The History of Telemetry at White Sands Missile Range, NM

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1 The History of Telemetry at White Sands Missile Range, NM Item Type text; Proceedings Authors Montano, William G.; Newton, Henry L. Publisher International Foundation for Telemetering Journal International Telemetering Conference Proceedings Rights Copyright International Foundation for Telemetering Download date 19/07/ :09:30 Link to Item

2 THE HISTORY OF TELEMETRY AT WHITE SANDS MISSILE RANGE, NM William G. Montano Henry L. Newton Section Chief Electronics Engineer Telemetry Field Operations Instrumentation Development Directorate White Sands Missile Range, NM White Sands Missile Range, NM ABSTRACT This paper presents a history of telemetry at White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico. White Sands Missile Range is located in the Tularosa Basin between the San Andres and the Organ Mountains on the west and the Sacramento Mountains on the east. Designation of more than one million acres of New Mexico range land as a testing areas established White Sands Proving Ground on July 9, 1945 as the Birthplace of Americas Missile and Space activity. On July 16, 1945 the first Atomic Bomb was exploded at Trinity Site. Project Hermes began in November of 1944 with a contract to General Electric by the Ordnance Department to develop a long range guided missile for the Army. Missile testing began in September of 1945 with the firing of Tiny Tim missiles. The capture of German V2 rockets led to testing and firing V2s concurrently with the Hermes. The first two-stage rocket consisted of a WAC Corporal mounted on the nose of a V2. Bumper # 5 set flight records of 5,150 miles an hour and an altitude of 244 miles on February 24, The paper includes: Chronological highlights of telemetering events. Discussion of telemetry systems and events that occurred at WSPG/WSMR from 1944 through 1990.

3 Telemetry systems and events from 1990 to the present. Planned future telemetry systems and probable future systems. KEY WORDS telemetry, missiles, rockets, bandwidths, tracking, microwave HISTORY OF TELEMETRY Conrad H. Hoeppner in his "Space Electronics and Telemetry" article, 1962 Proceedings of the IRE, lists the following at significant telemetry milestones: The development of telemetry and remote control for missiles and spacecraft. The development of instrumentation recorders employing magnetic tape. The recognition of data handling as a problem and the subsequent development of automatic data handling equipment. The development of automatic remote control for guidance. The union of telemetry, remote control and automatic computers in a closed loop. Industrial uses of telemetry and remote control. White Sands Missile Range has been present for all test events. WHITE SANDS PROVING GROUND The first major event at what is now White Sands Missile Range begin with the first atomic bomb explosion on July 16, Project Hermes began in November of 1944 with a contract by the Ordnance Department to develop a long range guided missile for the Army. Missile testing began in September 1945 with the firing of Tiny Tim missiles. Five Hermes missiles were test fired at White Sands Proving Ground in May and September 1945 and in February and May of The captured German V-2 rockets were tested and fired concurrently with the Hermes. The first "Two Stage" rocket

4 consisted of a WAC Corporal mounted on the nose of a V-2. "Bumper" No. 5 set flight records of 5,150 miles per hour and an altitude of 244 miles on February 24, WHITE SANDS PROVING GROUND TELEMETRY From 1945 to 1960 as many as 35 distinct mobile and fixed telemetry stations were used throughout the Range. ln 1965 the Telemetry Acquisition and Relay System (TARS) was placed in service. This system consisted of three main fixed acquisition systems: Jig-10, Jig-36, and Jig-56. Three Transportable Telemetry Acquisition and Relay Systems (TTARS) and seven Transportable Telemetry Acquisition Systems (TTAS) replaced all but a few mobile telemetry stations. The TARS was upgraded in 1972 with the addition of two more TTARSs which provided better coverage of Range missions as well as support of Ft. Wingate, New Mexico, Blanding, Utah and Green River, Utah. Jig-67 was established at Alamo Peak (near Jig-36). The original TARS basebands were designed to carry eight 500 khz bandwidth channels or five 1.5 MHz bandwidth channels. In 1975 the TARS was modified to accommodate wide-band channel of 2.4 MHz because test programs were using higher data rates of 1.8 and 2 MB/second. The system was also reconfigured to eliminate the frequency diversity and the automatic channel/station selection in order to carry more channels of data to the Telemetry Data Center (TDC). This upgrade allowed the telemetry system to send eight wide-band channels to the TDC. WSMR TELEMETRY ACQUISITION AND RELAY SYSTEM ln 1965 WSMR acquired a microwave system known as the TARS. The TARS can carry the acquired telemetry data from on and off the Range to a central telemetry processing facility at the TDC. This microwave relay made it possible to support more missions using a standard system consisting of three main acquisition sites: JIG-10, J-67, and J-56; and five transportable microwave systems known as the Transportable TARS (TTARS). These TTARS relay the telemetry data to the three fixed stations where the signal is again relayed to the TDC.

5 In the 1966 ITC Proceedings, Mr. Billy B. Boone, WSMR, wrote about WSMR telemetry modernization: "ln the past, in order to support the increases in test requirements, additional stations were installed throughout the Range and operated independently. Each station contained enough equipment to support acquisition, receivers, demultiplexing, recording and display. Thus resulting in overlapping of equipment, manpower and capabilities.... Much of these requirements were driven by the fact that the telemetry acquisition system did not have the gain or the automatic tracking capabilities that present systems have. Many stations were required to provide coverage of the entire flight trajectory." Telemetry Ground Station Systems of the 1960s were the only method of receiving and processing telemetry data. These telemetry ground stations were state-of-the art at that time. There were many complex missions, with extensive telemetry data, tested at the same time. Complex mobile telemetry ground stations were developed to support these missions. Some of the discriminators in use at that time were the Bendix Model 67F, EMR 210 and 270. Tape recorders were Ampex Model 309 (two track), FR107 and 500 (7 track). Later versions included the Ampex Model 1400 and CEC 3700, and the latest Models are Ampex 3030 and WHITE SANDS MISSILE RANGE TELEMETRY The latest upgrade to the TARS occurred during 1992 when the prime station at Atom Peak was relocated to Salinas Peak to provide better coverage of Range telemetry missions. This move allowed the Range to carry three microwave basebands from Jig-10 and three from Jig-67 directly into Jig-56. The links between Jig-56 and the TDC were increased from two to four which allows the Range to carry twenty channels of analog telemetry data to the Telemetry Data Handling System (TDHS) in the TDC. The Range telemetry relay system is capable of carrying digital microwave and uses a 45 MB/second digital lightwave system. The WSMR TDHS is considered to be the most modern and complete telemetry data processing facility in the world. WSMR TO PRESENT WSMR is developing a system which allows transmission of telemetry information via telephone transmission protocols. FM/FM and PAM telemetry

6 formats will be converted into NRZ-L PCM signals which will be multiplexed to create a DS3 standard telecommunication rate that will then be transported by the WSMR communications system over digital microwave and lightwave transmission links. TWENTY FIRST CENTUR Y TELEMETR Y The telemetry acquisitions systems of the future must be capable of tracking several objects at the same time. They must be able to provide precision position information as well as telemetry data. They must be able to operate remotely and unattended. Multiple beam tracking systems, such as the existing Multiple Object Tracking Radar (MOTR), can be the models for future telemetry trackers. A network of multiple object telemetry trackers could support the most complex test scenarios involving several missiles, aircraft and targets. Future telemetry data transportation systems will make extensive use of analog and digital lightwave equipment and fiber optics. The analog fiber optics technology has progressed so rapidly that the present system can accommodate 10 GB/second or more radio frequency (RF) bandwidth over distances of up to 50 miles. The diversity RF signals from the telemetry tracking systems can be block converted ala cable television and transported over a single optical fiber to a central telemetry receiving and demodulating facility for recording and demultiplexing. Replacement of obsolete equipment with state-of-the-art telemetry equipment is made possible by technological advances in microstrip antenna arrays, analog and digital lightwave drivers, multiplexers and optical recording disks. Applying the technical innovations to future telemetry instrumentation systems will result in: greater reliability, redundant capabilities, greater data storage capacity -- and most importantly, more economical operation because of the reduced manpower requirements. Fewer systems could collect more data in better ways than current systems. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The authors wish to express their thanks and appreciation to the many persons who reminisced with us about the "good old days". Special thanks to J. B. Resch, G. E. Avila, Joe Maestas, Ray Barnes, Pat Quinlan, Jim Andress, Paul Mears, Frank Stewart, Louie Jaramillo, Frank Clevenger, Bob Sparks, Scott Haley and many other who have provided us input for this paper.

7 REFERENCES Boone, Billy B., White Sands Missile Range Modernization, ITC Proceedings, Hoeppner, Conrad H. Space Electronics and Telemetry, Proceedings of the IRE, Montano, William G., Twenty First Century Telemetry, ltc Proceedings, Nicols, M. H. and L. L. Rouch, Radio Telemetry, John Wiley and Sons, Inc. New York, Still, H. L. Aerospace Telemetry, Prentice Hall, Inc., Englewood, New Jersey, Strock, O. J. (Jud), Telemetry, Past, Present, and Future, ITC Proceedings, 1978.

8 TABLE I. CHRONOLOGICAL HIGHLIGHTS OF TELEMETERING EVENTS 1812 Shilling, a Russian, used telemetry in firing mines Konstantinov and Pouli developed a telemeter for recording and analyzing the flight of cannonballs Olland developed a meteorological telemeter for measurements on Mount Blanc First aircraft flight to FM/FM, PAM and PDM telemetry were under development at Palmer 1945 Laboratories at Princeton University and at the Applied Physics laboratory at John Hopkins University Worlds first Atomic Bomb was detonated at Trinity Site on July 15, White Sands Proving Ground was established on July 9, First V2 carried telemetry for upper atmosphere research First two-stage rocket launched on February 24, First National Telemetering Conference Air Force Missile Test Center established at Cape Canaveral First PCM Telemetry System The International Geophysical Year (IGY) program started in July. Sputnik I and II were launched by Russia. Explorer I and Vanguard I were launched by the United States NASA established Radio Transmission from Mariner II - 51 million miles Digital Radio Transmission from Mariner lv million miles at 8 1/3 bits/second.

9 TABLE II. TELEMETRY STATIONS Jig-l Fixed at Tula Peak-now at King I Jig-2 Fixed at Army 2 Jig-3 Fixed at Bldg 300-once at Bldg 1512 Jig-4 Fixed at Bldg 316 (east of Bldg 300) Jig-5 Fixed at C Station Jig-7 Fixed at Small Missile Range Jig-8 Relay van used mostly at malpais area Jig-9 Fixed at Gap Site Jig-10 Fixed at Atom Peak-now at Salinas Peak Jig-23 Relay van used in the FIX area Jig-26 Closed loop telemetry mobile van Jig-27 Closed loop telemetry mobile van Jig-28 Shop truck telemetry mobile van Jig-29 Shop truck telemetry mobile van Jig-30 Shop truck telemetry mobile van Jig-36 Alamo Peak, moved to Long Ridge, now inactive Jig-37 Fixed at fifty mile area Jig-43 Shop truck telemetry mobile van Jig-44 Fixed at Navy blockhouse-now at Dry Site Jig-45 Fixed at Mockingbird Gap-now at South Oscura Jig-46 Fixed at Rust Site-now at Alamo Peak Jig-47 Closed loop telemetry mobile van Jig-56 Fixed at Dry Site Jig-59 Fixed at Moab, Utah Jig-60 Fixed at TDU Bldg Jig-61 Fixed at Mt. Taylor Jig-62 Fixed at Menefee Peak, Colorado Jig-63 Fixed at Cold Springs, Blanding, Utah Jig-64 Mobile Microwave Van Jig-65 Fixed at Monticello, Utah Jig-66 Closed loop telemetry mobile van Jig-67 Fixed at Alamo Peak Jig-68 Fixed at Green River, Utah Jig-69 Fixed at Huerfano Peak

10 TABLE III. TEST PROGRAMS AT WSPG/WSMR FROM 1944 TO 1993 AEROBEE AIM-7 AlM-9 AIR LAUNCHED CRUISE MISSILE AMRAAM (AIM 120) APOLLO AIRES ARMY TACMS ASSAULT BREAKER ASTROBEE ATHENA B1-B BLACK BRANT BOMARC BRIGHT EYES CANNON LAUNCHED GUIDED PROJECTILE CHAPPRAL CONSORT-COMMERCIAL RESEARCH ROCKET CORPORAL COPPERHEAD DELTA 180 AND 181 DIVADS ERINT FIREFLY FLAG E GEMINI HARM HAWK HEDl KITE HOUND DOG HYPER VELOCITY MlSSILE (HVM) ILLUNINATOR KEM LANCE LEAP LITTLE JOE LITTLE JOHN MAULER MAVRICK MISSILE "A" MISSILE "B" MLRS MQM 34 MQM 107 NIKE AJAX NIKE HERCULES PARTIOT PERSHING AND PERSHING II RAM RAPIER ROLAND STS SPACE SHUTTLE STS-3 LANDING AT WSMR SARGENT SEA SPARROW SGT YORK SLAM SRAM AND SRAM II STANDARD MISSILE STINGER STORM TALOS TINY TIM TOMAHAWK V-2 VANDAL VERTICAL LAUNCHED ASROC

11 FUTURE PROGRAMS Theater High ALtitude Area Defense (THAAD) Singe State Rocket Technology (SSRT) Off-Range Tests -- Patriot & Army TACMS from Ft. Wingate and Utah