Left side: 1 . committee on Science and Astronautics 2 . u. s. Congress -Commdttee of the House Right side: 1 . Overton Brooks Joseph Edward Kerth 3. John W. McCormack Committee on Science and Astronautics, Hearing 2 . Committee on Science and Astronautics, Staff Stud 4 PROJEm' MERCURY 'I'Atn.~: I ll. /'f'I'HIIIIIWI 1111/llltill(l rrquir('IIIC'IIf.~. 1/ t rrttt'f/ wrwlllll'iffl' tnwkill!l 1111tf l'lilll/111111 il'a Umt"' 11 ct work Cnpt Calllll\trnl <Jrond llnharnu Orand Turk i\ l(BIItl~ Shl(l Canary lsluud~ lndlnn Orran ShiJl ~I uch~u. Austrullo \l'oomarn, Amtrullu C'nnlon l~lluul Wt~l leo C'nllfornlu ' \\'It F. \l' l'llJKIIIS Hl'Sl'llrch ~:stuhllshnll'nt, Woorncra, Austrulln. (wrtmnrl rr,(l<Jnlhll llOI> \\Ill 10 DOD I \1 It 24 ~ Al'li\- C untmcl 211 N \SA C'ontmct T he p toje<'l has now c rossed the thres hold of a mnjor rt ight t Psi JH'O#!t'nlll of s hort-and lon~-ran#!e bnlli. tic fli#!hts, lcncling litst to unnutnned, nn<llntPt' on to manned OJbitnl fli#!hts laiC' in 1!)(;1 if all f.!Oes well. Pro jed .\ft>nut,r is being pursued wil h the gnatt'st sl'n st' of lll'.!t' n<,r. This urg('my st!'ms from thE' faC't that thE' proje<"t ll'ill supply ansll't't's Jo mnn_y C'JIIt'Rt ions 1 hat must he ansll'etl'd bt>fore om tHn prottl'd ll'it II thP ncxt stt>p in tht> mannNl space fiight program. Bt>for<' futur(l pro- gnun. tnn .!O l'<'t',\' far downsttenm, much tnllsl be lenl'llt>d nhout man's tnpnhilil it>s in spa<e ancl about the f.!enemlte<hno lngy of mHntwd s pa<.'t' .\ s menti01wd pre1iously, )fettuty carrit>s a national DX prio ril,r ing-. But n I>X pri01it,r rating alone does not ns.,.ut'P that a pto.ic<t willntme-forward ll'ith g reat speed. The implement at ion of a projl't'l such as .\fctcu.r <lemancls, on 11 continuing-bas is, hmrndl(lss t'llt'l'g)', enthusiasm, nnd dctt'l'minlll ion. Work on Projet'l ~f<tTIIry, hot h at hE' coni nwtor's fn<'ilit ies at Rt. Louis, )[o., und the ~Tetcury f:Hilit i<s at Cape Canaveral, is proceedin:r on a tlue<'-s ltift, 7-cln,r-nll'('l'k bas is . . \11 memhPt'S of the-i\f!'tcmy lE'nm, be they in ~.\S.\, 1>01>. o in J>l'i vn l c i 11 dust r,r, are n 1 a king e n t.v e tl'ort to lllN'I t hP goals tsl a hI is lwd for them. m11s l lx recognizl'd, howc1er , that Proied .\ltctfl',\' is a t'PS<'nnh and cJe,e lopmC'nl progmm, and therefore, cloPs not l<tHl itsl'l fro tht' type of S<'ht>duling that typifies a produdion pogtanl. lnsl<nd, it is only possihl<' to establish target clatcs ll'ith tht> full I'Ptognition th11t "mh target datE's must he C'han;.red ns 11<'11' knoll'l<'d!!<' is gnitll'd o1 I he co111plt>xit,r o f tIt!' problems C'onfi'Ontinu t lw dE'nlopllll'ttl l)(<onle more-<"l<'lt l'l,r dt>fined and schedul!'s t'l'ori!'ntNl 10 Ol"l't'tonw the111 . \ f tl't' all, if 1 here wer<' no ptohlem to Ol'!'n'ome. t IHte would he no need fot n re <'lll't'h and de,elopment pi'Ognun. I n P rojNt .\fetcuty, tnn!et dale. lt~ne bet>n (c.,tnhlished fol' l'l'l't'Y t't of t ht> oprl'llt ion. T hese inl'lude tanret datts for dclii'C'I',\' o f compon<'nts. snbsystems and <omplete <a pslllE'. . .\ lso in<"ludNl an Pt dnt<'s for cnps ule p repnmtion SE'qlletH'e"' 111Hl h1111H'h pHiocJ ... COMMITTEE OX SCIENCE AND ASTRO~A(TTICS OVEitTON BROOKS, LoullJI!lnn, CAalrman OEOROE P . MILI,ER, C11llfornl11 OLIN F.. TEAOUF., Tcxus VlCTOH 1 . A:'O'USO, 1\cw York JOSEPH E. KA RTJI, Mlnncsolll KE:"' II ECJJ LEU, Wrst VlrRinlu EMILIO Q. DADDARIO, Connecticut WALTER II. MOELLER, Ohio DAVID S. KINO, Ulnh TIIOMAS 0. MORRIS, 1\cw M exico llOil CASEY, 1'exlls W M. J . RANDALL, Missouri JOIIi'i W. DAVIS, Ocorglo Wli,LIA;\1 FITTS RYAN, 1\cw York JAMES C. CORMAN, Cnllfornl!l JOliN W. McCORMACK, t.II15SIIchusetts JOSEPII W. ~IARTIN, JR. , MIISS.'IChUS<!llS JAMES 0 . FULTON, Prnnsylvllnln J. E OOA R C II EI\OW ETII, Colonulo WlLLIAM K. VAN f'~:t,T, Wlscortsln PERKINS BASS, New llllmpshlro R. WALTER RIEIILMAN, New York JESSICA t. lcO. WEIS, 1\cw York CllARI,ES A . MOSIIF.R, Ohio RIOIIARD L. ROUDEBUSII, lndlunn ALI' HONZO E. u~;J,L, JR., Cnllfornln CuARLEl! ~. DPCASDER, FztcuJice Dlrtdor ald Chit/ Co11n1t1 Dr. CIIARLES S. SIIELDOS ll, Ttchnical Director StESCER :\1. BRESPORD, Special Coun~tl f'IIILIP ll. YEMlER, Special Con1ultant J OII!'. A . CARSTARPIIES, Jr., Clt/ Cwk FRASK R . IIA)UULL, Jr., Coun1tl RICIIARD P . UrsES, Staff Con~ultanl IIOWARD J . SrtRERSTEIS, Staff Con1ultant RA \ MOSD \\'JLCOVE, Staff Con1Ulta111 C. 0TLS FISCH, AUillant Clerk JOSEPH f'ELTOS, Publication Clerk Statements of Puge Loftin, L. I<., .Jr., T echnicRI A~silltt~nt to OirC'clor, Lnnglt'y Resl'nrch Center, Nntional Aeronautics aud 'pace Administration _ 5 Madden, Robert T ., rnannger of tt.<~tronaulics salt,;, GoodyPar Aircraft O'Sullivan\ William J., Space \'chicle Croup, Langl<y Rt'-tarch Ccntt'r, Xationn A<'ronuutics aud Hpacc Administration _ _ 0 Quie, Hon. Albert H ., R<'prt'scntnlivP from ~linnNotn, U.H. Conp;rp;;;s 1 RichnrdHon, Robert W., \' ice prtsidcnt, Goodycnr Aircmft Corp., Ross, Dr. Robert T., manap;cr, twromechanics rt':-wnrch und dt>vclop- ment d<'pnrtrnent, Goodyear Aircraft Corp., Akrou, Ohio 25, 40 INFLA'rABLE STRUCTURES IN SPACE FRIDAY, MAY 19, 1961 ITom<t: cw Rr.Pnr.sr.J~<TATJVEs, C'o:ullrr1~rr.F. ox Scn:xn: .\ xo .\snwN.\ cncs, Wn!ihington. D.r'. The committee met at 10 u.m., TTon. Overton Brooks (C'hairmnn) presiding. The CHAlRliCAN. The committee will rome to order. l\11-. K rx(;. l\fr. Chairman, could I mention that we have with us the distinguished Congressman from l\Iinncsota, l\Ir. Albert QuiC', who is here by Yi1tue of the fnC'I that Echo I was fabricatccl in NorthfiC'ld, :\!inn., which is in the district of the gentleman from :\lin11esotn. I think the record should show that he is here as n Yisitor. )fr. 1-h:cm,lm. I would like to join in wt'lcoming my C'olleague, )fr. Quie, to the committee. T he CHATR)L\N. "\Ye are happy to ha,e you this morning, ~II'. Quie. morning we open n 1-dny hearing on the mat f>r oft he potential useS,j)roblems and funding, and rt>search and development on ''Inflat- able Structul'es it1 pace:' "\Ye huve a good many witness>s this morning. I think it is entirely proper that we follow the henri ng-s t hn I we h:we ha<l by I hi s Olle on " I nflatable Structures in Spnce:' \Ve ha,e of course, out d1stiuguished collengu:'. "\Ye want lo hear from him 111 just n moment. "'e Jun-e Mr. L. K . Loftin, .Tr., T echnical .\ ssistant to I he Dirt'do of the Langley Research ('('nter of N.\SA; :\fr. "\~illiam .J. 0\ nlliYnn, pnce Yehicl e Group, Lnntrley R est'arch Center, X.\S.\ : :Mr. R obert \Y. Richardson, vice president, Gooclyenr .Aircraft C'orp.: Dr. Robert S. Ross; G oodyear . \ircmft Cor p., and Mr. R obert T. Madden, Good- year . \11craft Corp., also. ,,.e are g:lnd to hn,e lhest> g-entlemen hHe with us this mominp:. ~[r. Quie, I know of your interest, because I just talked to you. It is customary for the commit tee to hra r the :\[embers of C'ongress first. If you haYe n statement you would like to gin us on this, we be glad to hn,e it at this time. Following that, we will be glad to hn,,e yon come up and sit with the committee and stay \\-ith us ns long as you like. )fr. QrJE. Thank you, ~fr. Brooks. OF HON. ALBERT H. QUIE, A REPRESENTATIVE IN CONGRESS FROM THE FIRST DISTRICT OF THE STATE OF Mr. Q uiE. M y name is Albert H. Quie, Congressman f rom the First istrict of Minnesotn. I appreciate the opportunity to nppen hefo1e the committee. TINFLATABLE STRUCTURES rN SPACE I wi_ll have _to de~line from accel?ting your in vitation .to stay with you th1s mornmg, smce our Educat10n and La,bot C'omm1ttee is meet- ing and we have some problems confronting us there, as you so well In Minnesota a.nd in my congressional district we a re indeed proud of the work t.ha.t is being done by one company in Northfield. So often out in the Midwest-and I come from n little farming-commu- nity next to Northfield, Minn.-we tend to think of space exploration that is being done some distance away, a long w~tys away, and people have wondered if t'hey would see anything like that accomplished in thei r little commw1ity. we were indeed proud when the S chjeldahl Co. in Northfield, Minn., played such an important part in. the con- of E cho I and now E cho II. The community is really enthused about what is being done. They feel the old pioneer spirit and t.heit esprit de corps in these spn,ce endeavors would surely ignite one's faith m America; these people, no matter what their job 1s in the part of fabrication, are so enthus iastic that when called on they wi11ing to practically work around the clock. As we read of this person, Commander Shepard-people had kind of lost faith with the Americans, and he renewed their faith in themselves. I think if you could come out t"here and see that company, too, you have a renewed faith in the American people. I feel inadequate, s peaking here upon such a technical s ubject, be- cause I haYe no techmcnl experience, myself. For t hat reason I was glad I was able to speak first, because I would surely feel ina.dequate after hear]ng some of these other men l ike Mr. O 'SuJli,nn, whom I have heard so much nbout, not only read about, s ince 1\Ir. S chjeldahl of him in glowing terms. We in Minnesota and that area are indeed proud of the work being At this t ime, I ''"ould like to in clude in the testimony n statement by Mr. G. T. Schjeldnhl-the head of the G. T. Schjeldahl Co.: ERFTABLE AND INFLATAIILE ST'ltUCTURI':S I N SPACE By G. T. Schje!dahl Co., Northfield . Minn., May 2<!, 1961 Having already ventured briefly into space, man i s de,eJoping a host of vehic!PS and capsules to propel him nnd ptotect him as he soars into the lut~>r planetar y void. Highly complex rocke t sys t ems and compact and effic ient s pa ce capsules will of cou rse plny the majo r role In he lping man lea,e this Eart~ f o r parts unknown. man, as he pinus for his most epic voyage, Is turning h1s attention t o t he ecta cular devi~ that enabled his predecessors t o leuve the ground some centuries a~o--the balloon and its modern counterpart, the Inflatable sate! or "Mtelloon." TfiE INFLATAnl.E STRUCTUllE I S ALREADY IN ORBIT On August 12, 1960, the ~atlonal Aeronautics nod Space Administration ~'>hot Into the heavens the larges t volume satellite ever thrust Into orbit-Echo I. This 100-foot diameter plas tic sphe re, des igned and manufactured by the G. T. Schjeldahl Co. of ~orthfield, Minn., is still in orbit-a visible ~ymbol of Amel"ican creativity for all the world to see. The Schjeldahl Co. is already at work on other space infiatables. Thes e include the f orthcoming E cho II on which S1H'OOSSful inflation t PSt-; have been concluded by NASA. Longley Research Center, and Projec t Rebound in whic b severn! infintable satellites ~ill be launched in orbit from a single rocket canie r . INFLATABLE STRUCTURES LN SPACE AU these inflatable satelloons have a conunon ancestor-the balloon. But whlle the balloon Is desi gned to go up nnd come down again within n ,ery ~hott period of time, the satell oon hs so constructed tbnt it will remain ln orbit for extremely long r>t>rlod:-;-perhaps many years. The inflatable satellite, 11ucb as Jl]c:ho I noel Echo II and other satellites d e,el- oped by the Schjelclabl Co .. must be precisely engineered and sealed by mean11 of a super adhesive thnt will withstand the hostile envlromnent o f space-. The- Schjelclahl Co. has de,eloped such an adheshe-ealled "Schjel-B ond 301," which has held Echo I together for nearly a year despite the rovages of extreme te-rn peratures, radiation and low \'Ucuum. AN En' IOIENT AND ECONOMICAL OE\'IOE The inflatable space satellite Is an efllc ie n t and economical de\'ice that can be packed-uninflated-ln a. smnJI canister, shot by rocket into space and then inflated to become a massive satellite, perhaps 100,000 times Its unlnftated volume. lt can be prefabricated in an unlimited variety of shapes and si zes to perform specific functions, s uch as reflecting electronic signa ls, gathering solar energy, providing saf e shelt e1 for man in space and for storing gases and fuels Up to the p resent time, Inflatable space structures ha,e been used mainly to electronic signals. .Man's first space balloon, tbe R obin (Rocket Balloon nstrument), Is a one-meter diameter :Mylar sphere with a buill-in corner re- flector for ground radar tracking. Robin was designed, de,eloped and bu11t by the Schjeldahl Co. for meteor ological purposes. .More than 200 of these unique devices ha,e been s hot by the U.S. Air F orce to altitudes of about !'iO miles, Inflated and allowed to drift btuk to J<jar t h. The radar plot.<; of their <'Orner r eflector s yield Ruch meteorological Information as wind direction, wi nd speed, air density and ai r temperature. PASSIVE S t\TEI.LITES Robin Is an example of n "passiYe'' (ommunicatlon satellite. "Active" com municatlon satellites carry into space a radio receiver and transmitter so that they can receive signals from one point and relay them to another polnt. The active satellite must carry its own power or pos~ss the means of deriving power from external sources. It hns certain inherent disadYnnt.ages: ( 1 ) it cannot be repair ed lu space lf something goes w rong and (2) its signal can be jammed. The passhe communication,. satellite 110 in etrect one or a series of electronic ''mirrors" in space which rE'fleC't signals beamed to it from the grotuld. S uch s ince they a r e beamed. <annot be januued. This Earth's only orbiting passive communication satellite Is F.cho I , launched by the )lntional Aeronautics and Space Administration .:lugust 12, 1960, from Cape Cann,eral and still <"irclinJt the globe 1,000 miles out in spa ce. Echo I was mannfa<tur ed by the .'d1jelduhl Co. C'ho l's chief disnd,antage as a pnssl\e communication device is the low ratio of power of the refl~ted si~nal to lbat of the projected si~'llal. This low e;;ponse II-; due to t he fn<t that it is R]lht>rital. Althou~:h F.rho I is 100 feet in diameter, the effe<:ti,e r e tle<:tl\e ''disc'' Is only n foot or Min diameter, becum;e the !'iurfn('e of the AAtelloon is extr e-mely shiny. Echo II, 13!5 feet in diameter . whieh only rece-ntly was subjected to successful ~round Inflation tests at \\'eeksville, X.C .. has a dullt'r surface than Echo I and will present a much larger r eflective surfac e and beore will provide a grE'nter ratio of r esponse to input signal. ECfiO II !'iO TB1ES STRONvEit THA:'\ ECHO I Thh; material in Erho H is !'iO times more rirdd than the material used in J:C'ho r. It is a laminate consisting-of two layers of aluminum foil only 1 hnndrt'dthott>'andths of an inr h thlck hnnded to it centE'r shE'et or )(~Jar 31> hml- dre<l-thousandths of un inch thick. 'l'he rigidized sphere-t< will weigh about GOO JIOtmds each. When E('bo 11 Is inflatE'(] in s pare. the fold:-; and wrinkles it re<eives ns n result of packing will disappear . When the sph er e is punctur ed by meteorites, I'E'leasing its inflation agent. it will not defnrm. for it will not remember" the folds and wrinkles it incurred in it!: "fetal" J)O:<ition within tl1e rocket's <nnister. INFLATABLE STRUCTURES UN SPACE At the present time, the Schjeldnhl Co. Is workln~r wit b the Goddard Space Flight Center of N t\ S A In developing u 200-foot diameter lnflntnble plastic sphere for r ebotUJcllng s lgnuls from one satellite to another. Oonl of tbe proj- e ct--<'nlle<l Rebound-Is t o produce u new light weight material thnt compares In strength to the uatt>rinl of Echo 11. This will he orrompli;;bed by chemicall)' " rnllllug" out n. pattern of d rc-ulnr window>l'' from the tlhuninum, leaving tbe Mylar membrane intact. The netwo rl\ of u luminum nrc he:;; r pmalnlng will p reserve the rigidity with an uccompunying-and desirable-reduction ot weight nruountlng to about 30 percent. RE\"F.RAI. RATEI.I.OONS I N ONE ROCKET \"EUICLE Project Rebound wlll concentrate nn placing three Inflatable satellites In a circnlar orbit from one rocket vehlcIP. These will be spaced at predetermined Intervals In order to test their effectiveness in bouncing radio signals from one s n telll t e to nnnt11er, ther e by e x tending the range o f rncllo wn ve propagu tlon fur heyoncl that of n s ingle l'lnte lllte. s u ch us E ch o I and Echo II. Lnunchlng of the first three R ebound satellites Is scheclnled dming the firs t qnurter of 1963. A launching of s ix R ebound satellites from u s ingle r ocket to f orm u "stri nl!' of bends" nronnd the FJn rt h wi 11 ortm !lOmc>ti me In 1004. In n moYe to inc rease t he signal response nnd clirectlonulize It, the Schjelclnhl is proposin.~r throuA"h t he Wl'ight Air Developmen t Divis ion t o create a new and different series of inflatnble passive satellites. This ne w inflatable wlll be rompuruble to n chandelier in :=.pure, containing a mnltltnde of small retlecti,e units which will \'UStly increase the strength of the r eflected :;;ignal. Mor eover, by maintaining a SJ>ecific attitude with respect to the Enr th's surfnre a s It or - bits, the satellite will project a "cone" with sl~mnl stre ngt h maximum at the perimeter. Thu!;, a pus~;he sateJlite In f.lynchronons orbit-with itr-; orbital s peed t he same us the Earth's dally rotation-would J>rojeet Its strongest siA"f!al to the horizon. Since ssnchro nou:;; orbitH r e(Juire high n!Utucle:<-apvroximnlely 22,!i00 miles-the " horizon'' would be perhUp!i 6.000 mller; nwn~. Surh a device would become a tucticn I nonja mmable communicationr; device. 1NFLATABLE8 TO All) ACTIVE SATELLITES The role of inflntables is by no means confined t o pu:o;s i\'e s atellites. They promise to be important to a cti"e satellites a!'; we ll . lluge lnOatnble antennae. precisely constructed on the ~round, will burgeon out in !;pace to enable maximum propagation of the urthe satellite's s ignnl. The inflatable co