NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION

WASHINGTON 25. D. C.

Febmary 17, 1959

Hold f o r Release U n t i l No. 1

Launched o r Scrubbed EX 3-3260
Ext. 6325
VANGUARD SATELLITE LAUNCHING VEHICLE 4

S a t e l l i t e Launching V e h i c l e 4 is approximately 7 2 f e e t long and

45 i n c h e s i n diameter a t i t s base. It i s f i n l e s s , o r i n t e g r a l tank
c o n s t r u c t i o n and has a g r o s s t a k e - o f f weight ( w i t h p r o p e l l a n t s ) of
22,600 pounds.
The Martin Company i s prime c o n t r a c t o r f o r t h e v e h i c l e .

The l i q u i d p r o p e l l a n t f i r s t stage has a g i m b a l l e d e n g i n e b u i l t

by General E l e c t r i c Company. I n e s s e n c e t h i s stage i s a guided
booster. I t s p r o p e l l a n t s a r e liquid oxygen and kerosene.
The second s t a g e a l s o i s a l i q u i d p r o p e l l a n t r o c k e t , employing
w h i t e fuming n i t r i c a c i d and unsymmetrical d i m e t h y l h y d r a z i n e . Its g i m -
b a l l e d engine and f u e l t a n k s are provided by Aerojet-General Cor-

poration.
The second s t a g e c o n t a i n s t h e ' ' b r a i n s " of t h e e n t i r e l a u n c h i n g
vehicle -- t h e complete guidance and c o n t r o l system used d u r i n g three
p e r i o d s of f l i g h t : ( a ) f i r s t s t a g e powered f l i g h t , ( b ) second stage
powered f l i g h t , and ( c ) second s t a g e c o a s t i n g f l i g h t . The second stage
houses w i t h i n i t s nose t h e t h i r d s t a g e r o c k e t and t h e s a t e l l i t e . The
p r o t e c t i v e nose cone b r e a k s away d u r i n g second s t a g e powered f l i g h t .
II
The mechanism f o r s p i n n i n g " t h e t h i r d stage i s c o n t a i n e d i n t h e
second stage. A t the completion of t h e second stage c o a s t i n g f l i g h t

t h e r o c k e t should be a t a p r o p e r a n g l e o r " a t t i t u d e " t o d i s c h a r g e t h e

t h i r d stage i n t o an o r b i t a l p a t h . Minneapolis-Honeywell R e g u l a t o r
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Company, A i r A s s o c i a t e s , Designers for I n d u s t r y , and the M a r t i n Company

p r o v i d e t h e guidance and c o n t r o l system for the second s t a g e .
The t h i r d stage i s a s o l i d p r o p e l l a n t r o c k e t . It c o n s i s t s of a
c y l i n d r i c a l case, a nozzle, p r o p e l l a n t charge and i g n i t e r , and i s
without s t e e r i n g c o n t r o l s . Two companies have c o n t r a c t s f o r t h i r d
stage Vanguard engines -- Grand C e n t r a l Rocket Company and Allegany
B a l l i s t i c s Laboratory. Grand C e n t r a l made t h e t h i r d stage engine i n
Vanguard SLV 4. ( I f deemed a d v i s a b l e , stage s e p a r a t i o n times may be

given out during t h i s b r i e f i n g . )

The U. S. Army S i g n a l Research and Development Laboratory, F o r t
Monmouth, N. J. developed t h e i n s t m m e n t a t i o n i n the cloud c o v e r
atellite.

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