Mariner Mission to VenusJet Propulsion Laboratory (U.S.)
Science
Mariner Mission to Venus
Jet Propulsion Laboratory (U.S.)
Project Mariner (U.S.)
The Spacecraft Data Analysis Team analyzed the engineering data
transmitted from the spacecraft to evaluate the performance of the
subsystems in flight. The Team was composed of one or more of the
engineers responsible for each of the spacecraft subsystems, and a
chairman.
The Science Data Group was composed of the project scientist and certain
other scientists associated with the experiments on board the
spacecraft. This Group evaluated the data from the scientific
experiments while Mariner was in flight and advised the Test Director on
the scientific status of the mission.
The Science Data Group was on continuous duty until 48 hours after
launch, and at other times during the mission. During encounter with
Venus, the Group was also in contact with the scientific experimenters
from other participating organizations who were working with JPL.
[Illustration: _Closed circuit television monitors are used for
instant surveillance of the internal activities of the Operations
Center._]
A Tracking Data Analysis Group analyzed the tracking data to be used in
orbit determination. They also assessed the performance of the DSIF
facilities and equipment used to obtain the data.
The Orbit Determination Group used the tracking data to produce
estimates of the actual spacecraft trajectory, and to compute the
spacecraft path with respect to the Earth, Venus, and the Sun. These
calculations were made once each day before the midcourse maneuver, once
a week during the cruise phase, and daily during and immediately after
the planet encounter.
The Operations Center was equipped with lighted boards on which the
progress of the mission was displayed. This information included
trajectory data, spacecraft performance, temperature and pressure
readings, and other data telemetered from the spacecraft subsystems.
Closed-circuit television was used for coordinating the activities of
the SFOC. Operating personnel could use television monitors in four
consoles which were linked to six fixed cameras viewing teletype page
printers. The entire Operations Room could be kept under surveillance by
the Project Manager, the Test Director, or the DSIF Operations Manager,
using cameras controlled in “pan,” “tilt,” and “zoom.”
CENTRAL COMPUTING FACILITY
During the Mariner II mission, the JPL Central Computing Facility (CCF)
processed approximately 13.1 million data words, or over 90 million
binary bits of computer data. (Binary bit = a discrete unit of
information intelligible to a digital computer. One data word = 7 binary
bits.)
In the four-month operation, about 100,000 tracking and telemetering
data cards were received and processed, yielding over 1.2 million
computer pages of tabulated, processed, and analyzed data for evaluation
by the engineers and scientists. Approximately 1,000 miles of magnetic
tape were used in the 1,056 rolls recorded by the DSIF.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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