From the wind whipped glacier chewed Fastness of the far north to the Countless sun-soaked coral atolls of the Pacific Ocean and all areas and climes In between man has conquered the Earth's Surface Geographically he has crossed all Frontiers but one straight up possibly The most dangerous of all frontiers Crossed thus far this search into the Reaches of the Earth's atmosphere and Beyond plus a day-by-day advancement in The technology of the Air Force missiles Is the story of the Air Force missile Development Center one of the Twelve Centers of the air research and Development command Holloman is located In the Tularosa Basin in southern New Mexico and some 10 miles from the city Of Alamogordo Holloman is bordered on The east by the 9,000 foot Sacramento Mountains and on the west by the 7,000 Foot San Andreas mountains down through The centuries many things have happened In this Basin that are duly noted on the Pages of history Eons ago a deposit of pure white gypsum Sand 200 square miles of it was built up By the whims of wind and rain this is White Sands National Monument across the Basin land of the Apaches in the 16th Century conquistadores marched seeking New lands new fortunes new frontiers for The king of Spain
Centuries later a new era was born with The first atomic detonation on the face Of the earth the Trinity in 1945 soon Thereafter the mighty v2 s captured in Germany thrust their sleek noses into The upper atmosphere in this Basin man Wrote down a track at the pastor the Devil attained by any human on earth In the thin upper air over the special Floor rockets carried mice in place of Men to learn the secrets of space and Here they floated that weightlessly this 100 by 40 mile test range perhaps the Most instrumented and surveyed piece of Real estate in the United States is the Holloman White Sands integrated range The Army and Navy hold most of their Firings on the southern portion of the Range while the Air Force concentrates Most of its activities on the northern Two-thirds to piece together the Day-by-day testing of both Air Force and Upper air research missiles to fully Understand the behavior to record the Full scope of the operation and Efficiency of missiles at Holloman the Shops the laboratories the measurement Systems and the control stations of Holloman stand ready this Center is Devoted to a full time qualitative Collection and analysis of data for Missile contractors this is the holoband Mission service to contractors at this Very moment in a hangar near the flight
Line Falcon missiles are being loaded into The armament Bay's of an f-102 fighter Interceptor the Falcons are air-to-air Missiles developed for interceptor Missions to knock enemy aircraft from The sky the objective of this firing to Study the reactions on the f-102 launch Aircraft And to record the results of hiring the Falcons in to a b-17 target role the Target drone is ready for takeoff as a Man on the ground controls it remotely With his beeper box Overhead the mother blade sweeps in and Control of the drone passes from the man On the ground to the controller in the Mother plate The pigeon is in the air comes now the Hunter with his Falcon Now all attention is focused on the Control center King one this is a Building of radars of computers of Plotting tables here to the contractor Waits impatiently as the last few Minutes tick off he is but one of the Many Air Force contractors who use the Data collecting facilities at Holloman To record the behavior and eventually Prove out their missiles captain could You take just a moment to explain the Layout of this mission yes this is a Control scientific experiment Instruments up and down the range are
Zeroed in to record this run and Essentially our job is to put the run in The best location for such Instrumentation King 1 to F 102 1795 Continue on present course time is X Minus 5 minute all stations All aircraft are flying a racetrack Pattern on the reins They are attract by radar and slant Range and course information is set into Computers the path of the aircraft over The ground is endless laid on this Plotting board This particular board shows the location Of the target aircraft and the launch Aircraft King one to all Asians this is A hot run 1795 vector starboard two six Zero degrees bully papa start your left Turn now 1795 this is King one steer starboard 10 Degrees make it hard Will you give me an attitude – OH 500 feet rider 1795 this is King one Fine 500 feet Check optics and tala metering 1795 that is king one you are clear to Lock up and fly to dot fly the docks at The precise instant the dot rests inside The tiny white winged electronic Equipment and we f-102 takes over holds The plane on its course and fires the Falcons under the b-17 Another of the missiles being tested Today is the matador this is a
Surface-to-surface Tactical guided missile capable of being Catapulted from a zero length launcher This missile has been under development For some time but even though this Missile has operational status it is Still under development to improve its Accuracy today's test is another in a Series of checkouts of a new type of Guidance system checking the system Calls for major use of elaborate Instrumentation techniques optical and Electronic systems will be in full Operation today to record the speed Flight characteristics and behavior of The matador as it moves through the sky Over the Holliman range the missile is Ready for launch a solid propellant Booster will blast it into the air then It's jet engine takes over once the Booster cuts out and falls to earth The test range over which the matador Flies today is more much more than just An expanse of barren desert Scattered at strategic locations over The basin floor and on the surrounding Mountains are the integrated instruments The track and record the behavior of Missiles during flight the complexity of The instrumentation setup is such that Only an impression can be given of the Numerous optical and electronic Measurement systems under optical Systems are to be found the Ascanius
Stations this is a German developed Instrument using two telescopes one for Azimuth and the other for elevation to Track the missile and record on film Position and trajectory information Mobile units of servo tracking cameras Using a modified b-29 turret mounting High-speed cameras with long focal Length lenses provide time history Records and target altitude and miss Distance data another optical instrument Is the intercept ground optical recorder Known as I Gor this unit uses a Reflecting telescope in conjunction with A motion picture camera to secure Records of performance missile altitude Aspect and angle of attack in addition There are various types of high speed And ribbon frame cameras on the range to Provide detailed histories of ground Launchings in the early stages and to Provide accurate velocity and Acceleration data for airborne coverage A number of separate but synchronized 16 Millimeter cameras are mounted in pods On target drones the cameras are Equipped with wide-angle or bug eye Lenses which overlap to form a sphere of Vision about the drone if the drone Target is destroyed a timing mechanism Ejects the path a parachute opens and The system floats to earth for recovery Electronic systems are also important Test tools these radars and attendant
Plotting boards are used in Instrumentation for tracking rain safety And in determining impact points one Electronic instrument is called the Velociter a unit used on the range to Gather velocity data during stages of Missile launching up to about four Minutes two other electronic systems to Incredibly complicated to describe or The Myron and doe bat networks my ram Consists of a master and two or more Slave stations out on the range these Stations collect and record signals from The missile in flight and by a system of Triangulation pinpoint the missiles Precise position in the air though that On the other hand consists of two Transmitter stations one recorder Station and 11 receiver stations these Stations record through variations in Radio frequencies information on Velocity acceleration and position when Any missile flies at Holloman it is Constantly watched checked and recorded From the instant it leaves the ground to The end of its test run turrets and Antennas swing with it recording every Yard of its progress out in the middle Of the basin floor several miles from Holloman stands a rocky mound known as Tula peak within the buildings atop this Mound are the recorders of the telemetry System another way of providing Contractors with data on how their
Missile behaved even now a helix Antennas are focused on the rascal high Above although it cannot be shown in Detail for security reasons it is Visible to the eye as a contrail high Over the Holloman range below in the Recording room Sir could you talk to us for a moment Please yes sir what we would like is a Quick trip through your installation yes Sir right now we're receiving data from Bell's rascal in flight the equipment Along the wall forms the ground Receiving portion of an FM FM telemetry System the equipment receives a Transmitted signal from the airborne Transmitter located in the missile this Information is recorded on this asila Graph and on magnetic tape the Acela Graph is usually considered the primary Recording medium information is Presented in the form of galvanometer Traces on photographic paper We can also record any or all of the Signals received on magnetic tape these Tapes can be played back at any time to Make any number of asila graph records Other recorders can be used to monitor From one to four continuous channels and Provide a quick picture of missile Behavior during flight records like These collected at tula peak are sent Directly to data reduction for Processing this machine called a teller
Eater Is a direct reading device to take Measurements from oscilloscope tracings Information collected optically is also Processed for example ischaemia film on This viewer azimuth and elevation Readings are interpreted and punched on IBM cards the data contained on the IBM Cards set in motion elaborate computing Equipment the cards are sorted and Through a series of steps to complex to Follow in detail information is Processed and presented in tabular lists And in graphic form to the contractor This is another way in which the Air Force through facilities of Holliman Provides assistance to contractors in The development and testing of missiles The process data is passed on in the Form requested to the contractor not all Of the testing done at Holloman is in The air the captive missile test range Is a high-speed ground track a precisely Aligned road bed 35,000 feet long since The flight testing of missiles in the Early stages is a complex and costly Method of gaining data captive testing Makes it cheaper and quicker to do the Preliminary work on the ground The high-speed sled is also used to Study the effects of mechanical forces On living tissue Colonel John P Stapp Head of the Aero medical field Laboratory at Holloman is in charge of
These studies Colonel Stapp would you Tell us of some of the phases of Aviation medicine you and your staff are Investigating here at Holloman certainly Well here at the center you have seen a Number of missiles vehicles that have Eliminated the pilot but for all this we Are not in the strict push-button age Manned aircraft are still our first line Of defense aircraft that in many cases Equal or exceed speeds of pilotless Missiles the man rides in a pressurized Cabin that cabin can blow out a man get His parachute when blasting with a force Of 10 cyclones he dives straight down And becomes weightless he banks sharply In a high-speed turn and becomes a lad Statute Man does not become a problem child Until the plane he is flying fails so Far man is still they finer control Systems and man himself can devise this Biology begins with problems of flight Above fifty thousand feet we need to Know so much more about the problems of Flight in the upper atmosphere and even Outer space as a result our work is cut Out for us as we utilize the may to here To meet the many challenges in aviation Medicine today in 1954 Colonel Stapp Rode the sled down the track at Holloman At 632 miles per hour He endured a wind pressure of 1,100 Pounds per square foot and stopped with
A peak force of 35 times his own weight Earlier the colonel spoke of some of the Problems encountered let's see how some Of them are solved inside one of the Buildings of Holloman is the high Altitude chamber or to be precise the Environmental simulator the simulator Can and does create the exact conditions Encountered by a man at extreme Altitudes by placing man within the Chamber and simulating the desired Altitude it is possible to subject him To the pressure temperature and even Humidity experienced in the upper Atmosphere within such a chamber it is Possible for the Air Force to observe And record the responses of man and his Equipment in the prelude to actual High-altitude flight however it is not Possible to understand all facets of High-altitude flight through ground Testing such as this there comes a time When man and his instruments must go Aloft and see for himself Man has flown experimental aircraft at Altitudes above 100,000 feet yet only Long enough to give the pilot a fleeting Moment at that height on any one flight For careful prolonged observation Balloon travel is more practical for This purpose a pressurized gondola or Capsule capable of carrying a human Observer to the outer limits of the Earth's atmosphere is to be used on the
Inside the capsule is cramped and rather Uncomfortable but does have windows for The pilot to observe the view it can Hold adequate supplies of food and water And is fully equipped with delicate Instrumentation to measure and record Conditions of wind temperature cosmic Rays and whatever else Air Force scientists need to explore and Study however the most important Instrument of all is the pilot himself For no mechanical gadget yet invented Can tell exactly how it feels to a Living human to hover on the very Threshold of space there are biological Questions to examine such as the effect If any of cosmic rays on the human body And there are psychological questions to Be answered How will the human mind and spirit react To the sensation of drifting in cramped Quarters completely alone 20 miles above The earth although the basic research For this high-altitude ascent was Conducted by the Holloman aeromedical Field laboratory the actual launching Took place on the plains of Minnesota Where atmospheric conditions are Particularly favorable the balloon is Made of a nearly transparent plastic Material It measures 280 people on and has a Capacity for 2 million cubic feet of Helium gas
The balloon climbs at the rate of about 1,000 feet per minute At the desired altitude 96 thousand feet The sky coloring changes to a dark Blue-black The Horizon is over 400 miles Away and 18 miles down The descent is accomplished by simply Allowing gas to escape through a valve In the top of the balloon in this Instance the balloon and capsule missed The trees and landed in a small brook Here at the end of its flight the Capsule with a human cargo is met by Crews that have followed every minute of Its flight the capsule is set upright Opened and the pilot emerges unscathed And unharmed 18 miles may be high up for Man but not for some of these Instruments for still higher altitudes We go back to Holloman to the aerobee Tower the rocket tower except for a few Degrees of tilt it points straight up up To the last frontier universities and Research institutes from all over the Nation use the arrow be rocket to Further Air Force knowledge of the upper Atmosphere even now men from one of the Research institutes work on the nose Cone as they prepare an experiment to Study the airglow phenomenon this Atmospheric light is due to a small Amount of atomic sodium which through Direct reaction with the solar energy During daylight and through
Photochemical processes at night produce A yellow sodium light the arrow B will Place a trail of sodium vapor along its Trajectory over an altitude range of 40 To 70 miles the observations will Provide information on the presence and Activity of atomic sodium high in the Earth's atmosphere at the launch site The arrow be launching crew finishes Transfer of red fuming nitric acid and Aniline and then it is 19 and a half Minutes after sunset This is Arabic command to all stations The time is now X minus 15 seconds 14 13 12 11 10 Eight seven six five four three two one Zero Even as the aerobee races to altitude Other events take place due east of the Arrow be launching sites high atop the 9,000 foot Sacramento mountains are the Buildings of Sacramento Peak Observatory This is one of the twelve laboratories Of the air force Cambridge Research Center and is dedicated to the study of The upper atmosphere and outer space Within this building at Sacramento Peak A man watches intently as his recorders Measure and document the phenomenon Associated with the airglow studies it Was for this man that the arrow B was Sent some 70 miles into the sky over the Tularosa basin actually the airglow Study is but a small portion of the
Total activity at sacramento peak the Air force is also deeply involved in Various phases of solar research another Aspect of upper-air research is the Study of the behavior of meteors a Special instrument records on Photographic plates the activity of Those particles of matter that flashed Through our solar systems and bombard Our atmosphere outside in a black box Known of course as the coffin a man lies Prone and looks up into the darkness for The tell-tale flashes of light caused by The meteors from here he remotely Controls the telescope inside and Records a story which could have a vital Bearing on future upper air travel it is Here on sacramental peak that the Air Force has erected the world's largest Optical instrument a coronagraph for Observing the behavior of the Sun the Sun's behavior actually has a direct Bearing on some of the delicate modern Devices here on earth disturbances such As these can produce complete or partial Blackouts of radio communications for Several days they can also produce Variations in the strength and direction Of the Earth's magnetic field resulting In navigational errors From studying the Sun high on a mountain To diagnosing the complex operation of Missile components the Air Force is Interested in all things pertaining to
The air and to that empty space beyond The air this kind of testing at Holloman Is an ever-changing picture missiles Contractors and engineers may come and Go scientists from universities and men Of the Air Force may be here today and Gone tomorrow but the shops the Instruments the communications the Computers and Holloman will remain in The sandy Southwest Basin rimmed by high Mountains the history of the Air Force's Determination to advance in missile Technology becomes part of the record Every hour every day in the words of General maith inept whining chairman of The Joint Chiefs of Staff the frontier Which we must defend today lies neither To the East nor West But directly above us this is the Frontier of the future
