Air Mobile Feasibility Demonstration

[Music] [Music] the minute man ICBM a power power ful force in America's arsenal of defense and one of the Main Stays of our nation's military deterrent strategy in August of 1974 as part of continuing efforts to expand our missile technology and to complement our present missile force it became necessary to demonstrate that an ICBM could be successfully launched from an aircraft and fired in [Music] midair [Music] two months later that question had been resolved by a multi-c command Air Force and Industry task force of Highly qualified aircraft and missile experts this film documents the efforts of that dedicated task force it was a project requiring a complex interfacing of expertise in many exacting areas from testing parachutes to evaluating the overall compatibility of both missile and aircraft systems for never before had such a heavy single load been even air dropped let alone positioned and fired two unmodified US Air Force Lockheed c5a galaxies with standard ads aerial delivery system kits were used throughout the demonstration under the management of the samso space and missile systems organization Deputy for MX the Aeronautical Systems Division and Loi were responsible for aircraft and parachute extraction aspects of the project with samso TRW and Boeing responsible for the missile portion of the program operations were conducted at Edwards Hill and vandenbberg Air Force bases and the El Centro Naval Air facility early in the program it was decided that six dummy loads and increasing increments of weight should be before the air launching of three full-size missiles the last being equipped for a live burn this would allow the already demonstrated airdrop capability of the c5a to be gradually expanded from a 40,000 lb payload on a 28t platform to the required 56 ft 86,000 lb missile payload on a 46 ft platform during the same buildup phase rigging procedures and techniques for aligning and loading the large loads were evaluated thus ensuring the interfacing and fit of the Boeing ICBM cradle platform to the c5a at the national parachute test range at El Centro California on September 6 just one month from the first Air Force planning meeting the first significant step in the program was achieved the buildup and drop of a 45,000 lb dummy load 4 days later the second drop of 55,000 lb was made the load consisted of two 18t weighted steel Tubs on a 42t platform rigged with a 32t extraction shoot and 10 100 ft diameter recovery shoots during extraction of this load as in all drops roller loads ramp support link loads pitch angle and other aircraft response data were measured during the drop pilot input was minimal and airframe response normal at an altitude of 20,000 ft and a speed of 172 knots extraction of the load was entirely normal except for a flexing of the platform resulting from a lack of rigidity where the two tubs were budded together this flight set a new world's record for a single load air drop surpassing the old C130 Mark by nearly 5,000 lb September 13th the next sequential drop was the last to be rigged with recovery shoots and its weight of 65,7 lb was known to exceed the load limit of those shoots as with all buildup loads a trial fit of the platform prior to loading the aircraft assured no discrepancies between the ads Rail and the platform interface the extraction shoot inflated properly providing a successful extraction but the platform flexed again at the junction of the two tubs this time at an angle much greater than in the previous [Music] drop and as the recovery shoots deployed they suddenly blew because they had over reach their load limit for purposes of the demonstration the extraction was a success even though the load went into a free fall and disintegrated a week later weight had been built up to 77,4 184 lb and the flexing characteristic of the platform had been corrected by welding the two tubs together along the sides and top with steel splice plates recovery shoots have been eliminated and loads were now rigged with 132t extraction shoot and 332t stabilization shoots on top of the AFT tub thus allowing the platform to hang vertically in the simulated missile launch position at this successful point in the program a milestone had been reached for the next drop was to be a load of 87,8 lb more than the weight of the ICBM and scheduled to be be the last buildup drop before utilizing the missile itself September 23rd the 87,000 lb package had been loaded and rigged with no problems encountered the extraction shoot was released at 174 knots at 20,000 ft and the extraction Force builded up was smooth releasing the locks at this point the extraction shoot failed and the load already moving had to be jettisoned this contingency had been foreseen and as the package moved AF the pilot input 4° of nose down elevator to check pitch up and after a pause increased to full nose down elevator when the platform cleared the ramp the pilot took corrective action to prevent nose down pitch during recovery the jettison was satisfa Factory but without stabilizing force from the extraction choot the load tumbled excessively the stabilization shoots finally deployed at a 90° angle to the platform inducing violent pitch-up and disintegration of the package in midair this shoot failure was not without benefit for it verified emergency procedures provided valuable stability control data and proved that 87,000 can be safely jettisoned from the c5a to eliminate dependence upon a single shoot a series of tow tests were run to qualify a cluster of two 32t extraction shoots on a newly available 10-in circumference nylon rope deployment characteristics and forces of the new extraction configuration were measured and evaluated after measuring the force on the extraction line the shoots were [Music] jettisoned and on September 26th the final buildup load of 86,000 lb was ready to go again rig for extraction this time with two 32t shoots and the new 170 ft double braided nylon extraction rope instead of the old 150 ft 12fly nylon straps the airdrop was excellent in all respects the extraction Force buildup was typical of clustered shoots and that it was gradual until the restraint locks released a smooth uneventful extraction followed and the three stabilization shoots deployed lowering the package to the ground in the correct position this was the last dummy buildup drop clearing the way to the final phase of the demonstration missile air drops the missile phase of the program call for three missile drops two inert and one live all missiles were loaded aboard the c5a at Hill Air Force Base using the BMT ballistic missile trailer platforms for the missile drops have been fitted into the air aircraft prior to installation of the Cradle assemblies transits were now being used to align the BMT with the aircraft ads rails and since the BMT had also been used to load the last five buildups no significant problems were encountered during the loading of the missile the first missile drop made at El Centro was a minute man trainer known as the iron bird with a guidance and tety package for transmitting pertinent data to the ground station purpose of the drop was to learn more about about missile characteristics relative to loading missile cradle separation missile response timing sequence stabilization during descent and extraction trajectory data extensive electromagnetic interference test and both ground and flight Dynamic response vibration tests were then run on the aircraft missile combination these tests determined that electrical interference would not detonate explosives on the missile and that Dynamic coupling of vibrations between aircraft and missile would not cause damage during taxi or flight the [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] 85,500 clean separation of the missile from the cradle was accomplished by the firing of explosive nuts which secured the straps and tension rods holding the missile to the Cradle platform [Music] assembly the airdrop witness from the cargo deck by the commander of samso was near perfect in every respect with separation of the missile occurring as programmed only one undesirable Factor was observed a rolling oscillation of the missile as it was suspended from the stabilization shoots this condition was corrected by modifying the rigging on the second inert missile drop which was successfully made 2 weeks later at the western test range Vandenberg Air Force Base California thus setting the stage for the final test preparation of the live missile to be used was accomplished shortly before loading at Hill Air Force Base it was provided with a first stage motor with sufficient propellant for a 10-second full thrust burn and a 20-second off and was equipped for ignition the second and third stages were inert by this time in the program systematic loading of the missile had become almost routine the package was rigged in the same way as the number two missile drop equipped with die markers and marker beacons to Aid in location of the Cradle in the water the timing for separation of the stabilization shoots was set for 48 seconds after the missile was to clear the ramp with ignition 2 seconds later this timing ensured a stable missile attitude and allowed the c5a to be well out of range and on October 24th just 7 weeks from the day of the first test the feasibility of the air mobile ICBM concept was determined in the words of Mission Control initial deployment was smoothed with a good package extraction and a clean release on the extracting shoots we've got full inflation on the shoots and the missile cradle package is moving on out everything's [Music] smooth very good very good it's a clean extraction very nice a stable platform in flight coming up on explosive bolts coming up on explosive bolts Mark there go the bolts [Music] B and we have a clean missile separation that looks like very good very good there it is the stabilization shoes mounted on the after end of the Cradle have deployed and we have the missile stabilized stabilization shoots are separated from the missile and we're coming up on a burn coming up on a burn hey we've got a ignition ignition and everything looks good downward motion of the missiles arrested and it's in an upward flight hey it's really climbing oh beautiful oh if we only had full burn hello quad just like we planned it that way and justly so for the entire program was indeed a massive exercise in planning and cooperation as every objective of the air mobile feasibility demonstration was successfully met ahead of schedule another first in Aerospace history accomplished by a dedicated Task Force Under the direction of the samso Deputy for MX because of their efforts a concept can become a reality he a