiments conducted by
NASA, it is significant in that th e simplicity of read-out
equipment needed (antenna, radio receiver, timing device,
an d a recorder) to gain satel l i te information will permit
scientists al l over th e world to participate in th e
experiment. To date, over 40 foreign and domestic experi-
menters have volunteered to take part in this program.
This represents th e largest cooperative group ever to take
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a direct part in a NASA space satelli te experiment. More
importantly, it provides a worldwide scientific satellite
read-out team contributing toward a long sought goal:
to make a global survey of th e Earth's ionosphere.
Such a survey of the ionosphere will be as impor-
tant to predicting communications frequency variations
and blackouts as are the Tiros weather satelli te photo-
graphs of global cloud cover in predicting the weather,
because th e ionosphere changes just as rapidly as does
the Earth's weather.
NASA will attempt to place th e satelli te into a
near circular polar orbit, inclined 800 to the equator,
at an alti tude of about 600 miles. In this type of orbit,
th e Earth will rotate under th e satelli te thus permitting
th e satelli te to view each area of the Earth's ionosphere
every 24 hours. NASA will inform experimenters of the
times when the satelli te is expected to be within range
of their stations. Instruments ca n then be turned on
to record how certain radio emissions from the satellite
change as they pass through the ionosphere.
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By studying these changes, scientists expect to:
-Relate ionospheric behavior to th e solar radiation
which produces th e ionization - vitally important, as it
is solar activity which is believed to disrupt radio
communications.
-Learn the bulk behavior of th e ionosphere as it
varies in time and space.
-Measure th e electron content in the ionosphere
between the satelli te and Earth as related to latitude,
season and diurnal time.
-Determine th e geometry and distribution of small
scale irregularities in th e ionosphere.
LASER tests may also be made by those wishing to
experiment. However, tests will be possible only in the
northern hemisphere since the satelli te 's LASER reflectors
point away from Earth as it orbits over the southern
hemisphere.
LASERS ar e electronic devices that generate highly
directional light beams which remain in a very narrow ar c
with little spreading. LASER means Light Amplification
by Stimulated Emission of Radiation.
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One surface of the S-66 bolds 360 one-inch diameter
reflectors designed in such a way that light from LASER
devices stricking it from any angle will be returned to
its Earth source. By measuring the time it takes fo r the
light to go to the satellite and back, the position of
the satellite in space might be determined with higher
precision than through the use of conventional radio
means.
THE SPACECRAFT
S-66 is an adaptation of the Navy's navigational
satellite and was designed and built for NASA by the
Applied Physics Laboratory of the Johns Hopkins
University.
The octagonal-shaped satellite weighs about 120
pounds. A ba r magnet, one-half inch wide and ten inches
long in the spacecraft) w i l l passively orient the satelli te
along the Earth's magnetic field. This will keep the LASER
reflectors pointing toward Earth while the satellite is
in the northern hemisphere, and provide more stable radio
signals fo r the ionospheric experiments.
Four blades, covered with solar cells to convert the
sun's energy into electricity that recharge nickel cadmium
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The "yo-yo" despin mechanism will reduce the 160
rpm nominal spin rate of the fourth stage and payload
down to 40 rpm. The change in the spin axis moment of
inertia due to blade erection will then cause the spin
rate of the satellite to decrease from 40 rpm to 4 rpm.
The rate will be reduced to zero by magnetic despin rods
in the satellite blades.
The satellite's position will be determined by NASA's
Scientific Satellite Network. A Doppler tracking system
developed for the Transit program also will be available
to NASA scientists.
Twice as many solar cells as needed fo r initial
power have been fixed to the satellite blades. As the
cells deteriorate because of radiation effects, reserve
banks of solar cells will be commanded into the operating
system to provide electrical energy.
An automatic temperature control system for the satel-
lite has been designed by APL engineers. Vacuum insulation
between instruments and the shell of the satellite shields
the interior from the great variations of temperature on
the outside. Sight mercury thermostats trigger an on-
board power system fed by a separate small bank of solar
cells mounted onthe blades of the satellite. When the
internal temperature of the spacecraft drops below the
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desired 60 degrees F. , th e thermostats trigger th e special
bank of solar cells which supply th e power necessary to
maintain the desired internal temperature. Such uniform
internal temperature should improve reliability and in"
crease th e operating l ifetime of th e satelli te components.
LAUNCH VEHICLE
The Scout launch vehicle is a multi-stage, guided
booster using four solid propellant rocket motors capable
of carrying payloads of varying sizes on orbital, space
probe or re-entry missions. Developed by NASA's Langley
Research Center, th e Scout is currently th e only opera-
tional solid propellant launch vehicle with orbital
experience.
Th e four Scout motors, Algoi, Castor, Antares, and
Altair, ar e interlocked with transition sections that
contain th e guidance, control, ignition, instrumentation
systems, separation mechanisms, and th e spin motors needed
to orient the fourth stage. Guidance is provided by an
autopilot and control achieved by a combination of aero-
dynamic surfaces, je t vanes, and hydrogen peroxide jets.
Scout is approximately 72 feet long and weighs approximately
37,000 pounds at lift off.
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The Scout is capable of placing a 240 pound payload
into a 300 mile orbit or carrying a 10 0 pound scientific
package approximately 7,000 miles away from Earth.
Launching sites ar e now operational on both coasts of th e
United States for either polar or east-west orbital
launches. Because of it s relative economy, reliability
and flexibility, the Scout is employed extensively fo r
small space research payloads by the NASA, Department of
Defense, and for international programs. Langley
Research Center continues to furnish Scout project manage-
ment services.
The West Coast Scout launch site at Point Arguello,
California is operated under a joint program between NASA
and th e Department of Defense. U. S. Air Force personnel
of the 6595th Aerospace Test Wing conduct the vehicle
launches in cooperation with NASA personnel from the
Langley Research Center.
THE LASER EXPERIMENT
Riding the S-66 satelli te as a passenger will be a
ten-pound array of glass-like reflectors designed to send
back to Earth light signals aimed at it from a device called
a LASER.
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Mounted on top of the satellite's body are 360
one-inch diameter glass-like (ZuseQ silica) prisms called
"cube-corner" reflectors. These are constructed in such
a way that light striking them frcirm any anglc will be
returnedto its sour-e.
Housed in a 60-foot high tower located 20 miles
south of NASA's Wallops Station, Virginia, a LASER device
mounted on an 18" telescope will optically track the
satellite during periods when the spacecraft will be
illuminated by the sun and the tracking station is in
darkness.
In attempting to illuminate the eight-sided reflec-
tive pyramid atop the satellite. scientists of' NASA's
Goddard Space Flight Center will use a system fabricated
by General Electric Company's Missile and Space
Division, Valley Forge, .snnsylvania.
With an orbital period of approximately 105 minutes,
Goddard experimenters plan to attempt the first illumin-
ation of the reflectors during the first night-time pass
over Wallops Island. With an orbital altitude of 600 miles,
the S-66 will be at a slant range of approximately 1,000
miles and will appear as a star of the 8th or 9th magnitude--
20 times fainter than a st;av which can be seen by the naked
eye, The satellite may make two to three suitable passes
over Wallops during the first night.
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'The Goddard LASER system is mounted o n an IGOR
(Intercept Ground Optical Recorder) telescope normally
used by Wallops personnel to t rack sounding rockets.
Onerators will aim th e telescope along the predicted
path of the S-66 and when they see it, scientists will
"flash" th e LASER light. If al l goes according to plan,
th e reflector array will be i l luminated and will return
th e light -nergy to the telescope. Th e reflected signal
will then be automatically amplified by a photo multi-
plie. tube. An electronic timing device (a digital counter)
will record how long it took for the light signal to go
an d come back. Th e measurement of time between initiation
of the light and reception at the photomultiplier will
g ivne the precise position of the satellite.
Th e Goddard LASER system employs a six-inch synthetic
ruby ro d which becomes highly energized as it gathers
energy from a xenon gas-filled flash-lamp mounted closely
parallel to it tn a special barrel-like metal housing.
The ro d is designed so that both ends are pollsho! to
ac t like mirrors.The green light excites chromium atoms
within the ro d which re-emits red light.
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As the re d light is .;eflected back an d forth inside
the rod, th e bouncing rays hi t other excited chromium atoms
and "stimulate" them to give of f more red rays. This
stimulated emission is where th e LASER gets it s name. These
rays are in phase with each other an d al l parallel with
each other as they bounce back and forth between th e
reflecting ro d endj.
Within a ioaction of a millionth of a second this
chain reaction builds to a powerful beam that "bursts" ou t
of on e end of the ro d which has been made more transparent
than the other. Th e Goddard LASER uses these waves of light
moving precisely in phase with each other to achieve
coherent strength in it s signal so that it doesn't spread
out as much as ordinary light and lose its effective strength
before reaching the target.
PRIME OBSERVING STATIONS
Th e University of Illinois, Pennsylvania State Univer-
sity, Stanford University, the Central Radio Propogation
Laboratory of the National Bureau of Standards and Goddard
Space Flight Center are the primary participants in the
ionosphere experiment. Volunteer international stations
will augment the United States observations.
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NASA PROJECT PARTICIPANTS
S-66 is under the overall direction of NASA Head-
quarters, Office of Space Sciences, Dr. Homer E. Newell,
Director. The ionosphere program scientist is Dr. Erwin
Schmerling. M. J. Aucremanne is th e project officer.
Project management responsibliiy for th e satellite
rests with NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center. Frank T.
Martin is project manager and Rcbert E. Bzurdeau is project
scienit-ist.
The Langley Research Center is responsible fo r
system management for the Scout launch vehicle.
Th e LASER program is under +,he management of Dr. Albert
S. Kelly, Director of Electronics and Control of NASA Head-
quarter 's Cff ive of Advanced Research and Technology.
Dr . Henry H. Plotkin, Optical Systems Branch Head, GSFC
.s LASER project scientist.
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BACKGROUND FACT SHEET
THE IONOSPHERE
On February 10 and 11, 1958, some 100 transoceanic air-
planes se t up an emergency radio bucket brigade.
Almost without warning, their usually dependable radio
l 'nks with the airfields of Europe and North America had been
cut. Long-distance radio communications between the hemi-
spheres wa s blacked out. Only by l ine-of-sight relaying mes-
sages were th e aircraft able to maintain a minimum amount of
air traffic control.
Because this event occurred during a highly organized
research effort--the International Geophysical Year--a large
variety of measurements provided a fairly comprehensive de -
scription of what had happened. The Earth was suddenly en -
veloped in a vast cloud of electrified gases that had been
ejected by th e sun. This produced one of the most widespread
geomagnetic storms on record, and th e complete shattering of
that high-altitude radio mirror--the ionosphere-.-was but one
of it s symptoms.
Both as a device for long-distance radio communications
and as an object of scientific study, th e ionosphere still
is inadequately understood. It is, in fact, a kind of Hydra
of th e geophysical world, constantly sprouting several new
puzzles for each one that is laid to rest.
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A new assault upon the complexities of the ionosphere--
on an international scale--will begin in a fe w days when the
National Aeronautics and Space Administration will attempt to
place an Ionosphere Beacon Satellite into a near-polar orbit.
Its purpose is to extend ionospheric research on a global
scale.
HISTORY
Early in the 18th century, it was observed that a mag-
netic compass needle exhibited regular daily fluctuations,
and in 1882, Balfour Stewart, an Englishman, suggested that
these motions of the compass needle were induced by a strong
electric current that was located high in the atmosphere.
This implied that there was a substantial flow of free elec-
tric charges high above the surface of the Earth.
In 1864, a Scotsman, James Clerk Maxwell, proposed that
light was propagated through free space in the form of elec-
tromagnetic waves. In 1887, a German physicist, Heinrich
Rudolf Hertz, demonstrated that electrical energy could be
transmitted through space in the form of electromagnetic waves.
Both were building upon the discovery of electromagnetic in-
duction, made by Michael Faraday, an Englishman, between 1821
and 1824. It was a practical application of these and other
mainstreams of research that suddenly stimulated systematic
investigation of what only much later came to be called the
ionosphere.
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On December 12, 1901, as he manipulated a receiver in
a radio shack at St. John's, Newfoundland, an Italian, Mar-
chese Guglielmo Marconi, captured a radio signal that had
been sent from Poldhu in Cornwall, England, a good 2,000
miles away.
Clearly, this experiment cast doubt upon the then gen-
erally accepted theory that electromagnetic waves traveled
through ai r in a straight line, for a straight line connect-
ing Poldhu with St. John's would have to pass through a sub-
stantial quantity of the Atlantic Ocean. Two groups of the-
oreticians formed to offer possible explanations. One group,
basing its position on experience with light waves, suggested
that the radio waves had been bent over and along the curved
surface of the Earth by a process known as diffraction. How-
ever, the long interval of curvature of the Earth and also
the strength of the signal received by Marconi worked against
acceptance of this theory.
The foremost exponents of an altogether different ex-
planation were Dr. Oliver Heaviside, an Englishman, and an
American, Dr. Arthur E. Kennellyi who in 1902 suggested sim-
ultaneously that the radio signals transmitted in England
had struck a reflecting layer in the atmosphere, which pre-
vented them from escaping to space and instead returned them
to Earth. The Kennelly-Heaviside layer theory generally was
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accepted, although almost a quarter century would pass be -
fore radio sounding techniques were sufficiently refined to
permit measurements that accurately demonstrated th e exist-
ence of such a reflecting layer.
IONOSPHERIC PHENOMENA
Any atmospheric model intended to explain a radio-re-
flecting layer would have to account for a substantial quan-
t i ty of free electrons at some region of th e atmosphere.
It soon became apparent that th e intense solar ultra-
violet and X-ray radiation bombarding th e Earth was capable
of separating atmospheric atoms and molecules from some of
their electrons. This breaking apart of electrically neu-
tral particles into a negatively charged electron and a pos-
itively charged particle, called an ion, is called ioniza-
t ion. It was with the acceptance of this theory of th e gen-
eration of free electrons in th e atmosphere that the region
where such electrons ar e produced came to lose th e name
Kennelly-Heaviside layer, and became known as the ionosphere.
The interaction between the incoming ionizing solar ra-
diation and th e components of the atmosphere i. s a complex
one an d is not entirely understood. At extrenlely high alti-
tudes, th e atmosphere is quite thin. While a great deal of
radiation is able to pass through it, this radiation encoun-
ters relatively few atoms or molecules causes little ioni-
zation, and therefore few free electrons are produced.
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Farther down, where atmospheric density increases, more
tree electrons are produced, bu t absorption rapidly reduces
the intensity of ultraviolet and X-radiation. Comparatively
little solar radiation in these wavelengths reaches to lower
levels of the atmosphere, and the bottom layers of the iono-
sphere contain relatively few free electrons and a much higher
density of neutral atoms and molecules. The number of free
electrons at any altitude, therefore, depends both upon the
intensity of ionizing radiation at any level and on the den-
sity of particles available fo r ionization.
When Hertz performed his first experiments in the gen-
eration of what later became known as radio waves, he did so
by forcing a high frequency alternating current across a
spark gap between two electrodes, and he discovered that the
spark emitted electromagnetic waves. These waves were, in
fact, produced by free electrons in the spark that oscillated
at the same frequency as the applied current. In a modern
radio transmitter, a high frequency alternating current is
applied to the transmitting antenna, and the current causes
electrons in the antenna to vibrate, and emit radio waves.
The radio waves spread out in a pattern that is deter-
mined by the shape or geometry of the antenna. When these
waves reach free electrons in the ionosphere, they stimulate
the electrons to vibrate at the same frequency, and these
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density of atoms and molecules does no t permit much
free electron vibration. During times of intense solar
activity, when ionizing radiation reaches deeper into
the atmosphere, this absorbing layer broadens and th e
result is the radio blackout associated with geomagnetic
storms.
By no means can the ionosphere be considered stable
in it s vertical structure simply because of th e ionizing
radiation-particle density relationship. Other phenom-
ena ar e superimposed upon it to such an extent that the
ionosphere is a highly dynamic and ever-moving struc-
ture. Th e following activities occur with some
regularity:
1. At lower altitudes, great winds move and
churn the atmosphere, keeping it s components thoroughly
mixed. With increasing altitude, th e winds subside,
and eventually atmospheric components begin to separate
according to their molecular weights. Molecular Nitrogen
predominates to about 12 0 miles, where atomic Oxygen
becomes th e dominant component. At about 60 0 miles
Helium becomes a dominant component, and at several thou-
sand miles, Hydrogen dominates.
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2. Th e gravitational effect of th e moon produces
a t idal motion in the atmosphere. However, a much
greater atmospheric bulge is produced by solar heating.
Th e atmosphere tends to expand and move upward on the
sunlit side of th e earth, while it subsides on the
dark side. The daylight rising produces a broadening
of th e ionospheric regions. This along with disappear-
ance of electrons by recombination, tends to account for
th e experienced improvement of long-distance radio
communications at night, when the lower alsorbing layer
is thinnest and least dense. It also has been suggested
that th e large-scale upward and downward displacement
of large masses of free electrons across th e lines of
force of th e earth's magnetic field would produce a
current that could induce the daily fluctuations of a
magnetic compass needle, observed more than 30 0 years ago.
It is estimated that 50,000 amperes of electricity flow
between England and th e earth's Equator.
3. Periodic influxes of electromagnetic and particle
radiations from the sun produce localized and wide
spread sudden ionospheric disturbances and geomagnetic
storms. These generate great upheavals in the structure
and functioning of the ionosphere.
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By a convention that recognizes th e highest radic
frequency reflected at a particular altitude of th e
ionosphere, labels have been given to various regions,
although they obviously ar e no t rigid. They are:
Region Altitude
(kilometers) (iilz3S)D0 to90 . to 55
E 90 to 150 It 9 0I,)1 150 to 250 90 to 150F2 250 to 500 150 to 300
RECENT SPACE RESEARCH
TIr use of high-altitude sounding rockets and of
earthj-orbiting satc&7 ites has opened a new er a in ionos-
phere research. During th e past three years, th e major
experiments were th e following:
1. November 3, 1Q60--Explorer VIII This satellite
made measurements along its orbital path, between altitudes
of 258 and 1,410 miles (415 to 2,270 kilometers) of the
electron density and energy and identified chemical
components of t:;e atmosphere, in particular ionized oxygen,
helium, and hydrogen.
2. In October 19, 1961, and March 29, 1962, respec-
ti , aytime and nighttime geoprobe vertical sounding
,ockets reached attitudes In the vicinity of 4,000 miles.
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They were designed to measure electron density, ionic
composition and the temperature of electrons, and
afford a comparison between daytime and nighttime conditions.
3. April 26, 1962--Ariel I. This satellite,
instrumented by the United Kingdom and launched byth e
United States, extended the a quisition of data alorng
l orbital path that varied between 21 2 and 752 miles
(390 to 1,214 kilometers), also measuring electron
density an d temperatureand io n mass and temperature.
4' September 28, 1962--Alouette. This satellite
Peas built by Canada and launched by the United States,
and, in effect, it carried miniaturized radio sounding
equipmen:, above the ionosphere to sound its features
from the top side. Ib was placed into a nearly circular
621N-mile orbit that also was a near-polar orbit, so that
it could pay special attention to polar, artic and
auroral phenomena as they relate to ionospheric perculi-
arities that exist over Canada.
Alouette uses a radio sounder that varies its
frequency-v between 2 and 12 megacycles, so that it car
provide more accurate profiles between the satellite and
the various maxJ.ni-im z ?f]lecting layers in the ionosphere.
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The National Aeronautics and Space Administration
plans to launch a fixed frequency topside sounding satel-
lite late this year.
THE IONOSPHERE BEACON SATELLITE
Th e primary misa'on of th e Ionosphere Beacon Satel-
lite is to search for variations of detail or anomalies
in the structure of th e ionosphere. It will do this by
measuring th e total number of electrons between itself
and th e ground. A great many such measurements will
be possible because ground receiving stations capable
of receivinrg it s beacon ca n be set up with a modest
cost, with portable equipment, and since th e satelli te 's
polar orbit will take it over almost al l of the earth's
surface, widespread participation in this effort is
anticipated.
Th e measurement of th e electron content along th e
l ine of sight between the satelli te and th e ground station
will be made in two ways. Both ways depend upon the
influences thac the ionosphere will exert upon th e 3ignal
sent out by the radio beacon.
On e of the characteristics of a signal received from
a satelli te moving in orbit is that it s radio signals
ar e subject to a phenomenon called th e Doppler shift.
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When the Eatellite mov s toward the receiving station,
th e frequency of the received signal is slightly higher
than that sent by the satellite. When the satelli te is
moving away from th e station, the received frequency
will be slightly lower than th e transmitted one. This
shift of frequency is called a Doppler shift, an d
varies with both the satelli te velocity and electron
density. By comparing th e Doppler shifts at several
frequencies, the total electron content between the
observer and the satelli te can be obtained.
The second method of electron density measurement
takes advantage of an effect known as th e "Faraday
rotation."
This is a rotation of the plane of polarization of
the radio waves that is produced by th e waves passing
through the ionosphere. What this means, in general
terms, is the following: Th e reason why American tele-
vision antenna loops ar e se t horizontally, like bird
roosts, is because th e transmitting antennas at the
television stations also ar e positioned horizontally.
The plane of polarization of the TV signals is horizontal
with respect to the earth's surface, and this is done.
by choice an d convention. If one were to set a tele-
vi.sion receivirg antenna vertically, or - 1ould receive
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Variations in the received signal strength also
may reveal a patchiness in the ionosphere. Th e study
of such variations should reveal new information on
the sources of these localized variations of electron
density.
Thus, with simple radio receivers and antennas,
a great deal of data can be acquired on the ground
The extent to which variations in the vertical
profile of electron deisities ca n be measured then is
l imited only by th e number an d locations of ground
stations. And, each station will be able to make a
real-time measurement each time the satelli te passes
within radio range.
More than 40 scientists in some 20 countries have
advised NASA of their willingness to participate in this
research effort, It is anticipated that data from widely
scattered geographic locations, taken over extended peri-
ods of time and 4.ncludin g many measurements from each
station, . ill provide a mine comprehensire picture of
th e ionosphere than it has previously been possible to
obtain.
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PARTICIPANTS IN s-66 IONOSPHERIC RESEARCH
Investigator Station Location
ARGENTINA
Sandro M. Radicella Tucuman Argentina
AUSTRALIA
E. B. Armstrong Camden AustraliaB. H. Briggs Adelaide South AustraliaC. N. Gerrard Woomera AustraliaG. R. Munro Sydney Au3traliaH. C. Webster Brisbane Australia
AUSTRIA
0. Bunkard Graz Austria
BRAZIL
Fernando de :Mendonca Belem BrazilNatal BrazilSan Jose Brazildo s CamosConcepcion ChileUshuaia Argentina
CANADA
A. Kavadas Saskatoon, CanadaSaskatchewan
FRANCE
.1. apet-Lepine Villepreux FranceE. Vassy Paris France
GERMANY
W. Dieminger Lindau GermanyH. Kaminski Bochum GermanyK, Rawer Breisacn Germany
GREECE
M. Anastassiades Athens Greece
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Investigator Station Location
UNITED KINGDOM
W. J. Beynon Aberystwyth EnglandB. Burgess South Farnborough EnglandG. N. Taylor Jodrell Bank EnglandK. deekes Sidmouth, Devon EnglandA. F. Wilkins Slough England
SingaporeHong KongBangkok
UNITED STATES
J, Arons Harhjiltori MassachusettsP. R. Arendt Deal New JerseyC. M. Beamer Cedar Rapids IowaW. W. Bernig Aberdeen MarylandL. J. Blumle Blossom Point Maryland
Johannesburg S. Africa0. K. Garriott Palo Alto California
Honolulu HawaiiJ. P, German College Station TexasR. E. Houston Durham New HampshireJ. D. Lawrence Williamsburg Virginia
Ft . Meade MarylandR. S. Lawrence Boulder ColoradoE. A. Mechtly Huntsville AlabamaW. J. Ross University Park Penna.
Huancayo PeruG. S. Sales Weston Mass.
Hanover New HampshireThule Greenland
F. Teifeld Palo Alto CaliforniaG. W. Swenson Adak Alaska
Baker Lake CanadaHoughton MichiganUrbana Illinois
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N EW S R E L E A S ENATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION
A A 400 MARYLAND AVENUE, SW, WASHINGTON 25, D.C.TELEPHONES: WORTH 2-4155-WORTH 3-6925
FOR RELEASE:
August 1, 1963
NOTE TO EDITORS:
Please make the following change in NASA News release
NO: 63-157, a press kit on the Polar Ionosphere Beacon
satellite, for release Sunday, August 4, 1963:
On page one, line six, change "no sooner
than August 15" to "late September."
The change in launch date is necessary because of
difficulties with the launch vehicle.
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