Redstone Trainer Missile Exercise

November 2, 1960

Kuhberg Hill, outside Bad Kreuznach, Germany

I am adjusting the valve box to 3,000 psi while pressurizing the 6 spherical air bottles located in the thrust unit tail section, and the 2 (originally 3) air bottles in the body unit skirt section. Pressurizing the missile air storage bottles was a Firing Section task, and since I had the experience of doing it at the Redstone School in Fort Sill I was designated a back-up for this job, and asked on occasion to help out by performing this job. The source of the high pressure air was the 2&1/2-ton compressor truck and its companion air servicer trailer.

In the thrust unit, air from these spheres, after passing through a heat exchanger, maintained a slight positive pressure in the alcohol tank. High pressure air was also supplied to a pneumatic panel where pressure was controlled by regulators and valves, and distributed to pressurize the hydrogen peroxide system, and operate various control valves. High pressure air was also employed to operate the expulsion cylinders which pushed the body unit from the thrust unit at the end of powered flight after the six connecting explosive bolts had been detonated.

In the body unit, high pressure air from one sphere was used for steering the missile body via air jet nozzles during the midcourse (spatial) portion of the trajectory, when the missile body was essentially above the earth's atmosphere. The second sphere supplied air to the air-bearing surfaces of the inertial guidance system's ST-80 Stable Reference Platform gyroscopes and accelerometers.

The fog on the ground behind me was caused by the liquid oxygen (LOX) overflow out of the LOX tank through the LOX venting system, with excess LOX then flowing down and out through the external standpipe and hose onto the ground.