10 … 9 … 8 … 7 …

Systems Division's Bill Napier Plays an 'Instrumental' Role in Rocket Launches

After blasting off from Cape Canaveral in August, the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter will take more than six months to reach its destination some 40 million miles away. But it's the critical first half-hour of the long journey -- from liftoff of its 200-foot-tall Atlas V rocket to its disappearance over the horizon -- that will rivet Bill Napier's attention.

If at any point during those 30 minutes, the space vehicle veers off course and becomes a threat to people or the environment, input from instrumentation systems evaluated by Napier will help launch engineers send command and destruct signals to remedy the situation.

The Systems Division engineer analyzes and evaluates instruments that monitor manned and unmanned missions originating from "America's Gateway to Space" -- Cape Canaveral, Florida, and the adjacent Kennedy Space Center.

Under a 10-year contract awarded to Systems Division in 2000, Napier supports the Spacelift Range Systems Contract (SLRSC) to modernize the launch test range systems headquartered at nearby Patrick Air Force Base and Vandenberg Air Force Base, California.

Using specialized software called STK (Satellite Tool Kit) from Analytical Graphics Inc., Napier analyzes reams of data to determine the best locations for radar, telemetry and other instruments that track vehicles from ignition to orbit. Coverage is provided for commercial, military and NASA missions, with payloads ranging from communication satellites to planetary probes to space shuttles.

Through 50 years and 3,000-plus launches, Cape Canaveral has maintained an outstanding safety record, but there's always the possibility an unmanned vehicle will veer off course. "By positioning the tracking instruments to obtain optimal coverage, a destruct command can be sent in time to protect people and property," explains Napier.

The upshot of a recent analysis by Napier nixed the proposed relocation of a tracking station from the West Indies to St. Thomas, a U.S. possession. His calculations showed that sufficient data could not be gathered before vehicles went over the horizon at St. Thomas.

Napier and the SLRSC team also design the physical layout of the instruments at the tracking sites and calculates the amount of land needed for the components, including radar, antennas, generators and supporting systems. In one case, he showed the client they could use lower command/destruct transmitter power, thereby eliminating the need for a larger transmitter. In another instance, by verifying the proper parabolic antenna diameter, he saved the client the cost of a larger antenna.

"Our goal is to help the customer perform their mission in the most efficient and cost-effective manner, while at the same time minimizing the environmental impact," says Napier.

In a clear indication of client satisfaction, the U.S. Air Force has given SLRSC and Napier the go-ahead to provide critical analysis of additional major SLRSC projects, including the Western Range and Eastern Range Radar Upgrade Program.

 

If a space vehicle veers off course after launch, input from instrumentation systems evaluated by Napier will help launch engineers send command and destruct signals to remedy the situation.