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April 1964 Radio-Electronics
 [Table of Contents]
Wax nostalgic about and learn from the history of early electronics.
See articles from Radio-Electronics,
published 1930-1988. All copyrights hereby acknowledged.
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By the time editor Hugo Gernsback wrote his "Electronic Failures
in Space" article for the April 1964 issue of Radio-Electronics
magazine, half a decade had passed since the official end of the
International
Geophysical Year (which was actually 18 months long). Much new knowledge had
been gained and theories confirmed regarding the environment electronics would
be exposed to not just while above the atmosphere, but also while passing through it.
Oh, and the extreme vibration and acceleration during the launch and boost
phases to get into space were no piece of cake to accommodate, either.
Fortunately, a lot of immensely smart and dedicated people worked out the bugs
one by one, and we have arrived at a vastly advanced state of capability in
spacecraft and their electronics. As is always the case, though, the farther we
push back the obstacles before us (them, I should say), the more new obstacles
are discovered since ambitious people are always dreaming up new challenges.
Given that the number of war and hate mongers, slackers, ne're-do-wells,
troublemakers, and dummkopfs among us seem to greatly outnumber the productive
and benevolent amongst us, it is amazing that mankind has even survived.
Electronic Failures in Space
... The Vacuum, of Space Has Created a New Environment ...
Ever since the discovery of galvanic electricity - and static electricity before
that - and the development of electric circuitry, man has continually battled open
circuits.
Heat, cold, moisture, oxidation, pressure variation, radiation - to name only
a few agents - can cause malfunctioning contacts in electric circuits of every kind.
Whether it is the simplest apparatus, such as an electric bell, or the most complex
computer - they all have their percentage of failure. Added to this is one of the
most irritating phenomena - the intermittent contact. Service technicians know it
only too well in radios and television receivers. They may often hunt the nuisance
for hours, yet cannot locate it. Frequently ordinary heat expansion may cause the
failure, but not always - it may be oxidation, rust or even dust. Soldered connections
- or pressurized contacts - may cause periodic intermittents, as may sudden atmospheric
or barometric changes. The subject is vast, full of quirks and still not too well
understood.
All these vexing difficulties are considered more or less routine and can be
coped with on earth.
But suddenly, on October 4, 1957, man and his machines took off into the vacuum of
space, and he really was in trouble. Even before that, when our own pioneer, Dr.
R. H. Goddard, operated his first rockets in a partial vacuum, he was continuously
frustrated by circuit failure. Yes, his first rockets had electric circuits that
often malfunctioned. His early patent, No. 1,102,653 of July, 1914, clearly showed
an electric circuit.
But in 1957, when our rockets ascended into a permanent vacuum, we also moved
into a really new dimension and environment.
Bereft of the usual atmospheric pressure of 14.7 lb per square inch, much of
our space apparatus operates in a perfect vacuum. Here there is no longer a protective
blanket of air. Solar heat may amount to over 200°F, yet temperatures may drop
to -250°F in the shade. Think of the stresses that the expansion and contraction
of the electronic circuits and contacts produce in such a wide range of temperature.
It is true that in certain apparatus lofted into space an artificial atmosphere
is pumped into the orbiting vehicle, which then automatically regulates part of
the great temperature difference. But when the machine springs a leak and must then
operate in a perfect vacuum, anything may happen.
Added to these eventualities are many others. Chief among them are a host of
radiations, solar as well as others. The sun continuously bombards every space vehicle
with ultraviolet, infrared, X-rays, solar cosmic rays, neutrons and other rays and
particles still little understood. Space itself abounds in a variety of destructive
radiation. Some of these radiations "age" vulnerable components if they are not
protected or insulated.
The total vacuum, too, creates weird problems. Thus, two smooth metal surfaces
in a vacuum "freeze" together as if welded. Contacts, unless roughened or deliberately
pitted, will "freeze", too, when they should be open.
In the great cold of space - unless the spacecraft carries its own atmosphere
- some of the metals in the circuitry become brittle at -250°F, and may fail.
We should also recognize the important fact that all space vehicles in orbit
operate in a weightless state. Delicate parts or components, minus their mundane
weight, no longer function as they do under the influence of gravity. As an example,
a spring, when weightless, performs in a different manner than on earth.
Under these circumstances it is a wonder - and it speaks volumes for our scientists,
engineers, technicians and manufacturers - that our space vehicles function as well
as they do, and that our electronic components and circuits stand up, often without
malfunction, for years.
We should always be conscious of the fact that once out in space the machine
is strictly "on its own"! Seldom can the engineers on the ground rectify a malfunction
of a circuit, even if it is duplicated in every part.
This brings us to the lamentable failure of the recent moon-shot Ranger VI of
Feb. 2, 1964. Ranger VI impacted into the Sea of Tranquility on the moon at 4:24
am EST, within 1 second of the calculated time, and only 20 miles off its aiming
point.
But its main mission, that its six TV cameras were to transmit several thousand
pictures to earth during the last few minutes before Ranger VI crashed into the
moon, was never realized.
Telemetry signals indicated the circuits performed perfectly. Radio tubes warmed
up exactly as they should have, but video signals were never transmitted.
Considering all the millions expended on this moon shot, the result was heartbreaking,
to say the least. What happened? No one knows for certain. Any of the reasons enumerated
in this article - as well as other unknown ones - could be the cause.
The failure was considered so important for the future Ranger program that the
National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) promptly, on Feb. 3, established
an independent four-man board to review the findings of the Jet Propulsion/NASA
Ranger project team to analyze the Ranger VI television subsystem camera failure.
The project's paramount mission had been to obtain high-resolution photographs of
the moon during the final few minutes of the Ranger VI's flight.
Significantly, too, although astronomers all over the world were watching the
impact of Ranger VI on the surface of the moon, their observations also were disappointing.
No one saw anything associated with the impact.
For more than 30 years some scientists, as well as the present writer, have maintained
that during the 4 or 5 billion years of the existence of the moon, the constant
impact of trillions of meteorites on its airless surface must have covered the moon
with a very deep layer of fine dust. Hence any impacting rocket would be swallowed
up, leaving little trace of its whereabouts.
- Hugo Gernsback
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