Extra-Terrestrial Radio Tracking and Communication

Abstract

When the U. S. Army lunar program was initiated in 1958, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) was assigned the responsibility for the upper rocket stages and the payload. Payload responsibility included radio tracking and communication with the lunar probe. JPL's Microlock system, used for communicating with the early Explorer satellites, did not have sufficient range to perform this mission. Therefore, a new radio system designated TRAC(E) (TRacking And Communication, Extra-terrestrial) was designed. To the best knowledge of the authors, the TRAC(E) system is the first deep-space communication link to provide accurate tracking and telemetry data at lunar distances. The design principles of the TRAC(E) system are presented in this paper in conjunction with a description of the equipment and actual performance data taken during the Pioneer IV lunar mission in March, 1959. The TRAC(E) system is an integral part of the NASA/JPL radio tracking station located near Goldstone Lake north of Barstow, Calif. Future plans for improving the performance of the TRAC(E) system are indicated.