Alouette, Canada's first satellite

foreign [Music] is finding new ways of probing the cosmic unknown [Music] around Earth tenuous matter forms great spheres in space 60 miles up the ionosphere begins stretching 200 miles or more a region of electrically charged particles formed by radiation from outer space a region important in World Communications because radio waves which do not follow the curve of the Earth can be reflected from the ionosphere but sometimes great solar storms disturb the region radio signals fade and disappear to forecast such turbulence sounding stations around the world send constant signals into various layers of the ionosphere and record the echo but these ionassons cannot probe beyond the layer of greatest electron density and more information is needed from above in 1958 a program of topside sounding is conceived by the defense research Board of Canada and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration of the United States NASA Canada has a special interest in the project because radio blackout is most frequent in the north polar regions and so drb undertakes to build a satellite for the sounding work begins in 1959 design and construction of the spacecraft to be called Alouette the Lark are put in the hands of a group of young Engineers men like John Maher and Colin Franklin of drb the USA will launch it the plan is to launch the satellite from California into Polar orbit the vehicle is a two-stage rocket thorogina B the Thor Burns until final velocity is reached then explosive charges release the agina and spacecraft and a Genus engine ignites in the thin upper air friction is slight protecting shroud is ejected at cutoff ajina is coasting 48 minutes later it reaches orbital altitude over Madagascar after a final boost in orbit a spring separates the satellite as it spins long antennas are driven out one hour after liftoff the new satellite is sweeping around a polar orbit 630 miles above the Earth it will Circle The Globe every 105 minutes for centuries transmitting signals to Telemetry stations for at least one year of research as the Sounder moves into range a command is sent out and the long antennas transmit a post radio frequency signal to the ionosphere below at the same time the pulses are put on a very high frequency signal that will pierce the ionosphere the sounding signal is reflected and the echo received by the satellite is transmitted to the ground the time lag about 1 100th of a second giving the height of the ionosphere thus transmitting a continuous signal pulse and Echo 60 times a second the satellite reports on the top profile of the ionosphere hour by hour to Telemetry stations around the globe at the same time it measures three other phenomena radio noise due to Rays from cosmic space whistlers or radio signals caused by lightning which move along the Earth's magnetic fields and trapped particles one of the causes of ionization in the ionosphere since there is no precedent for the top side Sounder rocket testing of the antenna system developed by the Canadians is an important preliminary from Wallops Island Virginia Rockets carrying the newly designed equipment are launched into the upper atmosphere signals that come back prove the system is definitely feasible at drb's telecommunications establishment near Ottawa a structural model a prototype and two identical flight models are built two half shell spinnings form the skin of the aluminum spacecraft the entire load is supported by a core the central structure holds the antennas when stored and the batteries platforms on each side carry the transistorized Sounder and the three other experiments standby units are provided to be switched on in case of a failure in space it's a close fit power for the instruments is provided by a 6500 solar cells on the shell which convert sunlight into electricity to charge the batteries inside temperature is maintained by polished aluminum end caps of unique new design are the long-sounding antennas of thin spring steel which form a tube with an overlapping open seam during launch they will be wound on drums as flat strips like a carpenter's tape rule Canadian industry contributed to the project by developing and building a number of important components the Prototype is given a centrifugal test simulating the vertical thrust to be experienced by the spacecraft during launch performance of the Telemetry equipment monitored during test is completely satisfactory a spin test simulates conditions as the satellite spinning at 120 RPM will be ejected into orbit as the sounding antennas unwind the spacecraft slows to its final speed one and a half RPM because of Earth's gravity the antennas can be extended only nine feet without support but the Test shows smooth operation so far next comes a full extension test an electric motor drives the antennas out because of gravity they must be supported to conserve power antennas should be half the wavelength transmitted in this case a length never before attempted in a spacecraft the design works perfectly the span is 150 feet from tip to tip at another drb research center near Quebec performance is tested in a vacuum chamber simulating conditions in space unknown factors may arise materials May sublimate at low pressure hundreds of wires from the instruments permit the designers to check performance during test [Music] air is pumped out of the chamber and an artificial sun shines through a port [Music] provide illumination evenly to all the cells the satellite spins slowly as in space the spheroid shape serves two purposes easy access to electronic equipment and secondly illumination of a constant percentage of the surface as the spheroid tilts [Music] current generated by the solar cells is checked and housekeeping data such as temperature in various parts of the spacecraft is observed at Goddard space flight center near Washington NASA provides Test Facilities not available in Canada here shining satellites in various stages of development are joined by Alouette like a giant automobile wheel the satellite must be bounced at full speed the amount of imbalance is measured and correcting weights are added later although the spacecraft weighs 320 pounds less than two pounds is needed for balance because of careful calculation during design the highly sensitive solar cells the elements most likely to be damaged by vibration are checked with simulated sunlight after every mechanical test finally the Alouette is mounted on a shake table which sets up vibration like that experience during launch the sounding antennas are checked before the test which is one of the most severe the spacecraft will undergo [Music] measurements of the vibration applied and resultant vibration in the satellite show that no serious resonance will develop housekeeping data checks Show solar cells batteries and other components all performing normally Alouette passes with flying colors protecting plates are again placed over the delicate solar cells for the final move as the months of tedious testing draw to a close after two years of design construction and testing Alouette flies across the continent to Vandenberg Air Force Base in California a conventional turboprop aircraft of the rcaf carries the bird of space that soon will soar imponderous alone the little sphere will penetrate the intangible mathematics of the cosmos yet in the crowded environment of Earth its sensitivity must be protected there remains six weeks of final testing the thorog Gina B rocket waits in its 150-foot Gantry to carry one of the most complex satellites yet put into orbit [Music] Seated on the spring that will separated from the rocket [Music] protected from frictional heat in the atmosphere during launch is closed press enjoy the free tradition of science drb's Dr John Chapman draws attention to the flags of the cooperating Nations alouette's investigation of the upper atmosphere makes Canada a leader among the nations in space research for purposes of peace [Music] twelve hours before liftoff the scientists responsible assembled in the Mission direction center for the countdown Keith Brown of drb is Mission director day spins into night over the Pacific coast NASA's Dr Dryden and Dr Zimmerman of drb watch and wait kill Canada at propulsion engineering TV ready TVs are ready all right I am here place all three position switches off all three position switches are off check 19a mark it will be T minus on on battery four nine eight and NRC operation is normal for this phase of the launches are within tolerance let's talk about that one six five four three two one that's awesome [Music] [Music] South across Antarctica and North across Africa [Music] toward the north polar region from Beyond the imperceptible surface of Earth's atmosphere signals come to Resolute one of the 13 Telemetry stations around the globe which record alouette's observations [Music] signals in the language of the Stars observed recorded and translated into a language understood by scientists who speak the many tongues of men [Music] foreign [Music]