Explorer 1 questions

Rusty wrote:


Here is a 28-min, 7.7-mb video, about Explorer 1 called, "The Big
Picture".
It's a video by the U.S. Army and available on the U.S. Army Redstone
Arsenal
website:

http://www.redstone.army.mil/history/asf/big_pic.asf



I used to watch "The Big Picture" as a kid. They had one that showed the
impact of a conventionally warheaded Pershing missile, and another that
showed a Hawk missile shooting down a Honest John.
Great music too.

Pat

On 28 Aug 2006 19:50:25 -0700, "Rusty"
wrote:

It's a video by the U.S. Army and available on the U.S. Army Redstone
Arsenal website:

http://www.redstone.army.mil/history/asf/big_pic.asf

....Jeez! What frame rate was that capped at? "Bullwinkle" had more FPS
in its animation!

OM
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On Tue, 29 Aug 2006 03:51:04 -0500, Pat Flannery
wrote:

It's visible on the right side of his photo of the launch:
http://www.space.maljonicsdreams.com.../explorer1.jpg

Yes, that's it. I looked at a lot of stills but didn't find it.
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On 28 Aug 2006 22:54:36 -0700, "neopeius" wrote:

No clue. I can't see the lights. Could they be running lights? How
about vernier rockets?

Not verniers. Perhaps a running light. You have to look close,
quickly, and at the right spot to see it in that video. It is much
more visible in the DVD.
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neopeius wrote:
Jud McCranie wrote:

1. Watching the Explorer 1 liftoff (on the Liftoff DVD), there is a
bright light shining near the top of the first stage, near where the
umbilical goes in. What is this light? It is visible for quite a
while after liftoff.

2. Why was Explorer 1 launched at night?
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1. Don't have the DVD so can't comment

Hm. Want to make a SWAG at it, but I'll have to ask the actual engineers
he just how many American LVs used explosive bolts to pop the tower
umbilical connections loose at liftoff? Iirc, Saturn used a fair number.
I guess that's the SWAG; in the dark, the explosive bolts might just
create a large enough flash to show up on the film. That still wouldn't
explain the light being visible for "quite a while" after liftoff.


2. The jet stream above the Cape was particularly unsettling. The
launch was delayed on the 29th, and again on the 30th. The next day
was their last chance or they'd have to lose their equipment until
after the Feb. 3 Vanguard launch.

The weather report on the morning of the 31st indicated that the
swiftly moving river of air had diverted north some hundred miles. At
around 2pm, the ABMA commander decided things were safe enough and
started the 8 hour countdown schedule...

....and because, like Apollo 17, it just looked cool as hell. (;^


--

..

"Though I could not caution all, I yet may warn a few:
Don't lend your hand to raise no flag atop no ship of fools!"

--grateful dead.
__________________________________________________ _____________
Mike Flugennock, flugennock at sinkers dot org
"Mikey'zine": dubya dubya dubya dot sinkers dot org

Pat Flannery wrote:


Jud McCranie wrote:

I've seen the light in other film too, but in those cases it was
already high enough that all you could see were the flames and that
light. The DVD shows it from liftoff, so the location of the light is
visible.



It's visible on the right side of his photo of the launch:
http://www.space.maljonicsdreams.com.../explorer1.jpg
I've always wondered about it also. Is it to aid tracking once the lower
part of the booster separates after engine burn-out?

Whoa, I was totally wrong. I had the impression from the description
that something was burning on the side of the booster.

But now, hell. I agree with Pat. I'd bet it's a running light, now that
I recall descriptions by Gemini crewmen of Titan upper stages trailing
their spacecraft in orbit. Was it flashing in the video?

--

..

"Though I could not caution all, I yet may warn a few:
Don't lend your hand to raise no flag atop no ship of fools!"

--grateful dead.
__________________________________________________ _____________
Mike Flugennock, flugennock at sinkers dot org
"Mikey'zine": dubya dubya dubya dot sinkers dot org

On Tue, 29 Aug 2006 13:12:17 -0400, mike flugennock
wrote:

Hm. Want to make a SWAG at it, but I'll have to ask the actual engineers
he just how many American LVs used explosive bolts to pop the tower
umbilical connections loose at liftoff? Iirc, Saturn used a fair number.
I guess that's the SWAG; in the dark, the explosive bolts might just
create a large enough flash to show up on the film. That still wouldn't
explain the light being visible for "quite a while" after liftoff.

I don't think that is it. The light is visible near the top of
vertical pole that falls over a few seconds before liftoff. On the
Liftoff DVD, the light is visible from before liftoff for (I think) as
long as the rocket is shown in the film after liftoff.
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OM wrote:
On 28 Aug 2006 19:50:25 -0700, "Rusty"
wrote:


It's a video by the U.S. Army and available on the U.S. Army Redstone
Arsenal website:

http://www.redstone.army.mil/history/asf/big_pic.asf


...Jeez! What frame rate was that capped at? "Bullwinkle" had more FPS
in its animation!

And, am I reading that nameplate right through the artifacting? Is that
sergeant's name really Stuart QUEEN?

--

..

"Though I could not caution all, I yet may warn a few:
Don't lend your hand to raise no flag atop no ship of fools!"

--grateful dead.
__________________________________________________ _____________
Mike Flugennock, flugennock at sinkers dot org
"Mikey'zine": dubya dubya dubya dot sinkers dot org

On Tue, 29 Aug 2006 13:14:50 -0400, mike flugennock
wrote:

But now, hell. I agree with Pat. I'd bet it's a running light, now that
I recall descriptions by Gemini crewmen of Titan upper stages trailing
their spacecraft in orbit. Was it flashing in the video?

No, it is not flashing. Also, as far as I can tell, there is only one
of them, since there are several views of the rocket where it isn't
visible. Why would a rocket need a running light?
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Jud McCranie wrote:



No clue. I can't see the lights. Could they be running lights? How
about vernier rockets?



Not verniers. Perhaps a running light. You have to look close,
quickly, and at the right spot to see it in that video. It is much
more visible in the DVD.



The Jupiter-C did have four thrusters mounted at the base of the
separable equipment section that pivoted it to the correct angle for the
upper spin-stabilized rocket stages to fire the satellite into orbit
after the booster fell away; these were driven by compressed air and
wouldn't have generated any visible flames.
The light is on that equipment section, which makes me think it is
related to tracking it after the booster separates.

Pat