JPL BLOGS
Inside Views on Outer Space
Hear from scientists, engineers and other experts as they offer a fascinating look at JPL missions, science and history.
The JPL Archivists share historical photos from the JPL Archives. Learn more about JPL history and explore the archives at https://jpl-nasa.libguides.com/archives.
Slice of History | April 29, 2016
Magnetic Data Storage
From 1967 through the early 1970s, a number of studies were conducted at JPL with the goal of reducing the size of computer memory and developing miniature storage media for spacecraft computers.
These early tests used Curie-point writing to communicate the bits (ones and zeroes) of computer data. In various tests, a hot wire stylus, an electron beam, or a ruby laser were used to heat tiny dots (around one micrometer in size) on thin ferromagnetic manganese bismuthide (MnBi) film. The material was heated to just above its Curie temperature (the point at which the material is demagnetized) then cooled within a magnetic field, controlling the direction of the magnetization for each dot. The recorded bits of information were observed with polarized light using the Faraday effect. The recorded information could be completely erased by saturating the film in an applied magnetic field, then the recording process could be repeated.
The newest Historical Photo of the Month http://beacon.jpl.nasa.gov/historical-photo-of-the-month shows Dr. George Lewicki and Dr. Dimiter Tchernev who worked on this task. It received NASA funding of $175,000 per year (about $1.2 million in 2016 dollars). The studies were documented in a series of published papers, articles in JPL Space Programs Summaries, and a press release. It was reported that one square inch of magnetic film could hold as much data as computer memory that (in 1967) took up ten cubic feet of space.
For more detailed information about the history of JPL, contact the Library and Archives Reference Desk at (818) 354-4200 or archives@jpl.nasa.gov. If you have questions about the Historical Photo of the Month, please contact archivist Julie Cooper at Julie.A.Cooper@jpl.nasa.gov.
TAGS: MAGNETIC, DATA, STORAGE, HISTORY, COMPUTER, MEMORY, ELECTRON, RUBY, LASER
Slice of History | April 4, 2016
Future Mars Mission
In between 1982 and 1997, JPL had no active missions on the surface of Mars. July 1986 was the 10th anniversary of the Viking mission, and an artist was hired to help show the possibilities of future Mars exploration. This artist’s rendering depicts a fleet of landers with astronauts aboard. The one on its side enabled cargo bay doors to open so a vehicle could be driven out onto the surface of the planet and other cargo unloaded.
This post was written for “Historical Photo of the Month,” a blog by Julie Cooper of JPL’s Library and Archives Group.
TAGS: JPL MISSION SURFACE FUTURE MARS EXPLORATION HISTORY
Slice of History | February 29, 2016
Scanning Microwave Inversion Layer Experiment (SMILE)
In the mid-1970s, JPL evaluated several techniques for determining atmospheric water vapor effects on radiometric range. These experiments allowed the signals between spacecraft and the Deep Space Network antennas to be properly calibrated. One of the experiments was the Scanning Microwave Inversion Layer Experiment (SMILE). In May 1974, this test was conducted in El Monte, California, with a radiosonde suspended beneath a weather balloon. When the balloon reached 10,000 feet (about 3 km) it began measuring absolute pressure, ambient temperature, and relative humidity, then radioed the results to ground receivers.
This post was written for “Historical Photo of the Month,” a blog by Julie Cooper of JPL’s Library and Archives Group.
TAGS: HISTORY, ATMOSHPHERE, WATER, VAPOR, MICROWAVE, SMILE
Slice of History | January 29, 2016
Atomic Clock
This atomic clock was used at the Goldstone Time Standards Laboratory in 1970, to synchronize clocks at Deep Space Network stations around the world. This master clock was accurate to plus or minus two millionths of a second, when compared to clocks maintained by the National Bureau of Standards and the U.S. Naval Observatory. In the late 1960s, JPL had developed a moon bounce technique to transmit signals from one deep space antenna to another. Experiments included periodic measurement of timing signals that were reflected from the surface of the moon, to find out if the station clocks were within allowable limits for accuracy.
This post was written for “Historical Photo of the Month,” a blog by Julie Cooper of JPL’s Library and Archives Group.
TAGS: HISTORY, ATOMIC CLOCK
Slice of History | December 31, 2015
James Van Allen with Pioneer IV
Professor James Van Allen of the University of Iowa designed the cosmic ray detector experiment on JPL’s Explorer satellite, launched in 1958. He was also the principal investigator for the radiation experiment that was part of the Pioneer III and IV payloads. In this photo, Dr. Van Allen is looking at the cone-shaped Pioneer probe, before it was gold plated and painted with stripes (to maintain a temperature of 10-50 degrees C during flight).
After the launch of Pioneer IV on March 3, 1959 the experiment successfully measured radiation found around the Earth. It was also designed to measure lunar radiation, but the flyby distance of 37,000 miles was not close enough for the optical trigger to work. The instrument used two Geiger-Mueller tubes to detect and measure radiation and a small battery-powered radio transmitter to send the data to Earth. The low-power signal was received by the 85-foot antenna at Goldstone, California -- part of what became known as the Deep Space Network in 1963. The probe also tested technology that would be needed for future lunar photographic missions. After passing by the moon, Pioneer IV went into a heliocentric orbit.
This post was written for “Historical Photo of the Month,” a blog by Julie Cooper of JPL’s Library and Archives Group.
Slice of History | December 1, 2015
Morris Dam Test Facility - 1943
In 1943, JPL was under contract with the Army Air Corps to design, build and test an underwater solid rocket motor. Early tests were done in a large trough of water to see if a solid propellant would fire underwater ... and it did. Field tests were conducted in 1943 at the Morris Dam Test Facility in an artificial lake 25 miles from Pasadena, California. The facility was part of Caltech’s “other” rocket project, funded by the National Defense Research Committee of the Office of Scientific Research and Development – an agency set up to support and coordinate war-related research.
This photo shows a barge, which was anchored to trees on the shore of the lake, with an underwater structure that would hold the motor at a depth of one to six feet during testing. Two motion-picture cameras (one color, and one black and white) filmed the ten tests. The test motors were loaded with two different propellant formulas (GALCIT 53 and GALCIT 54).
JPL had a growing need for its own underwater test facility, so construction began on a hydrodynamic tank, or towing channel, in September 1943. It was located in the space currently occupied by the parking structure and part of Arroyo Road. An Army Air Forces contract for $121,000 – for development of a hydrobomb design – began in September 1944.
This post was written for “Historical Photo of the Month,” a blog by Julie Cooper of JPL’s Library and Archives Group.
TAGS: HISTORY, TECHNOLOGY, ROCKETS
Slice of History | October 29, 2015
Voyager Golden Record Inscription - 1977
Most people know about the scenes, greetings, music and sounds from Earth found on the Voyager Golden Record. They may not know that there is also a handwritten message etched into the surface of the record. Timothy Ferris, who worked with Carl Sagan and the rest of the team that produced the record, wanted something done directly by a human hand to appear on the record. “To the makers of music – all worlds, all times” appears on the finished record, in between the photoengraved label and the record grooves.
The inscription can also be seen on some of the 14-inch recording masters that are found in the JPL Archives. There are several sets of the records, with a metal core and lacquer surface. From these masters, the copper records (“mothers”) were cut, then they were gold plated, etched, enclosed in aluminum containers and mounted on the sides of the Voyager 1 and 2 spacecraft.
This post was written for “Historical Photo of the Month,” a blog by Julie Cooper of JPL’s Library and Archives Group.
TAGS: VOYAGER, GOLDEN RECORD, MISSIONS, SPACECRAFT
Slice of History | September 30, 2015
High Gain Antenna Tower - 1962
In the early 1960s, Mesa Road at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory had not yet been built. Access to buildings on the mesa, like the High Gain Antenna Tower in this photo, was through the residential neighborhood north of JPL.
The antenna tower was built at the end of 1961, and was used by the Telecommunications Division in testing prototypes and various configurations of Deep Space Network antenna equipment. The platform was designed to reduce ground reflections from the sides and bottom of the adjacent canyon.
This post was written for “Historical Photo of the Month,” a blog by Julie Cooper of JPL’s Library and Archives Group.
TAGS: DSN, TECHNOLOGY, HISTORY
Slice of History | September 1, 2015
Echo Station Control Room - April 1962
This April 1962 photo of Deep Space Station 12 (DSS-12) in Goldstone, California, was featured in Space Programs Summary 37-15, Volume 3–The Deep Space Instrumentation Facility. The 85-foot (26-meter) Echo antenna can be seen through the window of the control room, and three unidentified men are at the controls. The Echo site was named for its support of Project Echo, an experiment that transmitted voice communications coast to coast by bouncing signals off the surface of a passive balloon-type satellite. The antenna was moved six miles in June 1962 to the Venus site (DSS-13) and in 1979 it was extended to 34 meters in diameter.
The bimonthly Space Programs Summary, or SPS, is an excellent source of information about JPL missions and related research from February 1959 to October 1970. In 1970, the SPS series was replaced by the Technical Reports (32-1 to 32-1606) and other report series.
This post was written for “Historical Photo of the Month,” a blog by Julie Cooper of JPL’s Library and Archives Group.
TAGS: DEEP SPACE NETWORK, SPACE COMMUNICATION, TECHNOLOGY, HISTORY
Slice of History | July 31, 2015
Inspection Tour - December 1954
In December 1954, only a few months after becoming the director of JPL, Dr. William Pickering (in the light-colored suit) hosted a visit by Frank H. Higgins, assistant secretary of the Army, and several members of his military entourage. At that time, JPL was under contract to Army Ordnance to develop guided missiles. In this photo, the group is gathered in the control room of the 20-inch wind tunnel. Frank Goddard (in the dark suit), chief of the Supersonic Aerodynamics Division, assisted with the tour and Bud Schurmeier, manager of the Wind Tunnel Section, observed from the back of the room while technicians conducted a demonstration.
This post was written for “Historical Photo of the Month,” a blog by Julie Cooper of JPL’s Library and Archives Group.
TAGS: TECHNOLOGY, HISTORY, DEEP SPACE NETWORK